American screenwriter Karen Schaler has taken the Christmas film industry by storm. Just a few years ago she was a journalist, but with six films and eight spin-off books in five years she was so prolific that she is now known as “Christmas Karen”. Encounter.
Winner of two Emmy Awards for her coverage of the armed conflicts in Bosnia and Afghanistan, where she joined ground troops and a military helicopter unit, there was no indication that Karen Schaler would also write the script for Netflix's first original holiday film, “A Christmas Prince.” would write. in 2017.
Before reinventing herself, she was a White House correspondent for CNN, but also a journalist and anchor at CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX, among others. She had also been published in numerous magazines, including the New Yorker.
Now she devotes herself entirely to Christmas.
His first screenplay, which hit the screen in 2017, became a trilogy for Netflix. She then wrote scripts for Hallmark and Lifetime.
The Christmas television film industry is thriving in the United States. The American cable channel Hallmark alone has broadcast more than 400 original films since 2001 and has added around 40 every year for at least five years.
Its competitors include the channel Lifetime, which has also made it a specialty during the Christmas season. There are also streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV that offer new films every Christmas.
But Karen Schaler doesn't just limit herself to screenwriting.
His film Christmas Camp (2018) for Hallmark was translated into three later published books, but also into a holiday camp for adults where they can enjoy Christmas-related activities during a stay.
The screenwriter has also just published another book, Every Day Is Christmas, 2018, based on her first film for Lifetime, which was filmed in Canada and stars American singer Toni Braxton.
Why did you make the leap from journalism to screenwriting?
I grew up wanting to tell stories. I wanted to be a journalist so I could tell people's stories that they couldn't tell themselves. I was a news reporter, working in immersion and accompanying combat teams in Afghanistan and Bosnia. And at some point I felt that journalism was changing.
I had always watched those Hallmark Christmas movies and loved them. It was my escape.
As a war correspondent or news reporter, you need to find something to escape to. I thought I too could give something back in this way and write about it. This is how I ended up in the parallel world of Christmas films.
How did you manage to integrate yourself into the exclusive world of Christmas films?
It is an environment that is very difficult to penetrate. If you're a brand new screenwriter like me, you'll need to have already written something for them to agree to meet with you. We don't sell our ideas. I didn't have an agent or manager. I didn't know anyone in Hollywood.
When I wrote my first Christmas movie, Hallmark was the market leader. I watched the content of the channel, but above all I studied it in order to be able to write a film according to the formula: how each part ends, when the woman meets the man, their first kiss, etc. My first film, A Christmas Prince , which I wrote with Hallmark in mind, ended up on Netflix. This was a big surprise since it was Netflix's first original Christmas movie. And it became one of their most-watched films, making the franchise possible with its two sequels.
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Netflix’s “A Christmas Prince” trilogy is the work of Karen Schaler.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Andréa Alvarenga, with Netflix
Can your past as a journalist explain your current success?
When people ask me how I managed to bring four scripts to the screen in two years, even though I had never directed a film before, I think it is thanks to my background as a journalist and my research skills. Part of our job is to summarize big stories. As a journalist, I think visually and can write very quickly. These Christmas movies are made so quickly that they need someone to step in and deliver them. There's a well-oiled machine behind releasing all of these Christmas movies every year.
What do you do to be original and stand out from other screenwriters?
It is a challenge. So many stories have been told. Even finding a title that isn't taken from the 700 that already exist! But it's a challenge that I love. When my Christmas movie became a Netflix hit, everyone wanted to see it. Many screenwriters moved the plots of their summer romantic comedies to the Christmas season, added a tree here and there, and tried to sell them as Christmas movies because demand was high. But that's not how it works. I am categorical about that.
If you do it for the money, it won't work. You have to have a real Christmas story for people to relate to.
So many things come into play, but the most important thing is to capture the Christmas spirit and tell an authentic story. You also need to draw on your background or knowledge to make your business unique.
Was that your strategy?
My very first film was about a journalist who goes undercover to find out something about a prince. I was an investigative journalist. I went to Britain. I had experienced this story in real life. When a producer contacted me and said he was looking for a royal script, I didn't have one ready. But I said yes. And then I thought about what I could write that was authentic, that only I could write. It's what I experienced that vaguely inspired me. I think that's the most important thing. If you think you have a great story, make sure it is authentic and real.
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Karen Schaler has also written two films for Lifetime and one for Hallmark.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Andréa Alvarenga, with Lifetime and Hallmark
How do different Christmas movie streamers compare?
It's a headache. How can I adapt all the ingredients, everything I want to tell, to all channels? Am I writing for Hallmark? For Netflix? Sometimes I don't know. I'm somewhere in between. I can make my script a little fancier so it'll be on Netflix, but I don't want to go too far lest I get blocked by Hallmark. But when you write, you don't have to choose.
You submit your script to a production company, who pitches it to the networks and tells you how to adapt it to each network: Make these changes for Hallmark. For Netflix this one. But ultimately I write what's inside of me because that's the only formula I can truly follow. And if they like it and buy it, great. And if not, it's a shame, but I still enjoy it. I smile while I write my scripts.
What impact did the writers and actors strike have on Hollywood?
As a member of the Screenwriters Guild, I didn't present anything to the producers. But it allowed me to adapt the stories of my films into novels and go beyond the screen. That's why I write both novels that can be turned into films and films that can be turned into novels, because I love this genre. You may be wondering how it is possible to release so many new films this year despite the strikes.
Many broadcasters collect scripts years in advance. Someone could buy my script now and only bring it to the screen in two years.
So I heard that they went to their reservations and the actors got exemptions, they were allowed to do low-budget films. That's why you're seeing all those Christmas movies again this year.
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Since her first film, Karen Schaler has also written books that bring her worlds to the screen.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Andréa Alvarenga, courtesy of Karen Schaler
What do your former colleagues think about your new job?
People from my former life as a journalist and war correspondent tease me because I'm now writing about Christmas. But it's a big responsibility! People anticipate Christmas every year. We've barely left the pandemic behind us when something so dark awaits us. It seems that at the end of the year it is a way to escape it. I get asked all the time if I'll ever write anything else… I love romantic comedies because that's what I grew up with. These are the stories I love. There is also something special about writing about Christmas. And I love that!
Karen Schaler's text has been translated and shortened for easier readability.