Reunion Records artist NewSong recently returned from the set of the holiday movie “The Christmas Shoes,” to be aired on the CBS Television Network this upcoming holiday season. Shooting outdoor night scenes complete with snow, members of NewSong finished filming their cameo appearances in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
A CBS Television Network crew was on hand to tape an EPK (electronic press kit) for the movie, interviewing “The Christmas Shoes” song co-writer and NewSong founding member, Eddie Carswell, and 2001 New York Times best-selling author of The Christmas Shoes novella, Donna VanLiere, for the video, in addition to the movie’s stars Rob Lowe and Kimberly Williams.
Both “TV Guide Channel” and the television entertainment newsmagazine “Extra” had crews on the set to capture film highlights and interviews for possible upcoming network features.
Starring Rob Lowe (“The West Wing,” “Austin Powers”) and Kimberly Williams (“Father of the Bride”), “The Christmas Shoes” movie is based on Donna VanLiere’s New York Times best-selling novella of the same title, which was published by St. Martin’s Press in October 2001. The novella was inspired by NewSong’s mainstream adult contemporary radio hit, “The Christmas Shoes,” which tied Billboard’s all-time record by reaching No. 1 in January 2001 after just three weeks on the chart.
The Christmas Shoes novella tells the story of a young boy, Nathan Andrews, who changes the course of one man’s life forever. Eight-year-old Nathan’s mother is dying, and he is determined to give his mother a special pair of shoes for Christmas. The story’s narrator, Robert, is a hard-nosed, high-powered attorney. So engrossed in his career, he is blinded by the effect his work has on his family and marriage. With his marriage on the brink of falling apart, Robert encounters Nathan on Christmas Eve, and the experience is life changing.
“The Christmas Shoes” will air as a CBS Television Network’s Sunday Night “Movie of the Week” between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
NewSong recorded “The Christmas Shoes” for its October 2000 release, Sheltering Tree. The song idea came from a story that was circulating on the Internet and was forwarded to NewSong’s Carswell by DC Chymes of the syndicated radio program “Steve and DC in the Morning.” The resulting airplay catapulted “The Christmas Shoes” to the top of Billboard’s Jan. 6, 2001 AC singles chart, giving NewSong its first No. 1 mainstream radio hit after only three weeks on the chart. NewSong released its first Christmas album, The Christmas Shoes, in November 2001. Inspired by the song, VanLiere wrote The Christmas Shoes novella. St. Martin’s Press published the novella in October 2001, and it subsequently became a New York Times bestseller. The CBS Network has now taken VanLiere’s story and created a holiday “Movie of the Week” for the upcoming 2002 holiday season.
Traveling the globe since May 1981, NewSong signed with Reunion Records in 2001, and is currently in the studio working on a new project, slated to release in early 2003. Over its span of recording and touring, NewSong has released 12 albums and scored 17 No. 1 songs, including 1997’s record-setting “Miracles,” which stayed at the top of The CCM Update’s AC chart for five weeks. The song was named American Songwriter magazine’s 1997 Christian Song of the Year. That same year, NewSong was voted Group of the Year by industry trade journal Christian Research Report. The group has garnered seven Gospel Music Association Dove Award nominations during its tenure. NewSong founding member and principal songwriter, Eddie Carswell received a 2001 BMI Christian Music Award in the adult contemporary format for “Wonderful One,” one of 2001’s most played songs on Christian radio.
