Red One – Reinventing the Christmas story with an epic, cross-cultural thrill ride through a magical world

“I’ve always had this dream of making a kick-ass Christmas movie,” laughs Hiram Garcia, writer, producer and president of production at Seven Bucks Productions, founded by Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson. “It sounds crazy, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Try and tell an action-packed Christmas story with heart and humor while also approaching holiday mythology in a realistic way. And then one day, I had an idea about how we could do it.

“We love all holiday films,” says Johnson, who plays the North Pole’s Head of Security, “the classics like ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ as well as the contemporary favourites like ‘Elf’ and ‘Bad Santa.’ We all love them for the same reason: they bring us back to that warm feeling of being with friends and family, the time of year when life slows down for a minute. And there’s nothing better than watching a great Christmas movie with the people you love.”

So, while Garcia and Johnson were keen to capture that feeling in a holiday film of their own, they also knew they wanted to try something new. Garcia says, “We knew that if we were going to make a holiday film, it had to big and bold and capture something about the holidays that had never been portrayed onscreen. We wanted a Christmas movie that portrayed holiday lore in a grounded way while packing it with action on a grand scale. And once Dany, Dwayne and I started talking about it… we couldn’t stop, and the ideas started flowing.”

Longtime collaborator producer/writer Chris Morgan was also instantly taken with the story.

Johnson, who collaborated with director and producer Kasdan on the global sensations Jumanji: Welcome
to the Jungle and Jumanji: Next Level, says he knew the filmmaker had the vision they needed, Jake Kasdan. “Jake and I had worked together on the Jumanji movies and this seemed like the perfect next chapter to our partnership. Jake is a gifted filmmaker who knows how to tell a funny, heart-warming story in the context of a giant, fantastical action movie. We’ve done it together before and we knew he was the perfect director for us.”

“Once in a while, there’s an idea that just clicks, immediately. And this was like that for me.” says Kasdan.
“DJ playing Santa’s head of security, the Commander of the E.L.F… This idea of showing what the North
Pole really looks like and how it all really works, pulling back the curtain in this very realistic and grounded
way that we’ve never seen before. I just loved it, right away.”

Telling a new and unexpected story about the holiday was the core mission of the movie, according to
Morgan, who is also one of the film’s producers. “In our world, the things we are told about Santa have little bits of truth in them,” he says. “But we are showing the rest of the story. We’ve taken all the things you’ve heard since you were a kid and put a little twist on them.”

Santa’s story may be one of the most often told in the world, Kasdan muses, but the filmmakers found a
way to reimagine it in a surprisingly contemporary way. “Our North Pole is a giant crystalline metropolis,
the manufacturing center for all of the world’s Christmas gifts,” the director says. “And we portray Santa
himself— or Nick, as his friends call him— in a very different light. To our minds, the coolest Santa ever.
And from there, we started to build out a whole mythological world of ‘Red One.’”

But because it was a Christmas movie, the filmmakers also wanted to tell a classic Christmas story, in the
spirit of the films that inspired them.

“Within this fantastical adventure, we’re also telling very human stories about our two heroes, Cal and Jack. They are each in the midst of their own, very private crises this Christmas. And they’re going to work
through them together, whether they like it or not,” says Kasdan. “When you have DJ and Chris Evans,
who are these action icons and also fantastic actors, you can have both things — you can invest in the
emotional lives of these action heroes.”

The story has something to offer everyone, according to Morgan. “It transcends age and has a truly global
appeal, not just because it’s visually spectacular but because it’s about a group of people who want to make the world a better place.”

Rule number one, says Garcia, is when doing a Christmas movie, you have got to have fun. “We assembled a talented, kind and collaborative group of people. They bought into this idea a hundred percent and committed to making something that’s going to pour goodness back into the world. We love telling stories about love and family and redemption. What makes this one special is that not only does it have scale and fun and big action, we are going to take you on a crazy ride. We are going to scare you just a little bit. We hope we’re going to make you laugh. But we want to really make sure you have those feels at the end.”

