Talking A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story Family (00:00)
It didn't really hit home until I saw all the fans that were there. You know, I want you guys to know that we've never actually had this conversation before, so you guys are getting the first. Running around that hotel being a kid, you know, getting into trouble. Oh my God, your son looks just like you when you were in the movie. Did you get into trouble without me knowing? It means making a sweater, but not just any sweater. It's a pink bunny sweater with earmuffs included. Deal or no deal?

Welcome back to Talking a Christmas Story with the cast, the podcast that is as cozy or frightening as a pair of pink bunny pajamas on Christmas morning. I'm Yano, your host, and today's episode is a special one. It's about sharing a part of my life that's deeply personable and incredibly meaningful. For the first time, I'm peeling back some layers to reveal a story that's been tucked away in my heart for a long time. It's a story about family bonding and the magic that ties us all together, and that magic,

is pure love. And who better to share this journey with than my son, Giovanni. To his friends, he's known as Jovo, and to his family, he's known as Jojo. So buckle up, everyone. We're about to take a sleigh ride through some memories, laughter, and a whole lot of magical moments.

Before we dive into our story, I wanna take a moment to thank our incredible A Christmas Story Inner Circle community. Your stories, your passion, and your love for A Christmas Story have turned this group into a family. From chatting with cast members to sharing your own holiday traditions, you've made this more than just a fan group, you've made it a home that feels safe. And for those who haven't joined us yet, I invite you to try our 30 -day trial at acrismastoryvip .com.

It's a place where the spirit of the movie lives on all year round. And here's what some of our members actually have to say. This is Nick C, an ACS Inner Circle member. He says, love, love, love, being in the Inner Circle. I've never thought in a million years that I would be on a Zoom chat with Grover Dill and Flick and actually chatting with them. Not to mention other Zoom calls with other cast members. Yano Anaya and Emmanuel Soba put so much time and effort and love into this ACF, which makes it feel like a real family.

This is the only group around that's ran by the cast of the Christmas Story movie, and you are not going to find another group like it. This one's from Joshua Klein C. Another ACS Inner Circle member shares, I love the Inner Circle. Chatting with other members and the actors is a real treat. Getting inside scoop and advanced notice of upcoming events and promises and promos is priceless to me. Also, members sharing their cherished collectibles and recent purchases is amazing.

And there are so many more heartwarming stories and experiences shared by our members. It is truly a privilege to be a part of this community. Just the other day, I was scrolling through a Christmas story family community, which by the way, you all have made into an incredible space. And I stumbled upon a post from Chris Williamson and Chris shared a side -by -side photo of Peter Billingsley, our beloved Ralphie and Gene Shepherd, the genius behind our story and the resemblance.

Maybe the ears and the glasses, but that's my take. So Chris mentioned that Shepard once said Billingsley was chosen not just for his acting skills, but because he was a spitting image of Shepard as a kid. And looking at these images as well, as we have all aged, maybe as children they look a lot like, but today, not so much. I mean, what do you think? Does the passage of time only strengthen their resemblance or not? Drop your thoughts in the comments. I'm reading them all, and I'd love to hear your take.

your insights are like the hidden decoder pins of our community. And while we're sharing, who do you think should guest star on our podcast next? It doesn't have to be a cast member, so get creative. Maybe someone who's lived a Christmas story in their own town, or even someone who behind the scenes that has tales we've yet to uncover. Plus tell me what topics you'd like to learn or explore. Do you want more behind the scenes secrets, fan stories, or something entirely new? Your input is invaluable.

It's the secret ingredient to the special blend of nostalgia and celebration. We brew here every single episode. Now let's shift gears and open up the album of memories. Today, we're not just talking about a movie, we're talking about a legacy that spanned generations. A legacy that my son, Giovanni, has been a part of since he was a little guy. So without further ado, let's welcome Giovanni to the show.

Giovanni, it is an honor to have you here. Sharing this moment with me and all of our listeners, it does mean a lot. It really does mean a lot to me. So, kind of dive into this. What I want to ask is like, tell us all, like the earliest connection to a Christmas story that you've had, when did that all start for you in your life? If you can like, you know, think way back to when the first couple of times that it actually,

came to you about a Christmas? Well, first off, it's kind of unavoidable. I mean, it's on 24 hours of Christmas. So there's that. I already knew that you were part of the movie and my grandma always told me about that. But once I got into like elementary and middle school, like my grandma would give me.

a signed copy of the movie to give to my classmates and we'd watch it every Christmas together so it was a pretty big deal my early years of it. That was like one of the biggest memories I remember it was pretty fun gave me a lot of popularity as a kid you know having a famous movie star dad you know but um yeah that was the earliest memories I could think of.

of a Christmas story that was probably the most impactful to me. It was really fun, you know, having that experience as a kid. Right on. So with that experience, I'm sure it brings a lot of emotions or like how to process that and how to deal with that. And, you know, I mean, I can remember back when I was in junior high school and being

noticed or known for a Christmas story and you know some stuff being as a movie star what that did for me I'd like to learn a bit from you like how that made you feel you know how did like what was the emotions that you had behind what all all of that did for you.

Um, I mean, it really just made me feel proud. I mean, just to know that you were in a movie and I don't know, it just, it kind of gave me a sense of, uh, just being proud. I don't know. I don't really know how to put it, you know, it was, uh,

Yeah, it was a pretty cool experience, as I get it. We're going to kind of fast forward in his experience of A Christmas Story. So we're going to go all the way to the 20th, 25th anniversary. So we're actually fast forwarding to Cleveland. And this was in 2006, the renaming of the streets, the ribbon cutting, the mayor was there. And it was just like, I remember it was just a...

Sea of fans. It was a madhouse down there, but we also got to stay in the original hotel That I and the cast stayed in when we were actually filming the movie. So that was really cool for me Having my family stay there with us at the hotel where we actually were to begin with and then Seeing the ribbon -cutting and just seeing all the fans. So I want you to describe to all the fans like What what was that experience for you? Like?

being there at 10 years old and having that experience with your pops. That was like the first big experience I would say, because I mean like, you know, I always knew you were like, I wouldn't say like a famous movie star in my mind. I mean, you know, being young, it was like, you know, my dad's a movie star. So it was like a pretty big thing, but like, it didn't really hit home until I saw all the fans that were there and the house that was built and all the commotion around it was.

A little overwhelming to be honest as a kid. I didn't even know how to like take it in. It was just like, it was crazy. It was like on a whole new level. Like, I mean, like you were like a movie star to me before then, but then after that I was like, damn, my dad's like a celebrity. Like it was, it was crazy.

and seeing how passionate the fans were about it and them meeting me they were like they were excited to meet me and I'm like I don't even I was I was like I don't even know you like I don't even know what was going on but these people were so happy to even meet me.

And yeah, it was a pretty crazy experience. I almost felt like I had a little fame going on even just as a little kid. I felt famous almost. But yeah, and seeing the house before, like when it first opened for everybody, you really got to go in and see everything. You got to get a little private tour of it and check everything out. And that was really cool because it was like spot on to the movie. I felt like I was walking onto the set of the movie. So yeah, I'm like just being in each room, I could just remember each scene from each movie.

East part of the movie and it was pretty surreal to see that. It was pretty awesome. And yeah, being at that hotel that you guys were at as a kid, I mean honestly that was one of the biggest memories to me was just running around that hotel being a kid, getting into trouble.

Just with the other kids that were there too, it was really fun. And there was that mall that was connected to it too, so that was pretty cool. You know, it was just a lot of adventures as a kid, so. And that was like one of my first times, I mean, like I would go out of town and visit family and everything, but that was like my first time being out of town and kind of being by myself at times, you know, because you were off doing signings and stuff and I would just be hanging out with a couple kids and just running around causing havoc.

Does that sound familiar? That's so crazy to hear you express what your experience was because I want you guys to know that we've never actually had this conversation before. So you guys are getting the first deep conversation that my son and I actually had about that experience of what he had. And everything that he just said, it made it real. It was overwhelming.

That was my first experience, which you probably guys have heard me say a lot of times, maybe you haven't yet, but you know, the first experience that I had in 2006 when I went to my first convention.

It was overwhelming. Like I met over 3000 fans over the weekend. It was just, it was a lot. And I didn't realize how embedded this movie was. And for him to have a very similar experience, I mean, that's pretty fricking cool. And then what he just said about causing havoc in the hotel and you know, the mall being attached to it. You guys have probably heard all of us talk about how much fun we had playing hide and go seek way back when that mall was abandoned, like literally.

It was just a huge space for us to create havoc. So that was very cool. Awesome. So anything else that you wanna, anything else that resonated or like, you know, that really stuck out to you back in those days as a memory that has sunk in forever? Did you get into trouble without me knowing?

