I know this is a bit of old news, about nine years old, but this is a topic that always pops into my head when I start viewing the Black Christmas remake around the holidays. Has anyone ever wondered who the unknown girl, pictured above, is portrayed by and what exactly happened to her scenes in the movie from Dimension Films? Well, the first part of my question remains a mystery to this very day, with no one ever specifying or taking accountability for the role. The latter part of my question, however, is a big example of how Hollywood is often a shady, shady place and people can tamper with your work at any time if they have the right contract.
Apparently, after principal photography had already been completed and Black Christmas was in the middle of the editing process, Bob Weinstein, founder and head of Dimension Films, ordered that additional footage be shot for advertising and promotional purposes only. Cameras began rolling again, without permission or the knowledge of writer/director Glen Morgan, in an attempt to produce a trailer that was more appealing to horror fans, despite Bob Weinstein already demanding a change in the film’s tone; the original screenplay being much darker and more serious than the PG-13 tale that hit theaters in 2006. This, obviously, angered Glen Morgan as well as one of the lead actresses, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and they both – along with Katie Cassidy – have gone on to disown the film.
The additional scenes that were shadily shot and forced into the trailer include:
– An unknown girl finding another unknown girl frozen in a block of ice. When the finder tries to clear some snow away, the victim wakes up and smashes her arm through the ice.
– An alternate death scene for Lacy Chabert, where her character, Dana, is tangled in Christmas lights that get pulled back into a thresher, which shreds her body into bloody pieces.
– Melissa (played by Michelle Trachtenberg) screaming at someone as she walks down the hallway just before Billy appears and stars crawling above her on the ceiling.
– Melissa looking through the peephole of the front door before saying, “Merry Christmas, mother fucker,” and cocking a shotgun. (why would a sorority house have a shotgun?)
– Billy and Agnes calling the sorority house and saying, “All is calm, all is bright, who is in my house tonight?”
All of the scheming and backstabbing to make Black Christmas more appealing never panned out. The film opened at #15 during its first week in release and only managed to earn $16,300,000 in ticket sales during its theatrical run. With promotional costs factored in, it barely covered its entire budgetary expenses and is barely inside the top 50 horror remakes that have been produced. Although, it ended up finding a home on DVD, where it went on to make $29,500,000 in disc sales. Maybe one day we’ll find out who the stand-in actress near the ice was, but until then… Bob Weinstein is going to get a lump of coal for Christmas for being so naughty!
Take a look at the Black Christmas trailer below and see if you can spot the scenes in question!
