You'll see a little local nostalgia in the movie A Christmas Story 2, now available on DVD.
The sequel, based on the Christmas classic, is set in the late 1930s and was filmed earlier this year in Vancouver. Producers asked Gibsons' Paul Drake for the use of his 1947 Hudson-turned-taxi-cab, to help set the scene.
"They were looking for an old taxi cab, so they phoned ICBC. They ran a search and because the taxi has collector plates it came up," Drake said. "Then ICBC phoned me and asked if it was OK to give the movie people my phone number and that's how they found me."
Producers sent someone to pick up Drake's car a few months ago to film scenes with it in Vancouver, and when they were finished they brought the car back.
"They took care of everything and they brought it back nice and clean," Drake said noting he was paid well for the use of his Hudson.
He first found the car about 10 years ago in field in Saskatchewan.
"It was a pile of junk in a farmer's field full of mice," Drake said.
He had a love for restoring old vehicles and decided to take on the broken down Hudson as a challenge.
"I thought 'well, why not make it a taxi?' When I was young and foolish, I drove taxi for a little while," he said.
He got to work, and once the Hudson was complete, he started showing it in local show and shine events to the delight of locals.
The car gained local acclaim and was also featured in a few magazines before it was immortalized in film this fall.
Drake can't drive the car around anymore but you can see the restored Hudson in the movie now available for rent or purchase on DVD.
The sequel follows the same theme as the original, complete with the main character Ralphie trying to convince everyone he deserves a questionable Christmas present. This time he doesn't want a Red Ryder BB gun, though. The now teenaged Ralphie wants a 1938 Hupmobile Skyline.
A Christmas Story 2 stars Daniel Stern (from Home Alone and City Slickers) as the dad, and Ralphie is played by Braeden Lemasters (from Men of a Certain Age and Easy A).
