JERSEY SHORE – Have you ever wondered what happened next for Ebenezer Scrooge after his epiphany about the spirit of Christmas and what matters most in life?
A New Jersey filmmaker is exploring that premise with “Ebenezer The Traveler” a film that premiered on Apple+TV on December 6. It will also be available on Amazon Prime and over a dozen streaming services.
Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Joe Valenti’s holiday drama which he described as a charming family holiday film written by Leland R. Prater that stars Jerry Parisi, Amanda Rae Dodson, Leland R. Prater, Michael Bertolini, Austen Shane, Emily Jeanne Phillips, Christopher Brian Roach and Lou Martini Jr.
The movie was directed, filmed, edited and produced by Valenti, a Toms River resident who heads Valenti Vision Films.
Following the merriest Christmas day of Ebenezer Scrooge’s long and miserable life, the day after finds him much less merry, and instead much more dead. Reunited with his old partner Jacob Marley, a no longer quite so Tiny Tim, and his beloved sister Fan, together they are tasked with earning their own redemptions, and regaining Scrooge’s second chance, by crossing over time and the mortal plane to help guide others who are in danger of losing their way.
Their first journey leads them to modern day Oklahoma, and into the life of a young singer doing her best to support what family she has left. Angel Lynn dreams of something better, but sometimes dreams can turn into nightmares. Bound under the thumb of a ruthless manager she finds herself forced into a situation where one wrong decision could ruin everything and cost them all dearly. Ebenezer, Fan, Jacob, and Tiny Tim must work as if their souls depend upon it to save her before time runs out because they do.
Valenti noted, “what I love about this story is that it is not another reboot or remake of ‘A Christmas Carol.’ It is a continuation of the Dickens classic which will explore what happens next for Ebenezer Scrooge. We have an opportunity to learn so much more about these classic characters.”
Filmmaker Joe Valenti of Toms River joins cast members of “Ebenezer the Traveler” a film that premiered on Apple+TV on December 6. (Photo courtesy Valenti Vision Films)
“Ebenezer the Traveler” has screened in many festivals across the country in recent months and has picked up numerous awards including Best Family Feature, Best Actor and Best Costume Awards.
Valenti said Jerry Parisi, who plays Scrooge in the films “came up with the concept (for the sequel). He had been playing Scrooge at various festivals, fairs and private parties for 15 years. He came up with the idea and met with our writer and they are the ones who started the process seven or eight years ago. They did a concept video before I was even involved.”
“I don’t know if the rights have already fallen into public domain. There have been tons of remakes and retellings of the same story over and over again. That is what appealed to me. We are not doing a remake or retelling; we are continuing where they left off,” he added.
He noted, “there are so many characters that are brushed over in the book that you don’t know much of their back story. Scrooge is the only one people really know and the three ghosts in the book.”
The original story doesn’t touch on what happened with the other relatives so the film can delve further into that, he said.
“We started filming in January and ended a week before the SAG strike started, which was at the end of April or May,” he explained. They filmed over the course of four months, working around everyone’s schedule and shooting Friday, Saturday, Sunday or on a holiday weekend. “We filmed in Toms River, we used the Grunin Theater at Ocean County College, where the concert is set toward the end, and downtown Toms River for some of the outside shots.”
Other locations included Hopewell, a historic area of Staten Island and Long Island. “We also went to Oklahoma and filmed a bunch of scenes there. We shot some of the drone shots there. We shot on the same street as “Killers of the Flower Moon.” They built all those sets and that is what we used for some of the outdoor Oklahoma stuff,” Valenti added.
Valenti was born in Brick Township. “I was there until I was 25 and moved to Old Bridge for 15 or 16 years and for the past seven years, I’ve lived in Toms River so a life-long Jersey resident. My company does film and TV production but we do commercials and sports productions “corporate stuff in the city. It is all TV and production related and those jobs pay the bills. I’ve had movies in the past that have been on Netflix and late-night films on ABC.”
Toms River Filmmaker Joe Valenti directs a scene of “A Christmas Carol” sequel that was produced by his production company. (Photo courtesy Valenti Vision Films)
“When this project came up I said, ‘this is great.’ I loved the concept, the story, they had a lot of the costumes already so it all fell together. For this film we had a large cast and many locations which goes against the grain of a smaller budget film,” Valenti added.
Valenti is looking forward to the holiday season even more now and said “we are already talking to investors about doing a sequel.”
The motion picture was produced on a modest, independent budget of roughly $80,000. The film’s theme song, “How I Missed You Christmas” was written by Valenti and performed by Emily Jeanne Phillips. It is available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and dozens of other music streaming platforms. The full motion picture soundtrack was released on the same platforms.
Other producers include Jerry Parisi, Joann Sciascia-Parisi, Leland R Prater, Todd Slater, Amanda Rae Dodson and executive produced by Jerry Parisi, Joann Sciascia Parisi, Joe Valenti, Leland R. Prater. Gravitas Ventures Acquisitions Manager Mackenzie Maguire negotiated the deal with Producer Todd Slater of Convoke Media on behalf of the filmmakers.
“Gravitas is excited to be bringing Ebenezer the Traveler to North American audiences this holiday season. This fun twist and continuation on the Ebenezer Scrooge story is the perfect Christmas watch that the whole family can enjoy,” Gravitas Ventures Manager Mackenzie Maguire said.
Gravitas is a leading all rights distributor of independent feature films and documentaries. Founded in 2006, the firm connects independent filmmakers and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe.
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