The legendary Hollywood actor stars in a movie shoot in central New York

A movie set to be filmed in Utica starting next month has landed a major comedian as its star.

After weeks of excitement…

WIBX spoke with Utica’s film czar, Paul Buckley, about a month ago about two major films set to start rolling cameras in central New York. He was also joined by one of the directors, Tori Hunter, who hinted that a celebrity has been cast in her Christmas movie.

Read more: Two major films coming to New York State

Her film is currently titled “The Christmas Letter,” which is being described as a nostalgic holiday film that pays homage to the fun Christmas movies of the 1980s and 1990s. It also challenges the idea that Christmas films can only be shown around the holidays and not at any other time of the year.

Hunter’s “sincere comedy” is about “an ordinary man who receives a Christmas letter every year from his friend who lives a very different life than him.”

Every year, unemployed copywriter Joe Michaels reads his wealthy friend’s wonderful annual Christmas letter and feels like a loser, but this year will be different.

Michaels realizes it’s time to one-up his wealthy friend and his amazing annual exploits. The protagonist believes that if he were able to enjoy the same lavish lifestyle as his rich friend, he would have a more fulfilling life – so he decided to take his family on “wild and crazy adventures” for an entire year so he could write a “Christmas letter topping a Christmas letter His friend’s

Director Tori Hunter expressed excitement about the unique film because its timeline gives the film’s hero a full year to figure out what truly makes him happy, rather than over the course of several days.

She also finally revealed who will lead the film.

A big win for comedy fans

On Facebook, the official account for “The Christmas Movie” posted a video of Hunter finally dropping the bomb.

SNL Legend, “Community” actor, and of course, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” star Chevy Chase will play the lead role in the upcoming film.

Hunter said she can’t wait to see how Chase brings the main character to life and turns Joe Michaels into another legendary Christmas character like Ralphie, Kevin McCallister, Clark Griswold and more.

He will bring a truly distinct comedic genius to a unique character and I’m really excited to bring him to life.

Hunter expressed his hope that the film would become an instant classic because it would offer a lot of laughs and heartwarming moments.

You can read more about the film’s progress on its official Facebook account.

Filming is scheduled to take place in Utica from January 2024 to March 2024.

You can also watch WIBX’s interview with Paul Buckley and Tori Hunter below: