Santa's Clause
A disgruntled mall Santa carries his frustration of Christmas materialism a little too far.
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Daniel HooperDirector
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Daniel HooperWriter
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Daniel HooperProducer
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R. Alan IngallsProducer
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Ralph Sides Jr.Key Cast"Bruce Jennings"
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Hailey Wynne MorganKey Cast"Priscilla Jackson"
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Trevor YarbroughKey Cast"Terry Snider"
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Vera McGavockKey Cast"Child 1"
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Bentley James IngallsKey Cast"Child 2"
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Harrison WrightKey Cast"Child 3"
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Everleigh Brooke IngallsKey Cast"Child 4"
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Daniel HooperKey Cast"Narrator"
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R. Alan IngallsCinematographer
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R. Alan IngallsEditor
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Comedy
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Runtime:7 minutes 6 seconds
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Completion Date:November 23, 2023
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Country of Origin:United States, United States
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Country of Filming:United States, United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Hub City Film FestivalJackson, Tennessee
United States
September 26, 2024
Official Selection
Daniel Hooper is a writer and 'edutainer' from Dyersburg, Tennessee. He has been a classroom educator since 1987 and was a touring stand up comedian from 1989 until 2000. He also wrote the comedy/spiritual novel, 'Seven Days with the Hypocrites'. That novel was the inspiration for his eight episode sitcom, 'The Hypocrites'. From that series Daniel wrote and directed four short films and an additional eight shorts that were co-produced, filmed and edited by The Attention Company. Daniel's screenplay writing style was influenced by shows such as Arrested Development , Everybody Hates Chris and My Name is Earl. These shows have a narrator or narration as part of the script and story flow. His ambition is to make art that creates laughter and provokes thought.
I chose to write and direct 'Santa's Claus' to bring attention to the materialism of Christmas and how unknowingly it can become the focal point of the Christmas season. Once I heard a mother tell her greedy seven year old daughter, "You only get three things because that's all Jesus got." That stuck with me and I wanted to convey that message through an agitated Santa and his ditsy helper. The Jesus birth story read at the end by cast and crew was a reminder of what "You only get three things' was about.