Downtown Lake Forest was transformed into Hollywood Tuesday night for the premiere of Hallmark Channel's "Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story."
Stars of the movie and Bears players Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland who make cameos in the film walked the red carpet at the Gorton Center, posing for photos and speaking to reporters about the project.
"It's pretty cool," said Williams, who was accompanied to the premiere by his mom, Dayna Price. "You don't see this too often. So being able to have something like this, it's historical but also that's what the Bears are and so I'm grateful to be in it, I'm grateful to be one of the pieces of it."
In "Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story," a freelance reporter who lives in New York named Avery (Lyndsy Fonseca) returns home to Chicago to visit her mom, Jody (Barbara Alyn Woods), at Christmastime. Avery is presented with the opportunity to write a story about a Bears fan, Darlene (Marsha Mason), attending her 500th game. Darlene then proceeds to play matchmaker with her grandson, Matt (Robert Buckley), a Chicago firefighter, and Avery.
The movie premieres at 7 p.m. (CT) Saturday on Hallmark Channel, streaming the next day on Hallmark+.
In addition to Williams and Loveland, Bears coach Ben Johnson, tight end Cole Kmet and former stars Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton and Charles "Peanut" Tillman appear in the movie, as does Staley Da Bear and Connie Payton, the widow of Bears legend Walter Payton. Dozens of Bears staffers appear as extras as well.
Scenes were shot in suites and tailgate lots at Soldier Field and at Halas Hall, including inside the Walter Payton Center.
Loveland appears with Hampton in a scene at a Christmas market during a cornhole tournament. It was the tight end's first foray into acting.
"It was pretty smooth," Loveland said. "When you're surrounded by great people and great actors and actresses, it's kind of easy to fit in, especially when I'm not doing too much. So, they made it easy and a lot of fun."
Loveland learned that acting, like football, requires precision.
"I was moving around too much," he said. "I was messing up the shot. One time I moved my shoulder an inch and they're like, 'make sure you stand still,' so that was new to me. But, like I said, they made it so easy. I didn't have to do much."
Loveland went from not knowing what to expect to really enjoying the experience.
"It was fun," he said. "If the opportunity ever came up [to act after his playing career ended], I would definitely [consider it], but hopefully I've got a long time until then."
Buckley felt "nothing but love" from the Bears throughout the process — which included a visit to the Walter Payton Center where he got to kick field goals off a tee.
He and his co-stars later led "Let's Go Bears" chants at the team's Oct. 4 game against the Jets.
"The whole Bears organization has been nothing but welcoming and lovely to us," Buckley said. "It was a no-brainer within two days of working with [them] I was like, 'the Bears are my team.' This feels right because for 45 years I didn't have a team."
"I really liked shooting at Soldier Field, and I loved being up in the boxes and being able to see the whole stadium," said Mason, a four-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Golden Globe winner. "The stadium is gorgeous, so that was a highlight. I got a chance to do a scene with Mr. Singletary and Peanut Tillman, so that was exciting, and I got to chat with Ben Johnson and that was thrilling."
No one enjoyed the experience more than Woods, an actress who grew up in the Chicago area as a Bears fan and is best known for her role in the TV series "One Tree Hill" alongside Buckley.
"It's the most special for me and I made sure that everyone knew that when I was filming, like 'I know this is special for you, but it's more special for me,'" Woods said. "Just Chicago as the backdrop, I mean it was such a beautiful backdrop in the movie. They really highlighted the city. It's beautiful. It makes you proud to be from here.
"When my manager called me about the project, he said, 'it's Hallmark, it's Chicago, it's the Bears.' I said, 'I'm in. I don't need to read the script. I don't care what the character is. I'm in, of course.'"
For Tuesday night's premiere, the Gorton Center was dressed up like a Christmas party — with trees adorned with tinsel and ornaments, walls draped with red velvet and candles and garland spread out on tables. Fans of Hallmark and the Bears who gathered outside the venue were offered doughnuts and hot chocolate provided by Dunkin'.
The event included a performance by the Leo High School choir, a reception and a screening of the movie. Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren and Hallmark Media President Darren Abbott addressed the audience.
"Having the opportunity to review the final movie a couple of weeks ago, I was really moved how good the movie is," Warren said. "I just want to congratulate all the actors and actresses before we even get started.
"With the world that we live in today, whether you turn on the news, pick up a newspaper, there's so much negative energy on a daily basis, which is unfortunate. One of the things I'll say about this incredible partnership between the Chicago Bears and Hallmark and Skydance [Sports] is this is about family. It's about faith. It's about football. It's about positive energy. It's about Christmas. And it's about the importance of making sure that we take advantage of each and every day with a heart of gratitude."
Bears vice president Patrick McCaskey, who plays a fire captain in the movie, was on hand, as was general manager Ryan Poles and his wife, Katie, coach Ben Johnson's wife, Jessica, and chairman George H. McCaskey's wife, Barb, who sported a 1980s-era Bears sweater in tribute to Mike Ditka, and a 1985 Super Bowl XX championship ring.
Also in attendance were Bears running back Zavier Scott and several former Bears players, including Wendell Davis and Ahmad Merritt.
Prior to the screening, former Bears defensive tackle Anthony "Spice" Adams and team reporter Jasmine Baker conducted interviews on the red carpet.
Among those on hand were Bears season ticket holders and longtime Bears Care supporters Ken and Julia Wegner. They spent an evening on set with Hallmark as extras in a dinner party scene, an opportunity that came about after they had made a generous donation to Bears Care.
"We are both lifelong Bears fans, born and raised here in Chicago," Ken said.
"It was a gift [from Ken], Julia added. "In July, I received a phone call that said, 'you and your husband generously donated to Bears Care so that you could be featured extras in the Bears Hallmark movie.' To this day, I can't believe it. Bears Care is a wonderful charity. It fights breast and ovarian cancer, and my mother had ovarian cancer, so it means a lot to us."
On Wednesday night, the Bears held a private screening of the movie at Halas Hall for employees, powered by the Bears Women's ERG, led by vice president of social and digital content strategy Pooja Van Dyke and assistant athletic trainer Mariellen Veach. The mission of the ERG is to cultivate an environment of support and celebration for women while offering mentorship and civic engagement opportunities for all.
It featured a panel discussion moderated by Baker with Fonseca, the female lead in the movie; Hallmark senior vice president of programming and content innovation Samantha DiPippo; and Skydance Sports senior vice president of film and TV Jessica Matthews. The panel was created to showcase powerhouse women in entertainments sharing about the parallels and differences in their aligned mission to deliver fans joy and community.
Topics covered included the partnership between the Bears and Hallmark — two iconic brands that are both more than a century old — how welcoming the Bears have been, and Skydance Sports' collaboration with Hallmark and the NFL.
"This has been, from beginning to end, just such a remarkable experience," Fonseca said. "Because of the Bears organization—the team, the players—the way we were welcomed, I really mean this from the bottom of my heart: I am a die-hard Bears fan. I have been shocked by the love. How we came here and you opened your doors so beautifully, I feel honored."
"For us to be able to partner with the Bears, it's been unbelievable," DiPippo said. "It's been incredible … I feel like the values of both of our brands are [similar]. We really complement each other very well. You saw that [Tuesday] night [with] the enthusiasm in that theater … We just did not want to let [the Bears] down and I really hope that you love this movie as much as I do."
