Vince Vaughn is ‘Fred Claus,’ Santa’s brother-from-hell
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“Fred Claus is a very unusual character. He’s both the antagonist and the protagonist,” states director David Dobkin. “You know he’s something of a troublemaker, but somehow you still find a way to root for him because he’s the one in the family who's been overlooked. He carries that pain, and, of course, there's comedy that comes from that pain.”
“Fred Claus” marks the third collaboration for Dobkin and Vaughn. The two previously worked together on the 1998 dark comedy "Clay Pigeons" and the hit 2005 comedy "Wedding Crashers." "The first thing that attracted me to this project was the chance to work with David again," says Vaughn. "We've already done two films together, and I really like his sensibilities. David's got the whole package. He's great with the camera; he's great with the actors; he's got a great sense of story; and he's got a tireless work ethic. He's also very in touch with a childlike imagination that drives his creativity."
“I needed somebody who could provide an emotional performance and, at the same time, keep the comedy flowing. Vince is both a great actor and a great comedian; I knew he could do both,” asserts Dobkin.
“When we were developing the script, we always had Vince’s voice in mind,” screenwriter Jessie Nelson says. “We knew that Vince could be a guy who could be naughty and say irreverent things and shake things up. But, he also needed to be someone you could still love. You love Fred for the part of him that isn't evolved and makes mistakes, but he's trying; he's got such a big heart. Vince can take a very flawed character, an anti-hero, and make him lovable.”
“Every year around the holidays, Santa Claus is everywhere—in shopping malls, parades and on television. Santa really gets around. But what about his lesser-known brother Fred? I know that Santa's the more famous one, but let me tell you something: Fred's got a lot to offer,” says Vaughn.
“Fred is Santa’s older brother who became completely overshadowed by Santa Claus’s astounding career achievements. There have been many movies made about Santa, so we made ‘Fred Claus’ to shine a little overdue light on Fred,” Dobkin smiles.
“Fred is trying to get some financial security in his life, but his goal is to make money and not have to work for it,” states Vaughn. “When we first meet Fred, he hasn’t seen his brother, Santa, in years. Still, to get out of a bind, Fred doesn’t hesitate to hit Santa up. On some levels Santa wants to reconnect with his older brother, so Santa agrees to help but on the condition that Fred come to the North Pole and earn the money he needs by working in Santa’s workshop.”
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