"Red One" Writer Chris Morgan Rescues Kidnapped Santa in Yuletide Actioner

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. You know what that means? Christmas isn’t too far behind. So make sure you’re on Santa’s “nice list” to join the Christmas cheer.

But Santa has been kidnapped and must return to the North Pole in order to deliver gifts to millions of children and save Christmas. This is the story of Christmas spy action thriller Red One, penned by Chris Morgan, best known for writing the Fast and Furious films who spoke with Creative Screenwriting Magazine about his love of action movies and Christmas.

The idea of rescuing Santa originated from producer Hiram Garcia on the set of Hobbs & Shaw. Garcia serves as president of Seven Bucks productions co-founded by Dwayne Johnson.

“Imagine that Santa is protected by the Head of Secret Service and something goes wrong. He gets kidnapped and it’s a DEFCON 1 situation. Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) has to get him back and team up with the person he hates the most, a naughty lister.” Callum begrudgingly partners with bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), the world’s best hacker who unwittingly revealed Santa’s top secret location to the highest bidder.

The idea clicked immediately with Chris Morgan and he and Hiram Garcia pitched the idea to Dwayne Johnson, who had previously discussed his interest in doing a Christmas movie with Hiram. Dwayne was very soon onboard.

Building The Mythological World

The North Pole is protected under the auspices of M.O.R.A (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) to monitor events in the mythological world. E.L.F. (Enforcement, Logistics and Fortification) is run by Callum Drift and overseen by M.O.R.A, which is run by Zoe (Lucy Liu) who keeps tabs on everything – think M in the Bond franchise.

“M.O.R.A’s purview is to protect us from the mythological world, but more importantly, protect the mythological world from us. We tend to be the damaging influences as humans,” says Morgan.

The dynamic of a mismatched odd couple cop story has been seen many times on screen. Two bickering characters are forced to work together, but they tolerate each other knowing that they won’t have to see each other again after the case concludes. Jack and Callum follow a similar dynamic. Chris Morgan likens these characters to Butch And Sundance.

“There’s a pairing of two people who are distinctively different, but they’re each amazing in their own way. Even if they don’t get along, the audience wants them to.”

A mismatched combo gives them an energy to do things with
Callum is built like a mountain but is warm, endearing, and eminently trustworthy. He’s Santa’s consigliere; his right hand man. Jack is a mercenary who will work for anybody, but is loyal to nobody. Notably, he’s on Santa’s naughty list. Callum and Jack are both headstrong and inevitably clash at every turn. Santa is more than hearty belly laughs. He’s a weathered warrior who’ll fight to save Christmas and even try to make amends with his brother.

A Very Fast And Furious Christmas

With the main characters including evil sorceress Grýla (Kieran Shipka) and Santa’s estranged half-brother Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) who want the naughty kids punished, Morgan went to work to deliver a screenplay to capture the excitement of the pitch. The core concept is so vivid, it was easy for the collaborators to quickly get on the same page.

“It walked through a three-act structure. There was the distinctive setting off on the mission, the distinctive low point, and the resolution,” mentions Morgan. The main script changes were to add depth to Jack O’Malley’s character.

Despite the eye-popping visual effects in Red One, the screenwriter was always cognizant of grounding the Santa story. He kept asking the following questions in each scene:

What is the hurdle this character has to get over?
What is the journey that they have to go on?
What do they need to learn in this movie?”
And then you make the challenges for them getting there difficult.

Chris Morgan forged his movie tastes in the video era. “I love action movies starting with Raiders of Lost Ark at the very top of the mountain. I tend to see movies, not only in terms of character and their inner struggle, but also how do we show the outer struggle. Typically that comes in the form of action.”

Morgan researched various characters and traditions that constitute Christmas lore with characters such as Grýla and Krampus. He didn’t position anything as better or worse. “Everyone’s beliefs are valid – good and right. We have a wealth of historical stories, touchstones, monsters and characters and things to build on.” Once he introduced the world, Red One continues as a character journey.

Director Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: The Next Level) opted for the tone of a “hard-bitten cop story. All the bureaucratic headaches and things they have to deal with in delivering billions of presents around the world in one night.”

“You ground the movie with that logistical stuff and then let the action be the thing that lifts it or the actualizer; the thing that makes toys real,” continues Morgan.

Writing Red One

Chris Morgan likes to plan ahead while he’s writing.

“I always imagine when I set out to write a movie that I am now a year or two in the future and I’m sitting in the theater with the audience. What do I want them to be experiencing in that scene and in that moment? Where do I want them to gasp with a surprise? Or where do I want them to laugh because these guys just can’t get it together?”

Morgan is a heavy story outliner. This is essential in a plot-heavy script like Red One, where the needs of the story are carefully according to lore, character, and action.

At the heart of Red One lies a story of hope. “Even though times can seem very dark, if you remember to look for it, you can see the light in the people around you, and maybe find it back within yourself,” ponders the screenwriter.

“When I knew that the message of this movie was going to be hope despite the odds, bleakness and darkness, and Callum not able to see or believe that you can’t see the kid in everybody anymore… it’s still there. We just have to look for it.”

"I really wanted to write a movie that gave audiences something to go home with."