The REAL "Christmas Story"...

Former child actor remembers cinema fun of ‘A Christmas Story’

Some former child actors cringe and protest when reminded by loyal fans of long-ago projects. Not Peter Billingsley, star of “A Christmas Story.”

The movie was made with a modest budget by a director, Bob Clark, who believed in it. “They (Bob and Jean Shepherd) tried for 12 years to get that film made,” Peter said. “Bob had to agree to direct another junky film for the studio to greenlight it. They hardly gave him any money. MGM didn’t support the release of the movie.”

“It was so different,” Jean Shepherd said in a 1998 interview for TV Guide. “It was too real, and MGM didn’t think kids would like it.”

Besides a modest paycheck from the movie, Peter was allowed to keep one of the specially made Red Ryder BB guns, the cowboy suit, and the pink bunny suit. “It’s tucked away,” he said. “But the gun is really cool.”

http://www.times-online.com/articles/2005/12/14/news/08billingsly.txt

"“Bob had to agree to direct another junky film for the studio to greenlight it" That other junky movie would have been Porkys.

You'll shoot your eye out!

It's a major award:)

film on Christmas Eve.

so I probably loaned it out to someone andnever got it back.

my friend and I took her young brother...as I recall, it was being promoted as a kid's movie. My friend and I loved it, her brother was bored.

Don't you just love it when the bigwigs are wrong? :-)

...but isn't he afraid that he'll shoot his eye out?

What in God's name for? He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny!



edit/to get the quote right.

after seeing "A Christmas Story" a couple of years ago.

...Don't keep us in suspense!

on the internet, because my sewing skills are pretty limited.
The cheapest pink bunny suit was about $300!