No, I mean like there would be times where they'd be like, hey, quit running or something like that. Or like if anything like actually came up, I'd be like, I'm one of the stars of the movie Sun. So, you know, I kind of like get a little pass for that sometimes. Right on.

Yeah, and then I remember I wanted to get a Red Ryger BB gun, which super bad like that was 10. So I was like, yeah, I was like one of my main things I wanted to get so bad and my grandma was like, she was pretty against it. She didn't really want me to have any guns. But I ended up getting one eventually. But yeah, so yeah, that was a fun time. And you know, if you guys remember the 40th anniversary, we have a 40th anniversary dedicated BB gun that actually has a logo on it. And

out.

I got him one that has his birth date 416. I'm sorry. Yeah, 416th month in the date. Not the year though. So 416th gun that was produced is actually his. And, you know, I don't know if you guys know this, but this is a connection that Peter Billingsley and Giovanni has is they have the same birthday. Pretty cool, right? Yeah. Pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay, cool. So let's go ahead and, and, and

And fast forward again to the next time that we are reunited. So now we're talking about 16 years later, right? So we're talking about back in 2006, that whole extravaganza that happened, and then 2022. So I had invited you out to LA to come visit the cast and myself. And what was that all about?

So that was for the private showing of Christmas Story Christmas before it was released on HBO. And they were just showing it to the cast and everything for that'll happen. We got to go to Legendary Studios to go see that. And that was really cool.

Super cool like they had all these props and stuff from the movies I did for me and Yeah, just finally getting to meet Peter Billingsley for the first time and RD because I never met them before they never came to the signings when I was a kid, but uh Yeah, that was really cool and just getting to see the movie in private that was I felt like it was just like you know special service like it was just cool getting a little good the snacks before and everything It was pretty cool

And then after, there's another thing too, is when last time I saw Zach and all the rest of the cast members, I was really young and me and Zach have been pretty close too. And like when I finally got to interact with him as an adult and just talk to him about life and everything. And we got to go to dinner afterwards and it was just me and my dad and Zach and his wife and...

Yeah, it was just really cool life stories that I got to hear from Zach that I never heard before, because, I mean, obviously I was a little too young to hear some of the things, but it was very, very surreal for that too, to be able to talk to everybody as an adult. And it was funny too, because last time I saw him, I was like, yay, hi, even shorter than Scotty.

And now I'm towering over him, it's funny. But yeah, it was a really cool experience. Right, so I want you guys to know that you guys are getting a sneak peek into all these experiences because we're just peeling back the layers. We're just talking about certain parts of our lives and our experiences with each other. And this is all about...

you know, us reuniting after many years. So, you know, what you guys have probably seen in the post that I put, it's a boy, right? Well, there's a little bit more to that, you know what I mean? But we will disclose that at a later time. But this is the one that ended back up in my life again. And so, you know, we have a lot in common. We have...

a lot of learning and growing with each other still as father and son. And so, you know, he he was raised and lived in Las Vegas his whole life. And so now we have this chance to reunite and connect. And so, you know, I.

I'm going to ask you a serious question. You can open up as much as you want to. It's really up to you. I know that we like to keep a lot of our lives private. Obviously, everybody does. But there's some nuggets that will be in there that I'm sure people will love to learn about.

you and there's continuous learning about me and the cast and all the things that we have done during our lifetime but you know this is one thing that's very very very special to me it's very close to me obviously he's my son and so um

I know that moving, making that decision, moving from your friends, moving from that area that you have lived with, you know, your entire life was not an easy choice. And I do respect that a lot. So, you know, changing the environment is a big change. So, you know, I just want to ask like, what really motivated you to want to change the environment and you know, what is it that you actually look forward to in the future?

Yeah, I mean, you know, living in one place your whole life kind of makes you want to leave at some point, you know, I mean, there are some people that just are content with living in one corner of the life, their little world for the whole life, you know, but I still wanted to move, you know, venture out from Vegas at some point. And we already talked prior about me moving out here to Atlanta with you and it just, you know, things kind of worked out and uh,

Yeah, there's a lot, a lot of really big positive opportunities here to, you know, create the person I want to be. And, uh, one of the main things that is really cool was living with someone who's very fitness and health orientated. I mean, I've been into fitness for.

a lot of years now and it's kind of like a big thing of our family to be honest. I mean, his mom, my grandma, she's been into yoga and fitness and health ever since I've known her. So it's been a big part of my life and you know, nobody's ever like.

forced me to do that. I remember he wanted me to go to the gym with him when I was like a little kid. I was like, nah, I'm trying to go out and play, do other things as a little kid. But as I've grown older, I've realized the importance of it. And just living with someone who is very fitness -orientated and very healthy food, goes to the gym almost every day, it's hard to be lacking in that. So I'm definitely getting my...

my health and my fitness life in order. And I mean, that sets up a lot of opportunities for you to, you know, create the rest of your life too. You know, if you have health and fitness in check, then.

