The Inn is closed to the public for the next three days, and a production trailer with a makeshift office is set up nearby. The crew brings their pets to work so they can hang out with the cast and producers in between scenes. It dawns on me that spending one day on set is not going to be enough. I should have stayed the whole week.
Before I went onto set, though, I talked to Jonathan Bennett at one of the individual log cabins on the property. Each log cabin has a different theme, and I'm pretty sure this one was the equivalent of Grizzly Bear Cottage. Everything from the toiler paper rack to the mirrors had bears on them. There was even a five-foot bear in the entry way. You can't make this stuff up.
Alaskan Inn, Ogden, UtahJessica Radloff
Jonathan—or Johnny, as he said I could call him—burst in with the energy of a five-year-old. Christmas Made to Order is his first Hallmark movie as a lead, and he said he was just as excited as when he was cast in Mean Girls. "Both are such amazing guilty pleasure, fun movies to watch. There’s nothing better than to be involved in a movie that brings so much people happiness."
He certainly knows firsthand what a feel-good movie can do, which is why he credits Hallmark with helping him out of a dark time he endured after his parents passed away. "The holidays always meant a time of sadness," he said. "Once my parents passed, each Christmas wasn't what it used to be. But then I started being involved in and watching these movies, and it really reminds you that it's all about love."
Bennett also said his Hallmark "roster of angels"—Alexa PenaVega, Danica McKellar, Lacey Chabert, Rachel Boston and Jen Lilley—helped him find joy after so much heartache. "They are some of the most beautiful human beings I've ever met, so it makes me so happy to be part of a network with so many dear friends."