“Our Santa Claus, a.k.a. Nick, a.k.a. Red One, is the amazing J.K. Simmons,” Garcia says. “

Simmons admits he was enthralled by the epic nature of the film. “But without comedy, heart and a
compelling story to tell, the scope doesn’t matter. Like every good Christmas movie, there are a lot of
laughs, but the essence of it is about the importance of kindness and being good.”

For the first time in history, the unthinkable has happened: Santa’s (J.K. Simmons) legendary North Pole outpost has been breached and the man himself has been kidnapped. Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), Commander of the E.L.F. and head of security for RED ONE (Santa’s code name), springs into action along with Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), the world’s best tracker and the man responsible for unwittingly revealing Santa’s secret location. As the mismatched duo crisscrosses the globe to bring Santa home in time for his legendary annual run, they will have to confront the most treacherous of Yuletide dangers, from Christmas villains Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) and Grýla (Kiernan Shipka) to a trio of sinister snowmen.

JAKE KASDAN (Director / Producer) is the son of legendary filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan and grew up on movie sets. A highly acclaimed filmmaker and television director/producer known for his sharp wit and distinct comedic style. With a career that spans decades and mediums, Kasdan’s versatility has allowed him to seamlessly transition from small independent films to hit television series and large-scale action-comedies on the big screen, amassing a diverse and impressive body of work in the process. Most recently, Kasdan directed and produced the action-adventures Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level. Kasdan also directed and produced the hit comedy Bad Teacher. Additionally, he wrote and directed a film that is often cited one of the greatest parody movies of all time, the cult classic Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Kasdan’s other notable feature work includes writing and directing The TV Set and Zero Effect, the latter of which he penned at just 22 years old. He also directed the coming-of-age comedy Orange County, starring Colin Hanks and Jack Black. On the small screen, Kasdan is equally as prolific. His television career began as the pilot director and consulting producer for the now-classic series “Freaks and Geeks,” which launched some of the most successful careers in Hollywood today. Kasdan went on to direct and executive produce numerous television pilots and series including the hit “New Girl,”which ran for seven seasons on Fox. In partnership with Melvin Mar, Kasdan’s Disney-based company The Detective Agency has also developed and produced several groundbreaking series including the Critics’ Choice Award nominee “Fresh off the Boat,” which enjoyed a six-seasons run on ABC and was lauded for bringing visibility to the Asian-American experience. Other credits include “Speechless,” “The Grinder,” “Bless This Mess,” “Doogie Kameāloha, MD” and “American Born Chinese.”
Kasdan.

CHRIS MORGAN (Writer / Producer) is best known for his extensive work in the Fast & Furious universe, grossing more than $7 billion as Universal Pictures’ most successful franchise. Morgan’s credits in this capacity include Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (writer, producer), The Fate of the Furious
(writer, producer), Furious 7 (writer, executive producer), Fast & Furious 6 (writer, executive producer),
Fast 5 (writer), Fast & Furious (writer) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (writer). He also served
as executive producer on “Fast & Furious Spy Racers,” an animated Netflix series that aired for six seasons.
Most recently, Morgan was a writer on Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Morgan is working on sequels to Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Bird Box (now in development).

HIRAM GARCIA (Writer / Producer) serves as president of production for Seven Bucks, a leading
multi-platform production company pioneering original content for television, film, emerging
technologies and digital networks. A film and television producer and trusted collaborator with
co-founders Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, his films have earned over $6 billion at the global box office and often break streaming viewership records. Garcia oversees all production operations for the company from the outset of development through release. Seven Bucks’ titles include Red Notice, Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, which between them earned over $1.76 billion worldwide; Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which grossed over $760 million; and Jungle Cruise. For Seven Bucks Productions Garcia creatively oversees a robust slate of over 60 film and television projects in active development. Upcoming releases include Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine and the eagerly awaited live-action Moana. Seven Bucks’ productions are bolstered by a multi-year first-look film deal with Disney, which offers innovative opportunities to collaborate across various platforms