A lot of other things seem to come easier, that's for sure. But yeah, there's just a lot of opportunities out here living with this guy over here. It would just be really good opportunities. So I'm just excited to see where it goes.

It is a, it's something that's been on my heart, my mind for many years. I mean, every time, you know, I go to the gym, cause you guys know I've been, I've been talking about health and fitness for a long time. I've been into this thing we call working out, being healthy and doing the things for your body to keep your mind straight as long as possible. You know what I mean? It's like, so I've been doing this for a long time and being able to share, you know, my experiences and my knowledge because.

I have a deep background in...

food and human nutrition and exercise science and all that fun stuff and to be able to share that with you and watch your character, your personality, your mind, your body, your spirit develop into who you want to be. Because we can all say, look, I'm trying to find my path and I really want to understand who I am, what my purpose is and what I love to do. And sometimes it takes people a lifetime to be able to do that. And sometimes people never do that.

Being able to find out who they are. So being in a place in an environment that's conducive to allowing you to be your free spirit and be who you are and what you want to do and focus on you is a blessing. It really is to be able to have that. And so, you know, being able to give that to you at this point in time in my life is amazing and being able to share that with...

tens of thousands if not millions people will watch this this podcast about the relationship between you know yano and i and jovani and i aka grover dill and mini me over here because i gotta tell you kind of back it up to an experience that and i know that a couple of you guys um had even mentioned when i had posted you know it's a boy and then i kind of revealed that this is the boy that i'm talking about was a couple of you said oh my god he's a grown man i remember meeting him or seeing him back

in Cleveland when he was 10. And in my mind I'm thinking, oh my God, that's 16 years ago, or even almost 17 years ago. It's crazy to think that you guys have been in this.

world and this realm with us cast members for that long and watching us grow because you know the true nature is is that we all get older and one day you know it's going to be him sitting here doing this not me because I'm not going to be here anymore you know and the whole point is to keep this legacy going on long after all of the cast is gone right so we're taking advantage of every moment that we have to be present with you guys and and building something so that it can last for much longer than you know other movies.

that's kind of fade away and nobody remembers, right? So that's the whole point. But, you know, having that experience of seeing a fan post inside of that post that they remember him from back in those days is amazing. And then also remembering that a lot of fans were like, oh my God, your son looks just like you when you were in the movie, right? So, you know, it was very cool to see the, you know, the nostalgia of people. And of course he...

You know, now you guys know he felt the same surreal experiences of being like, God, this is.

crazy like I didn't I know my dad was a movie star but he's a celebrity you know and of course in my mind you know I'm a humble dude you guys know this and you know I don't I guess I have to accept that you know the Smiths the Smithsonian is actually called us national treasures right and to me that's kind of like wow that is amazing so again thanks to Gene Shepard and Bob Clark and the whole crew that made this movie

actually happened and everybody that paid for it. I mean, so everybody that's involved in the creation of what has gifted us this moment 40 years later, man, you know, there's a lot of love and a lot of respect for the whole process. So, you know, I want to ask you some personal questions and that's just because I want you to feel comfortable enough to answer if not.

That's great to say pass, it's not even a big deal, but I want to start with some cool questions that I think that would just allow the fans to kind of get to know you a little bit better. So first question I have is, everybody, every human has a story that shapes who they are. So.

Can you share with us any kind of defining moments in your life from your childhood that you think may have contributed to who you are today? And then I'll kind of reflect on that and I might even get my two cents as well. So any kind of pivotal moments, you know, in your life. And you can revolve it around the Christmas story as well. You know, I mean, it doesn't have to be anything that you don't want to disclose because, you know, sometimes we do have privacy, obviously. So.

I don't know, anything that you feel like is a defining moment in your life that has really contributed to who you are today? I wouldn't say a particular moment. It's more like a compilation of moments. So like for a long time, I'd say from like fourth, around fourth grade to almost...

