<P> Later, filmmaker Chris Columbus, who also bought the rights to Skipping Christmas and had written a screenplay, called Roth about directing the adaption . As Roth explains: "Naturally, I thought he was going to direct it . But he said,' No, you should direct it .' It turns out I was getting ready to direct another project . But when I read Chris's script, I knew I had to at least try to direct it . I promised myself that if I could get the right cast in place, I would do it ." Producer Michael Barnathan said, "Joe read the script on a Sunday, bought it on Monday, decided he wanted to direct it on Tuesday and by Friday had cast Tim (Allen) and Jamie Lee (Curtis). The following Monday morning we started pre-production ." </P> <P> Christmas with the Kranks takes place mostly in the Kranks's neighborhood of Hemlock Street in Riverside, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, over the course of four weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve . Production designer Garreth Stover originally looked for locations with the right weather conditions and suburban ambience for Hemlock Street, as described specifically in Columbus's script of the film . He was scouting from the metropolitan area of Chicago to Minnesota, but due to the extreme conditions of this part of the United States at the time, the filmmakers felt it was better to set up the neighborhood in an empty location instead of finding one . </P> <P> When looking for a place to build the set 15 weeks before filming began, Stover chose a parking lot of a former Boeing aircraft factory in Downey, California, about 15 miles away from downtown Los Angeles and in the midst of Downey Studios . The rest of the first three weeks were spent on designing the houses with assistance from construction coordinator David Elliott . In the next 12 weeks, hundreds of carpenters, plasterers and painters working built had built what would become the largest exterior set ever for a movie, being more than 700 feet long and including 16 houses . What Stover called "the core five" were the houses of the Kranks, the Frohmeyers, the Scheels, the Beckers and Trogdons, which he claimed had "full ground floors that are dressed and you can see into ." He also said that the second floor of the Kranks' was built on a soundstage . Producer Michael Barnathan claimed that the set would later be available for other movies, TV series and commercials to use. However, due to health complaints from the locals over toxic residues from factory period and lack of profit, the studio closed in 2012 and was razed to build a mall . </P> <P> Susie DeSanto handled the costume design of Christmas with the Kranks . According to DeSanto, "I was looking for a project that was really textural, and maybe a bit nostalgic . I saw Christmas With the Kranks like a Christmas card, a beautiful Christmas memory of how we wish the holiday to be . So a lot of the fabrics I chose were not so much high - tech bright colors, but wools, plaids and mixing patterns . Joe (Roth) was specific about what he wanted, but within that, he allowed me a great deal of freedom to express myself ." </P>

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