As part of its annual “Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas” programming event, ABC Family presents the original action-comedy movie Christmas Bounty, starring WWE Superstar Mike “The Miz” Mizanin and Francia Raisa (ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of The American Teenager”),premiering TONIGHT, Tuesday, November 26 at 7:00pm ET/PT.
Former bounty hunter turned elementary school teacher Tory Bell (Raisa) was ready for a new life when she left the family business behind and moved to Manhattan. But when an old enemy is released from jail and vows retribution on Tory and her loved ones, she returns to New Jersey to take care of him once and for all. When Tory’s upper-class fiancé, James, follows her home for Christmas, she tries to keep her bounty hunting ways a secret, but the plan backfires when James unwittingly becomes involved in the Bells’ mission. Further complicating matters, Tory must work closely with her ex-boyfriend, Mike (Mizanin) to bring down their target and keep James out of certain danger. But as Tory becomes further entrenched in her old life, she finds herself torn between whom she once was and her plans for the future. Will Tory choose her new life with James, or will the thrill of bounty hunting and unresolved feelings for Mike prove too powerful to ignore?
CelebSecrets4U caught up with Francia and Mike “The Miz” recently to get the scoop on Christmas Bounty! Check out the Q&A below. They share favorite memories, secrets, and more!
What should fans expect while tuning in to Christmas Bounty?
Mike “The Miz”: “It’s one of those feel good movies! I think everyone watches their special Christmastime movies. This is a movie that’s going to be right up there with all the other ones. I think people are going to really watch, and when they’re done watching this movie they’re going to come away with a smile on their face, they’re going to cuddle with their loved ones a little closer. I think it’s just one of those movies that will stand the test of time, and I think people will be shocked to see how great it truly is.”
Francia: “I agree! It’s just one of those feel good movies that you enjoy watching, and you take yourself away from reality a bit and you tap into someone else’s happiness, and you’re around your loved ones and you’re cozied up in your house. It’s one of those movies that’s a perfect ending to your night.”
Mike “The Miz”: “Here’s what I want everyone to do on Tuesday night. I want you to get some popcorn, I want you to get your most comfy clothes on, I want you to snuggle with one another, and I guarantee you by the end of that movie you guys are going to look in each other’s eyes and say, “I love you.””
Can you give a brief synopsis of your characters and Christmas Bounty?
Mike “The Miz”: “Christmas Bounty is a movie about Tory Bell, played by the lovely, gorgeous Francia, who does an amazing job. Tory Bell is from New Jersey, she has a New Jersey family, she’s raised there, and her family is all bounty hunters. Francia’s character wants to get out of that life. She moves to New York City, becomes a school teacher, is living the average, ordinary, everyday life like everybody else. She meets a new guy, who’s played by Will Greenberg. She has this new life. Tory has to come back to New Jersey with her bounty hunters to protect her family, and her new fiancé tags along to meet the family. The family is very eccentric; it’s very loud, it’s very New Jersey. My character is the ex-boyfriend who is a bounty hunter with her, and we basically have to find the bad guy before he finds us.
There could be a love triangle. You’re going to have to tune in at 7:00/6:00 Central this Tuesday, November 26th to check it out.”
If you could describe your Christmas Bounty character’s [Tory and Mike] in one word what would it be?
Mike “The Miz”: “I would say “strong”. That’s not just muscle wise, but strong mentally.”
Francia: “My nickname on the movie is Tornado, it’s Tory “Tornado” Bell, so I’m just going to say tornado.”
What was your favorite scene in the whole movie?
Francia: “The fight scenes, the action scenes for sure. Seeing the chaos and having to fight all these guys and really having my dream come true to do action was amazing.”
Mike “The Miz”: “We did a lot of fun stuff in the bar scene! I’ve shot guns, I’ve done fight scenes, I do it all the time, so I like more of the drama stuff where you could really dive into the drama. There’s a lot of love, there’s a lot of romance, there’s a lot of people torn in different directions. I really enjoyed the emotional roller coaster that my character had to go through. You will see in the credits, we do this little dance number and it was just so much fun. We spent the whole day doing this wonderful scene, and then at the end they were like, “Just go dance up there and see what happens,” and we all just had a blast and it was great. Francia’s a professional dancer. Will [Greenburg] and I are not professional dancers. We know what we get from The Grind on MTV. Francia gets her moves from professionals. She’s hanging out with Selena Gomez and dancing around with her. I’m a little outside; I’m really good at doing the Harlem Shake.”
What was your most memorable moment from filming?
Mike “The Miz”: “My most memorable moment is one having to do with Francia. I’m so glad I got to be with her in this movie because she taught me a lot on the acting realm and was a constant professional. But there was one day where she was trying to do this savate kick for the movie. And let me tell you something, I can’t even do a savate kick. I’m the type of person that likes to give people a hard time, and I enjoy doing little pranks, if you will. If I see someone getting a little aroused I have to keep pushing that button. So I kept pushing it and at one point she was like, “You have to give me a moment!” So I gave her a moment, and she did the savate kick and it was literally the most perfect kick. I think I’m going to take credit for her savate kick, because of the energy that I gave her during that moment.”
Francia: “That made me so mad, haha! That was a pretty memorable moment for me.”
Mike “The Miz”: “Another memorable moment for me was that I had my first on-screen kiss.”
Francia: “Oh yes! I was really excited about that!”
Mike “The Miz”: “I’ve been on TV for a while and I never had a movie or TV series where I’ve had a kiss with another actress, so this was my first time. I guess you could say I was pretty nervous about it, because I didn’t know what the rules were. I just went for it, and I think it was Francia’s best kiss she’s ever had on screen, to be completely honest with you. I mean I’m a really good kisser. You can ask my fiancé!”