Yeah, about like little past freshman year. I was just always I was a skater kid like I skated with all my friends and everything and I had a lot of uh, I know there weren't direct friends I would say they're more like acquaintances, but you know, I hanged with the group of a lot of degenerates you would say like a lot of just crazy kids, you know, they would just be doing a lot crazy and it was uh, it was more of a learning experience learning from their mistakes and seeing all the things.

things that the, what would go through, you know, and just seeing a lot of the bad would make me realize what the good could be, you know? Like, yeah, I guess that was just really what really came down to the person that I became to today was from learning from others' mistakes and seeing what not to do in life, so.

about that. We all can relate to that, right? I mean, the thing is, is that, you know, when you do learn from others mistakes, you still have to make your own mistakes to really kind of, you know, grow as a human being. So, you know, that's part of everybody's process, right? It's been mine too, big time part of my life.

So let's go ahead and get back into a couple other personal questions from Jojo. I'm just going to ask a couple more. So this is kind of a question that kind of stumps everybody. And so of course, life is always full of challenges and triumphs. So can you tell us about a particular challenge that you overcame that you remember that obviously has made you a more aware or stronger person today?

I would say dealing with change is the biggest thing because a lot of things have been constantly changing my life for the past five years or so. And it's been the biggest asset I've had is getting not I wouldn't say used to it. And used to it is one thing is it's being.

I mean like more prepared mentally and It's a little easier. I mean, I wouldn't say it gets easier. There's still changes that are definitely Shake your world sometimes, but it's it's uh It's kind of feel like you know, you've been through that before and you've you've overcome certain things before so Things that seem like they might be a big challenge

in reality it's your mind is your biggest enemy once it comes to that but it also could be your biggest friend once you have experience through those things so yeah let's say just overcoming adversity and changes and challenges is the biggest challenge I would say that I've overcome. Very well said.

And I'm sure that we can all kind of relate to that at some capacity. That's for sure. I know I can. OK, so we're going to kind of get in some fun here. So what we're going to do is we're going to play a little game. And that little game is called Dill or No Dill. And this is something I think is kind of hilarious. So I'm just going to ask him a question that's kind of crazy question off like in the left field. And he's just going to answer. Yeah, Dill.

No or no deal. So, all right. So, this is the first question, because it is time to, you know, let's just shake some things up here. So, all right. So first scenario, Grover Dill. So imagine the character in the movie decides to start a Christmas caroling service, but he only sings songs from the summer hit list, including surfing USA. Deal or no deal?

That would be a no deal. So why do you say that is? I mean, he's all about Christmas, man. It's not about summer. He's more focused on the winter chaos that he could cut. Too shit. Too shit. All right. So now how about this one? So Grover Dill takes up a new hobby. He's knitting and he's making a sweater.

but not just any sweater, it's a pink bunny sweater with ear muffs included. Deal or no deal? Deal. I think I can see him making that. Oh my God. All right, so next question. Gopher Dill decides to start his own cooking show called Cooking with Dill, where the secret ingredients always dill.

Dill or no Dill? That's a Dill. Why is that? I mean, it's got Dill in it. Of course he's going to be using Dill. That Dill guy, right? Gopher Dill becomes an entrepreneur and he launches a line of clones. The flagship scent is garbage can.

Deal or no deal? No deal. Yeah, who would buy that, right? Garbage can scent. Not a good one. So, well, I just want to say thank you for joining us today.

And being here for all of our listeners, because this is a first time, not only for me, but a first time for you, which we probably have a lot more times coming. So thank you for sharing your stories, your inner parts of your life. And so if there's anything else that you would like to inspire our fans with, now's your time. Inspiration. I mean, there's not really much I could say. I'm just really...

I'm very happy and thank you guys for letting me on. This is a very big honor to connect with the fans and everything and they finally get to see our relationship and everything. It's really cool. That's all I really said. Love you. Love you too. Love you too. Love you too son.

As our episode comes to a close, I want to leave you with this thought. The stories that we have shared today are more than just recollections. They are a testament to the bonds we forge with each passing year. A Christmas Story is not just a film. It is a piece of our collective heartbeats, a rhythm that we all share. So don't forget to subscribe, hit the bell for notifications, and visit acrismastoryvip .com to become part of our Inner Circle family. Until next time.

May your days be merry, your hearts be light, and may all your Christmases be just as bright as the one in Hammon, Indiana. Goodbye for now, you guys, but not for long. This is Yano Anaya, signing off.

Shut my eye out!