“If I never made another movie again, I would be happy I made this one,” says filmmaker Preston A. Whitmore II. Having written, directed or produced a half-dozen feature films and worked on a successful television series, Whitmore says This Christmas is by far the closest to his heart of any project he has ever tackled.

“All the characters in this movie are near and dear to me, because they represent different phases and elements of my life,” Whitmore explains. “Quentin is the section of my life when I first came to Southern California. Columbus Short's character, Claude, is another section of my life, when I was in the Marine Corps. Baby is a section of my life, only in my dream world, because I could never sing as well as Chris Brown, but I do like to dream that I could!”

However, Whitmore says the character that resonates most strongly for him is family matriarch Ma’ Dere, played by Loretta Devine. “She reminds me of my mother. Having lost my mom a couple years ago, it has given me some comfort to create this character and, in a way, see her live again.”

Over the few days leading up to Christmas, the Whitfield clan is tested, scandalized, humbled and ultimately rewarded by their love for each other. Old rivalries are played out and secrets revealed as they reunite for the holiday at the family homestead.

“It's a universal story,” says producer Will Packer. “There’s nothing uniquely African-American about it. It's a story about a mother who raises six kids who all leave the nest and go very different ways but come back together as a family. At the end of the day it's through their hope and faith in the strength of the family that they persevere through some real challenges.”

Whitmore says his goal while writing this script was to make sure that every character had his or her own story arc. “There's something for everyone in this picture. We have drama. We have action—a lot of which revolves around Idris Elba's character, Quentin, the oldest son. We also have comedy, which revolves around the relationships between the sisters, as well as their relationships with men outside the family.”

Actor Columbus Short, who plays Claude, notes, “Every single character in the film has a secret. I have the biggest secret of all; two secrets, in fact. There's a twist every two or three pages. A new bomb drops. It's suspense-filled, for sure.”

But the suspense is sweetened with a liberal dose of laughter, notes Whitmore. “I think whenever you look at drama, real drama, there's a certain amount of comedy in it. That's true to what happens to anybody when they deal with siblings in their family. At the moment it seems really dramatic, but then you sit down and think about it a couple of days later and it seems hilarious.”

“It is such a true slice of life,” Packer adds. “A lot of times siblings, because they grow up in the same household, have to kind of get along, even if they don’t really like each other. But then when you're adults, it forces you to deal with the relationship in a very different way because now there's nothing that says you have to relate to this person or like them or even love them.

Ronnie Warner, an executive producer and actor in the film, says that by tapping into his personal experience, Whitmore has recreated a universal experience. “We seem to concentrate a lot in American culture on the idea of diversity,” says the former stand-up comedian. “But that’s not what this film is about. There are common threads that run through all of us. We all have issues in our families. We all cry over the same things and we laugh over the same things. So it's really about finding that common denominator. And this is what makes it so good. It's just real.”

Warner came to the project along with Mekhi Phifer, who stars and executive produces, and producer Will Packer. “Mekhi and I had done a movie before with Screen Gems, and Will Packer produced it with us,” he says. “We also had a relationship with Preston and he had this movie coming up. He specifically wanted Mekhi to play the role of Gerald. Because we had done some business before, Preston, Will, myself and Mehki saw the opportunity to come together and continue this collaboration.”

Warner says he was attracted to the project by the richness of the script and its unique, interweaving storylines. “It is a special movie. As an African-American, I don’t feel I’ve ever seen this movie before. Anyone, no matter what background they're from, will find this film interesting, or entertaining or thought-provoking, because it touches on issues that happen in every American family.”

When it came to casting This Christmas, Director Whitmore was thrilled with the extraordinary group of veterans and newcomers he was able to assemble to play the Whitfield family. “Actors just sort of flocked to the picture, and we had no problem casting it at all. This cast has been a joy to work with, and I learned something from each and every last one of them everyday.”

Mekhi Phifer, who stars on NBC’s medical drama “ER,” was the first actor cast as well as one of the film’s executive producers. He plays Gerald, a firefighter who falls for the independent middle daughter, Kelli Whitfield. “Kelli, played by Sharon Leal, who was in Dreamgirls, and Gerald have this love relationship that reaches a sort of Cinderella point,” says Whitmore. “I liken it to Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere came up the fire escape for Julia Roberts. Gerald shows up at the front door saying what he needs to say to cement the possibility of them having an ongoing relationship in the future. And it just downright makes you feel good and giddy.”

