IX – ‘Bad Santa’

This is the deepest dive into Bad Santa that you’ll find anywhere. The “Santa” that made it into theatres – and conned its way onto DVD and streaming services – is an imposter, with the cut approved by director Terry Zwigoff hidden away (at the North Pole), only to be quietly released years later. Brad and Chad take a look at this overlooked Director’s Cut, comparing its structure, tone, themes, and approach to comedy to the theatrical release, revealing one of the most criminal examples of studio manipulation in movie history.

Show Notes:

Terry Zwigoff discusses the Bad Santa Director’s Cut:
https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/terry-zwigoff-talks-battling-over-bad-santa-his-preferred-directors-cut-much-more-in-candid-interview-250073/

Pearl clutching over Bad Santa ads in 2003:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-11-21-0311210371-story.html

Snowflakes at Fox News were offended by the movie:
https://www.foxnews.com/story/bad-bad-santa

Roger Ebert’s review:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bad-santa-2003

Member Berries:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_Berries 

Script for Bad Santa:
https://imsdb.com/scripts/Bad-Santa.html

Music by Uncle Dave: http://www.mp3forkidz.com/xmas/

Email the Show: thecinematictangent@gmail.com

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Chad Michael Van Alstin

Chad Van Alstin is an award-winning writer and multimedia content producer, with a professional background in journalism, marketing, and public relations. He holds a BA from Virginia Tech, with an educational focus in mass communication, philosophy, and film studies.

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