Inspiration + Insight
“Come in—come in! And know me better, man! I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Look upon me! You have never seen the like of me before!”
— Ghost of Christmas Present
When our writers gathered together in December of 2016, we knew we wanted to create an adaptation of a classic that would be relevant and relatable to a modern audience—but what defines a "classic" story? We believe a classic contains themes that are timeless and resonate with any society no matter the era. Perhaps it's because Christmas was just around the corner, but A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens took center stage. We thought of myriad dialogues of our contemporary culture as a whole, as well as various personal struggles we all dealt with.
A Christmas Carol used the size of the shadow of themes like depression, grief, and loneliness to measure the intensity of the light emitted by themes of hope, purpose, and acceptance—it was this understanding of the story’s foundation that became the touchstone of our development.
"The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names. It was all the same to him."
— Charles Dickens
The relationship between Scrooge and Marley has always been somewhat of a mystery, its origins having been explored through a number of different films and stage plays over the last century—and it was no different with us. The absolute lack of information that Dickens offered in original cannon had always fascinated us. We discussed this potential at length. Who was Jacob Marley? Marley only appears in the first chapter of the novel, but his apparition is the spark which ignites Scrooge's journey of self-discovery.
We wanted to know Marley more intimately, and we accomplished this by having Marley serve as El’s perpetual ghostly companion. Not only the catalyst for the story, but acting as the three spirits themselves—the Three would be the One, and the One would be the Three. We used this structure to delve into the mechanics behind Scrooge and Marley’s relationship and discover what was at their individual cores, what made them different, and yet more importantly, what made them the same.
“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
— Ghost of Jacob Marley
From the beginning of our creative process, we knew our Scrooge was going to be female; a young woman in her mid-twenties—Eleanor Scrooge—struggling to not only make a name for herself but also discover what that name means. This sojourn is disrupted by the sudden and unexpected death of her best friend and business partner, Jacob Marley.
El is an entrepreneur and self-made woman who begins the story with a complicated and narrow worldview that ultimately broadens because of the people in her life, particularly Marley’s Ghost. The main message from Dickens’s original narrative—which still echoes through our minds and souls today—is how our words and actions, both positive and negative, leave lasting impacts. The way we treat others is important to keep in mind, but it’s our belief that Dickens was attempting to convey a deeper, more harrowing truth: how we treat ourselves is arguably more important, because the motivation and the means by which we express those words and actions come from within.
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
— Ebenezer Scrooge
In a lovely and fantastical twist of fate, we discovered many months later that the night we had our initial brainstorming meeting was December 19th—the anniversary of Dickens’ original publication of A Christmas Carol. We found this to be a serendipitous and uncanny beginning, and part of the near-tangible magic that carried us through. As lovers of stories, we felt from the beginning that project itself wanted to exist—a sentiment we haven’t yet shaken.
We made this film with a volunteer crew and committed actors who embodied their characters in ways that left us, the writers, in awe. Making the movie itself was oftentimes a challenge we weren’t sure we’d surmount, but by the end of production we'd each grown personally, creatively, and as filmmakers in more ways than we could have imagined.
Through Dickens’s timeless themes, and Scrooge and Marley’s classic friendship, we hope those who watch this film will also discover a new lens through which to view their past sorrows, so as to better comprehend their present condition, ultimately to shape for themselves a brighter vision for the future.
“god bless us, every one.”
— Tiny Tim