Loretta Devine, a distinguished stage, screen and television actress, plays Shirley Whitfield, known to her children as Ma’ Dere. The matriarch of a sprawling and often difficult family, Ma’ Dere provides the glue that holds them all together.

“Loretta is an incredible woman,” says Whitmore. “She makes you feel happy the moment she smiles at you, and I think that's one of the biggest contributions she makes to the role. Ma’ Dere puts on a smiling face and doesn't let anything get her down, no matter what.”

Executive Producer Paddy Cullen says she doesn’t believe anyone else could have played the part as well as Devine. “She's so perfect for it. She’s got such a sweet face, and those dimples—she's just adorable.”

Packer concurs: “I'm so honored that she signed on to this project. When she's on set I just want to watch her. I want to watch her walk around. I want to watch her go to craft service. And, of course, I want to watch her in front of the camera. She's just beautiful, she's perfect. And when she speaks her lines, she doesn't talk, she sings.”

Devine’s reputation, and that of Delroy Lindo who plays her devoted boyfriend Joseph Black, were draws for other actors, as well. “Loretta Devine and Delroy Lindo were the top reasons I came onto this,” says Regina King, who plays eldest daughter Lisa in the film. “I just think she's awesome in everything that she does. She just has such a great spirit and I've always wanted to work with her.”

Whitmore knew just the actor he needed for the pivotal role of Baby, the youngest Whitmore. “We sat down and wrote this role specifically for Chris Brown, because that's the guy I wanted.”

Eighteen-year-old Brown is an international superstar in the music world, but This Christmas is only his second film role. “Everybody knows that Chris Brown is an incredible singer,” says Whitmore. “But I think one of the things that people aren't aware of is that he is also a very good actor. Unlike some singers or rappers who want to undertake this but don't get serious about it, he's done everything necessary to become a good actor. His performance of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ will just take your breath away, but he also does some dramatic scenes with Loretta Devine that are just going to stop you in your tracks.”

Devine admits a bit sheepishly that Chris Brown was not on her radar screen until she worked with him. “I tried to do my homework before I started this and I Googled everybody so I would have some insight into all of the other actors,” she says. “I couldn't find Chris Brown anywhere, because I was looking in the wrong places. He turns out to be this incredibly famous young man whose records I've been dancing to!”

Brown’s character Baby aspires to be a singer, but is afraid to tell his mother because she has already lost her musician husband and eldest son to the road. Brown says his own family experience was completely different.

“My family loved the fact that I followed my dream and became a singer. They already knew I was a show-off at parties and dinners and stuff. I danced a lot and I sang. But that was just singing in the country. When they saw that I got my break, they were really proud of me and gave God a lot of glory for giving me the best. I know I did!”

For producer Packer, casting This Christmas was an opportunity to once again tap the talents of three young, charismatic stars who helped his previous production, the 2007 Screen Gems’ hit Stomp the Yard, reach box office success. “I'm fortunate to be able to work with Columbus Short, Chris Brown and Laz Alonzo again,” says Packer. “They are each phenomenal and are really stars to watch.”

The filmmakers never considered anyone other than veteran actor Delroy Lindo for the role of Joseph Black, the loyal and stoic man in Ma’ Dere’s life. “Any direction you give him, if you want him to smile or laugh or frown or be angry in any particular scene, all you have to do is tell him, hey, I need this here, or I need this on this line,” says Whitmore. “And he will deliver it.”

Like many of the characters, Joseph Black is modeled on a real person. “A guy that my mother dated, who for all purposes, was my stepfather and his name is actually Joseph Black,” says Whitmore. “Delroy and I had many conversations about Joe, and he just embraced all those things and brought him to life.”

Regina King's character Lisa, a.k.a. Sister, is actually modeled after Whitmore’s older sister, Kimberly. “She was bossy and sort of told me what to do as a kid,” he remembers. “One of the things we really want to express with her character is that if a situation isn't good for you, whatever age you are or how many children you have, you got to say, hey, I’ve got to let this go and find a better way for myself.”

“Lisa is probably the first character in a while that I've played that is actually my age, you know, thirty-five, thirty-six years old,” says King. “I think when you hit that age in life, pretenses and all the other layers that you put up to not show the real you start to kind of fall away. One of the things that Sister teaches people throughout her journey is that, hey, you can take that step. You can make a change in your life, and improve the quality of your life.”

