Louise Linton is back behind the camera again — and this time she’s going full John McTiernan, but with a sprinkling of Chris Columbus. The 44-year-old B-movie actress turned Treasury Secretary wife turned self-financed filmmaker is in the middle of shooting her third feature as a director, a holiday action comedy titled Twas the Fight Before Christmas.
“Basically, it’s Home Alone meets Die Hard,” she describes it to Rambling. “Alexandra Dreyfus plays a white-trash girl married to a very wealthy, very posh British man, while her sister Abigail, played by Brandi Burkhardt, is very serious and very classy. The two absolutely loathe each other, so there’s a lot of physical comedy. But then, while the husband is out of town on Christmas Eve, there’s a break-in, and the two combine forces and figure out nifty ways to defend their beautiful, luxurious estate.”
Linton won’t reveal what the budget is (“My producing partner is sitting with me, saying I’m not allowed”), but the project has a short shoot — 10 days in Los Angeles and Camarillo — suggesting shoestring financing. Still, Mrs. Steven Mnuchin is sparing no expense when it comes to her below-the-line crew. She’s hired veteran stunt coordinator Mike Gunther, whose credits include Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Transformers and Bad Boys for Life, to orchestrate the fight sequences. And unlike her previous two directorial efforts — 2021’s Me You Madness and 2023’s Chick Flick, both of which the box office somehow failed to notice — she hasn’t cast herself in the picture, except for a small cameo as a maid.
“I’m really enjoying being able to devote myself 100 percent to directing,” she says. “I don’t like doing both. Directing is hard, particularly when you’re in a tight costume and high heels.”
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Also in Rambling Reporter:
Why movie stars can’t resist an award show about particle physics and why Nicole Kidman, Chloé Zhao and other stars are becoming death doulas.
This story appeared in the May 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
