'Tis the season to be jolly, apparently. Well, try telling that to the poor sods standing in the pissing rain outside the Empire in Leicester Square on Monday night.
But you know what, the premiere of Fred Claus damn well ensured that it would be Christmas whether we liked it or not.
So, with a whole bunch of Santa’s elves, Chrimbo trees, festive standards and Fred Claus-branded brollies being handed out to the chosen few, the cheer of the season still managed to brighten up a very wet night – even if the ‘snow’ machine knocking out soap suds into the night air didn’t.
Still, grinch we shall not as not one but a whole host of guiding stars sought to get us into the spirit of the season – all except for a nicely grumpy Paul Giamatti that is.
“It’s freezing cold out there it’s like the end of the world,” he says. “And all that soapy snow. It’s all over the sidewalks, you could bathe out there.”
Still, the prospect of a visit from the fat man in the red suit would surely cheer him up?
“I have never believed in him,” says the man who is actually playing Santa in David Dobkin’s new movie. “I don’t believe in myself. I don’t ever really remember believing in him. I don’t know why but I didn’t. It all seemed absurd to me.”
Dobkin himself is shocked at Giamatti’s admission?
“Did he say he doesn’t believe in himself?” says the director. “I believe in Paul and I happen to know he is Santa Claus but he can’t tell everyone that because it gets weird.”
If you thought your annual family get-together is usually low on goodwill and cheer, Dobkin’s film takes a look at the fraught relationship between good old Saint Nick and his slacker Frere Noel. With the snowballs set to fly in the North Pole, it’s a relationship that Dobkin believes shares some parallels with himself and three-time collaborator Vince Vaughn.
“Vince and I are Fred and Santa and I don’t know which is which,” he says. “You know we love each other, we expect a lot out of each other, sometimes it gets a little too much but we want to make great films.”
As for Vince himself, he’s surprisingly upbeat considering Mother Nature’s soggy contribution to the evening’s festivities.
“Nothing says Christmas like a brisk rain and I can’t get away from the fake snow but it’s nice to have a bunch of folks come outside. It’s always nice to see people, especially when it’s kind of cold outside.”
So has it done the trick and got him in the mood for Chris Cringle’s annual visit?
“You know I really love Christmas. I’m really lucky to be an uncle. I have some nephews and nieces. There’s nothing like seeing kids opening Christmas gifts, it gets you all excited.”
So, as it is the time of wishes and miracles, what do our new friends really want for Christmas?
“I don’t know, just to be with my family and for everyone to be healthy and happy,” says Vaughn the family man.
“I’d get rid of the administration in America. That’s what I’d do. You guys already handled that,” says a suddenly politically charged Dobkin.
“Me?” says the pragmatic Giamatti. “I just hope that people go to see the movie.”
For an exclusive video from the Fred Claus European Premiere, click here.