‘A Christmas Story’ star Peter Billingsley said the sequel is also ‘a love letter to the Old Man’
Billingsley says that the film, which was in development for nearly four years, had to get the right"tone" and recognize that Ralphie's family is far from perfect. With"the resources" that the new film had, he says they were able to re-create a lot of the familiar sets from the original film, including Ralphie's family home and the home of the Bumpus family, owners of the turkey-devouring dog herd.
"To get those details right was such an important aspect to us that all those pieces had to align ... to have the story right," he explains.Peter Billingsley in 2018."A Christmas Story" was originally based on the 1966 book"In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" by Jean Shepherd, who narrated the 1983 film.
Billingsley won't reveal much about the new film's plot except to emphasize that Ralphie may be grown up,"but he's still a dreamer." It's a production he thinks McGavin would have appreciated. Regardless, Billingsley himself is proud of Ralphie's adventures. "It's not something I could have run from, had I chosen to," he says."And so it’s certainly something that I welcome."