Producers of Christmas movies love to set their sappy stories in snowy Vermont, but they rarely film in the real place.
Christmas Cowboy, released in mid-November, is an exception. The movie follows a New York City real estate developer who returns to her hometown of Jericho on a business trip. There she reconnects with her estranged family and childhood crush, who has grown up to run an equestrian therapy center.
The syrupy holiday flick was filmed last year almost entirely in the Green Mountain State, including at the Opera House at Enosburg Falls, Fell-Vallee Dressage and the Ellis Inn in Colchester, the Green Mountain Equestrian Center in Jericho, the DoubleTree by Hilton in South Burlington, and Hinterland Bride and Kru Coffee in Burlington.
Astute viewers might even recognize a few familiar Vermont faces on-screen. Students from Enosburg Falls and Richford made cameos as extras — as did comedian Mike Thomas and a certain unwittingly cast Seven Days reporter. (Find the back of my head in the bottom-left corner during the Christmas ball scene, roughly an hour in.)
Spanglish Media, a Miami production company that aims to increase Hispanic representation in media, produced the movie with a roughly $250,000 budget. The film is already streaming on platforms such as Apple TV+, YouTube TV and Prime Video. Vermonters can also see the movie on a big screen at the Opera House at Enosburg Falls on Friday, December 20, complete with a red carpet.
“I’m trying to make it as Hollywood as possible,” said Shayna Sherwood, the movie’s casting director and associate producer.
Sherwood grew up in Vermont and now splits her time between the Franklin County town of Berkshire and Los Angeles. She’s worked as casting director for several Nickelodeon TV shows and assisted in casting for the likes of HBO’s “The Newsroom,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “High School Musical 4.”
While Christmas Cowboy had a lower budget than the productions Sherwood typically works on, she views the movie as part of a broader effort to attract more film productions to the state. Vermont rarely hosts film shoots, largely due to the absence of tax incentives for filming. Sherwood would like to see that change, arguing that movie productions can boost small-town economies through spending on accommodations, food and other local services.
“You film at the Opera House, that’s extra money for this little place that needs money to keep going,” Sherwood told Seven Days on set at the Opera House last January. “You film in the town of Richford, that helps the local bakery. It helps the hairdressers.”
A March survey by the New York Times found that states have doled out more than $25 billion in filming incentives over the past two decades, with questionable return on investment. Michigan, for instance, ended its incentive program in 2015 after the state economist determined it was a revenue loser.
Still, the lack of tax incentives in Vermont hasn’t deterred everyone. Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic Beetlejuice was partially filmed in East Corinth, and the crew returned to the town in 2023 to film the sequel. In 2008, Rutland filmmaker David Giancola produced the rare Hallmark Christmas movie actually filmed in Vermont: Moonlight & Mistletoe, shot in Chester, where the movie takes place.
Christmas Cowboy, written by and starring social media influencer Eliana Ghen, was originally set in an unnamed, generic small town, Sherwood said. An actor in the film who grew up skiing in Stowe suggested they film in Vermont, and the unnamed town was reimagined as Jericho.
The result is a film that doesn’t feel particularly tied to Vermont, aside from an unconvincing green license plate and a brief mention of icy roads. The love interest’s cowboy hat and jean jacket seem more suited to Texas than New England.
Meanwhile, the movie’s villain, a competing real estate developer, has some harsh words for Vermont.
“The big difference I see between you and me? I came to this trashy town. I wasn’t raised in it,” she tells the lead as the two battle for a development deal —valued at an objectively high $1.2 billion — to build a resort in Jericho.
That dis didn’t stop Vermonters from getting excited about the feature. Back in January, about 50 people packed into the Opera House at Enosburg Falls, which was decked out in Christmas décor for the filming of a debutante ball.
Aubrianna Mayette, 16, of Shelburne, missed school for the day to be an extra who acted as a waiter. A musical theater enthusiast, she jumped at the chance to see what a movie set was like — and was surprised to get the opportunity in her home state.
“It was a little shocking,” she said. “You don’t usually hear movies being filmed up in Franklin County.”
Holden Latimer, 10, came with her mom from Alburgh. Latimer had a line in the movie: “Oh, my God, look! The horse is skipping!” She said her dream is to become an actress, and this was a promising start.
“I was very, very excited,” she said of getting a speaking role.
Sherwood hopes Vermonters will have more opportunities to act in movies filmed locally, including those with bigger budgets. She’s building a database of local talent and plans to host workshops for bridal hair and makeup artists, teaching them to translate their skills to on-screen looks.
While Vermont may not be able to outbid big cities, Sherwood argues that the state offers something money can’t buy.
“In New York or LA, a lot of people are jaded. Folks are less excited when there’s a film crew and they can’t park where they normally park,” Sherwood said. “Here, there’s a magic to it still.”
Updated December 12, 2024: An earlier version of this story misnamed Fell-Vallee Dressage in Colchester.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Once Upon a Stable | Locally filmed Christmas Cowboy tips its hat to Vermont”
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.
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