When you get the email that says today is the last day of the shoot and you're invited to join the fun you drop everything.
You get yourself to the set of the Christmas movie filmed in Prince George called Meeting Mr. Christmas written and directed by Laura Mitchell, who starred in the last Christmas movie filmed here A Great North Christmas.
Mitchell was inspired to bring the first movie she's written and directed back to Prince George because of the wonderful experience she had here last year.
This year Mitchell is on the other side of the camera and standing in front of it is well-known actor who grew up in Prince George, Madison Smith, best known for his television roles in Salvation, The Order, Narcoleap and Aftermath as well as a key role in Hallmark movie Write Before Christmas.
Smith plays Finn, the holiday-loving town doctor, who meets up with co-star Greta Carew-Johns, who plays Sophie a popular travel blogger whose negative impressions about Christmas are challenged when she teams up with Finn in order to save her family’s annual Christmas event.
"This has been super exciting," Smith said at the Hart Community Centre where filming for the Christmas Carol Competition was completed Friday morning. "This is the first time I'm doing one of these romantic leads and I've always wanted to have a chance to work in Prince George again. Ever since I became an actor and knew they were doing more films here it was something I really wanted to be a part of. There were a couple of opportunities that I auditioned for and when this one came up it was like a dream come true and I couldn't have asked for a better production to be a part of. Director's fantastic, my co-star has been amazing. It feels like this one is the right one that was supposed to come along."
It truly was a trip down memory lane for Smith as the movie hit many locations he knows so well.
There was a restaurant scene at the Twisted Cork, a scene in downtown Prince George on Third Avenue, up on the Hart Ski Hill and even The Makerie Craft and Coffee Bar.
"It was really cool to see the places I used to visit when I was younger and The Makerie was so beautiful and getting to make a movie here was amazing," Smith said. "I took every chance I had to tell people that I'm from Prince George. I just wanted everyone to know how excited I was to be back."
It takes many people behind the scenes to make the magic happen and Tanner Henry, 19, from Quesnel, took on the role of best boy grip, which he considers a job of many duties. His job is to load and unload trucks, move lights, keeps track of inventory, at times he's had to push the camera back and forth and hold the bounce boards that are white and reflective so actors' faces are shown in the best light.
"I'm really kind of an everything guy," Henry said.
He got the job through word of mouth and then joined the Kopar employment program.
He's hooked on show business now and quit his job at a tire shop to pursue this career.
"I will be moving to Vancouver to work on more movie sets," Tanner said.
And for the star of the movie, Smith hopes to do more film work in Prince George.
"I love the film industry but I also love my hometown so being able to put those two hands together was such a cool thing," he said. "And I just hope I get to do it some more."
