COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Christmas content is king this time of year, and Columbus native Maurice Hall is making his name in the holiday movie genre.
Hall co-wrote, produced and starred in “A Heart For Christmas” in 2024, his debut Christmas movie. It was an ambitious project and a success for a man who’s accustomed to success.
Hall was as a record-setting running back at Brookhaven High School before beginning his career at Ohio State. He and the Buckeyes won the national title in 2002, and Hall scored several critical touchdowns that season, including the game-winning score against Michigan.
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Hall later worked at NBC4 in the sports department, serving as a reporter for Football Friday Nite and as an Ohio State football analyst. He then moved to the Los Angeles area to launch an acting career. His new project, “#WorstChristmasEver,” has already garnered attention just for the clever name itself.
“To be able to make an independent project from the ground up, to have the supporters from all over the country, but most especially in Ohio, who saw ‘A Heart for Christmas’ and said, ‘Oh man, I believe in what you’re doing, and I want to support you on this next Christmas movie,’” Hall said.
The movie is based on a real-life Christmas experience from co-creator and producer Tony Patterson, who has teamed up with Hall on several projects over the past 15 years. Patterson was flying home for a family Christmas in Atlanta at his ex-wife’s house, only to find most of the family was not able to get there. It set him up for an awkward holiday, but also, an incredible premise for a movie.
“When I went back to L.A. and told Mo, he said, ‘That’s a movie,’ and we started writing it,” Patterson said. “We know our strengths. We know our weaknesses. So as a co-writer, co-director and co-producer, we sort of know how to go in and out of what needs to be done.”
Maurice’s co-star, Shanti Lowry, plays the role of “Alisha” in “#WorstChristmasEver,” She’s known Hall as an actor and writer, but on this trip to Ohio to promote the movie, she’s learning more about Hall’s other life of fame as a Buckeye.
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“Everyone really loves Mo, honestly,” she said. “He’s in the scene, we’re playing around, and then I remember, like, this is this pedestal man for a lot of people. And me too, honestly.”
“The even more gratifying part is being able to have, you know, our cast and our co-director and co-writer come back with me to see the love that we’re going to get for this movie,” Hall said. “It’s friends, it’s family that know are really coming out to support and that’s what this is all about.”
For Hall, his trip home is a reminder of the journey he went on to get to Hollywood, having no guarantees of success.
“If there’s a place where you need to go in order to make a career for yourself, in order to pursue your passion, I encourage you to do it because it can work out,” he said.
The movie will premiere Thursday night at Studio 35 in Clintonville. Tickets are available for that event at this link: #WorstChristmasEver with Maurice Hall Q&A!
“#WorstChristmasEver” can be seen on streaming services Apple TV, Amazon Prime and the free Tubi app.
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