Chatting With Andy Garcia About His New Film Christmas In Conway!

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Hey All!

Oscar®, Emmy® and multiple Golden Globe® award nominee Andy Garcia (“The Godfather Part III,” “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story”) and Mary-Louise Parker (Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner for “Angels in America,” Golden Globe winner® for “Weeds” and Tony Award winner for “Proof”) are joined by Mandy Moore (“Tangled,” “The Princess Diaries”), Cheri Oteri (“Saturday Night Live,” “Grown Ups 2”) and Riley Smith (“90210,” “Radio”) in The Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of “Christmas in Conway,” SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2013 (9:00-11:00p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

The story follows a character named Duncan Mayor (Andy Garcia) who decides the perfect Christmas present for his beloved wife, Suzy (Mary-Louise Parker), is a ride on a real Ferris wheel, set up in their very own back yard. As a young man, it was the perfect place for a wedding proposal. Now, years later, in order to relive the experience with his wife, Duncan will go to any length to make their fantasy become a reality.

Natalie Stringer (Mandy Moore), a home-care nurse, moves in with Suzy and Duncan to care for Suzy — much to the annoyance of Duncan, who resents the intrusion. Love is in the air, and not just between Suzy and Duncan. Romantic sparks also fly between Natalie and Tommy Harris (Riley Smith), a landscape designer who’s working on a project with the Mayor’s irascible next-door neighbor, played by Cheri Oteri.

“It’s probably an exaggeration to say its love at first sight,” says Mandy Moore in an on-set interview. “But, that said, there’s certainly an attraction at first sight. We’re about the same age, we’re both sensitive, caring people, and we’re both unattached.”

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Mary-Louise Parker describes Christmas in Conway as “unabashedly romantic.” She continues, “There’s pure devotion between these two characters, Suzy and Duncan. There’s no dark history, no betrayal. Just total love between two human beings. It’s usually the darker story that gets told, and that’s the story I’m usually attracted to as an actor. But the purity of Duncan and Suzy’s love, the enduring nature of their love, that’s what attracted me to this.”

Andy Garcia says, simply, “It’s a beautiful story.” He adds, “The notion of a man loving his wife so much that he’d build this Ferris wheel in their back yard so they can relive a magical moment in their life together… When they told me Mary-Louise Parker was involved, I said, `Okay, I’m in.”

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Garcia about the film and his role. It was very insightful to hear his thoughts on this wonderful film.

When asked how he became involved in the film Andy replied:

“I was sent the material. I was very taken with it and it also had Mary-Louise attached to the project. We had tried to work together before, but never had the opportunity. It was great to finally get the opportunity to work together on this film. That’s what made me want to be involved with this film.”

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It was a perfect pairing as Andy and Mary-Louise have amazing chemistry in this film. Andy shared that it all came together very quickly as they did not have any rehearsal time. They essentially met and went over the script the day before they started shooting and then shot the film. That was it.

“I loved working on this film with this amazing cast. You can see it in the performances on the screen. We all worked very well together and Mandy and Mary-Louise give some great performances” said Andy.

Andy’s character goes above and beyond to try to make his wife happy. I had to know if Andy would go through the same lengths to make his significant other happy.

“Well, that’s a given when you’re in this type of relationship. I of course would go above and beyond to make my wife happy. Now would I go to the extent of building a ferris wheel myself in my own backyard, no I would hire people to do it for me of course. I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to build one.”

We shared a chuckle as of course I would probably do the same.

Lastly I wanted to know what was his favorite scene in the film to shoot or just in general.

“Well, that’s a really hard question. I couldn’t pick one scene. I just loved making this picture in general. I think it’s a beautiful story that I hope everyone will enjoy.”

I know I really enjoyed it. I was lucky to get an advanced screening copy, so I know what I’m talking about.

I highly recommend you tune into The Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of “Christmas in Conway,” SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2013 (9:00-11:00p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Check out this preview of the film below:

 

 

For more info visit the official site here.

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