Whitmore based Claude, the middle son, played by Columbus Short, on himself when he was in the Marine Corps. “I went in when I was 18 and got out when I was 21. He represents a younger, more disciplined Preston Whitmore. A very patriotic person and a good guy.”

Short, already an accomplished dancer and the star of Stomp the Yard and “Studio 60,” was particularly interested in the role because it gave him an opportunity to show the world what he could do as an actor.

“I signed on to play a three-dimensional character,” says the actor. “Claude is a very poised, calm, cool, and collected guy, but with a short fuse. And that's how a lot of Marines are. Preston was a Marine, and this whole movie is basically Preston's family story. We have somebody at the helm who knows exactly how to keep the authenticity of it.”

The oldest character in the film, and one that figures prominently in almost every scene, is the family homestead itself. “One of the things we set out to do is to make the Whitfield house a character in the picture,” says Whitmore. “We wanted to showcase Victoria Park, a Los Angeles neighborhood with a lot of majestic houses, very similar to Hancock Park. It’s a middle class African-American environment in Southern California, and we're shooting in one of these houses.

“We also wanted a house that was aged to a certain degree, but had this dignified, stately manner about it, a house that felt like it had history. This house feels like it's lived in, but it has an elegance to it that you don’t often see, and these very beautiful hardwood floors.”

Actress Lauren London, who plays Mel, the youngest Whitfield sister, grew up in Los Angeles, but she had never been to Victoria Park. “I didn't even know it existed,” says the actress. “The houses are really old-fashioned. They're huge, and they feel like old money. This house just seems real warm and cozy, like kids have grown up there. It feels like someone once fell down the stairs and broke a leg, or someone had their first cooking lesson in the kitchen.”

More than just wood and nails, a house takes on the quality of the family that lives in it, says Short. “A house is not a home unless there's love there,” he says. “And that's the through line of this film, that this family genuinely cares about one another. The house is base camp, where everybody comes back to, and wants to be and not miss out on Christmas.”

Along with the Whitfield home, the filmmakers chose such quintessential and recognizable Los Angeles landmarks as the El Rey Theatre on Wilshire Blvd. and the downtown Union Station train terminal to shoot key scenes in the movie. Producer Will Packer notes that the film’s Southern California location sets it apart from the vast majority of holiday films.

“You very rarely see a film about holidays in Los Angeles,” he says. “Traditionally, when we think of Christmastime we think of snow, we think of back East, not palm trees and sun. So I was really interested and intrigued by the challenge of authentically and accurately portraying Los Angeles during the Christmas season.”

In addition to his film career, since 2002 Phifer has had a long-running starring role on the Emmy^Æ Award winning series “E.R” as Dr. Gregory Pratt, for which he has received two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a drama series in 2004 and 2005. Phifer’s other television credits include leading roles in MTV’s highly rated film “Carmen: A Hip-Hopera,” in which he did all his own rapping and starred opposite BeyoncÈ Knowles. He appeared in the Emmy Award winning HBO Original Movie “A Lesson Before Dying” with Don Cheadle and Cicely Tyson, in which his subtle performance as a prisoner on death row won rave reviews and earned him a NAACP Image Award nomination.

He tackled the challenging role of NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers in the ABC television special “Brian’s Song” and appeared in the celebrated HBO Original Film “The Tuskegee Airmen.” Phifer has also made guest appearances on the popular police dramas “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “New York Undercover.”

In 2006, Phifer made his directorial debut with the independent comedy Easier, Softer Way. He starred in the film along Danny Masterson, Darrell Hammond, Ashley Scott, John C. McGinley, Ronnie Warner, Terry Crews and Mo Collins. The film, produced by Phifer for his newly launched Facilitator Films production company, follows two hapless potheads unintentionally involved in a scheme to rip off a mysterious character called Big Daddy (played by Phifer) after the duo sours on rehab.

Phifer also guest starred on the 2005 season of the critically acclaimed HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and on the big screen alongside Ray Liotta and Taye Diggs in Lionsgate’s Slowburn. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

REGINA KING (Lisa Moore)

Regina King has lent her talents to roles to a number of prominent film roles. The actress recently starred in Paramount Vantage’s comedy Year of the Dog opposite Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Sarsgaard and John C. Reilly for director Mike White. She also had a nine-episode guest starring role on the most recent season of the smash hit series “24.”