Behind the scenes with Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story Production Supervisor, Natalie Cordray

Courtesy Natalie Cordray

This summer, the Red Kingdom city had a sprinkle of green as filming took place for Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. The Hallmark & Chiefs partnership filmed on location throughout Kansas City, using locals as extras and taking advantage of the holiday backdrop of Independence Square’s Christmas in July celebration. 

One of the first calls from LA was to Natalie Cordray, a KC-based Production Supervisor with her own company, Rowdy Productions. The Pitch sat down with her for a Pitch Questionnaire after filming wrapped to get the scoop on what it meant for KC and its citizens.

The Pitch: Tell us about yourself.

Natalie Cordray: I was born and raised here in Kansas City. I’ve been in film and television production my whole career. I feel very lucky that I knew what I wanted to do at 16, and I never stopped. Now I feel very lucky that I get to do it in the city that I love. 

I left here when I was 17 to college, then did TV and movies all over before COVID brought me home. I never thought in a million years that I would stay here, but I love it. I’m just shocked at how much we can do here–I’m working more now than I ever was before. 

So you went to film school?

I did go to film school. People’s parents will call me and be like, can you talk to Sally Jo about going to film school? And I’m like, you don’t want me to talk to her, because I’m gonna tell her don’t take on that debt. Or I’m gonna tell her, get a business degree if you have to go to school. I don’t know, just my opinion right now on debt and student loans and college, especially for the film industry that’s already struggling, like, just go for it, honestly. 

If someone asked you, “how do I get to where you are today,” what would you say?

I definitely don’t want to come across as anti-education. However, more of the message would be that it is an industry that is not for the faint of heart. It is an industry where when a door closes, you have to be willing to knock on the next one immediately–like you really have to take any kind of personal attachment out of rejection, which is really hard because it’s a creative industry. It’s a creative field, and especially if you feel like you’re putting yourself on the line, it’s a very vulnerable industry to be in. 

“It’s a creative field, and especially if you feel like you’re putting yourself on the line, it’s a very vulnerable industry to be in.”

If you are really interested in getting into the industry, you just can’t give up. I’ve never met someone in my industry who fell into it by chance and was an overnight success. You really have to have a strong work ethic. You have to have a baseline intention and reason why you want to be in it that will help you get up every day for early call times and be okay with being on set for 12 hours. 

I would say my biggest point would be to have an intention on why you want to do it. Make sure that it’s one that would stand the test of time. And then just have a really strong work ethic and the ability to keep going after you know what you want. No one wants to be a PA for the rest of their life, so while you’re a PA, if you want a grip, go talk to the grips and ask them how they became a grip. Get their numbers. Volunteer to do spec work or to do free short film work on the side.

Now I have to ask, what is your ‘why?’

Courtesy Natalie Cordray

It doesn’t matter if it is something as silly as a TikTok that we’re making for a big brand, or if it is a Hallmark Christmas movie or a giant Universal Picture movie that I’ve worked on—at the end of the day, I have found that there is a magic behind being in a room of people talking about an idea and imagining an idea, and then being behind the scenes and seeing how the juice is made. The magic of it all, I guess, is my why. 

And Kansas City is a great city to work in production because so far that I’ve been here, I’ve gotten to work in commercial, film, television, reality, scripted–like there are so many different ponds that I’ve gotten to dip my toe in that it keeps it exciting. Whereas, typically, if you live in LA, you are a commercial producer, you are a feature producer. People really lean into a lane they’ll even knock you on your resume. It’s like, oh, you’ve done a lot of reality, but it’s not a lot of food reality. And luckily we don’t have to do that here.

I think I first came across you when you were working on The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (which was filmed here in KC for Peacock).

Oh my gosh, one of my favorite things I’ve ever worked on, which did not get the attention that it deserved. I honestly think that it was the Peacock of it all, because it was such a good series. Peacock was such a new streamer at the time.

Let’s focus on your most common job title. Please explain Production Supervisor to me like I’m five years old. 

This is so funny. I’m like everyone’s babysitter. Or, more specifically, the project’s babysitter. I make sure that it’s doing okay. I make sure that everyone is getting to bed on time, waking up on time, having snack time at the right time, making sure the snack time snacks show up, and checking if anyone has a food allergy. But truly, a lot of producers, production supervisors, and managers will like a joke that it is like being a wrangler. 

I was one of the first calls for the Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story movie. Locations, casting, and a production supervisor or a local fixer would be the first calls into a city. 

So, in adult but layman’s terms, I would say I was the local fixer. So, “Hey, we’re coming into town to bring this movie. You know, these are the locations that we’re thinking of. We have this location person on it. But do you have any other recommendations? Also this is the crew that we’re bringing in from out of town. We just already know are gonna that are attached to the movie, but they’re gonna need their departments filled.” So a big part of it was crewing, getting locals hired. I didn’t do much with the budget on this one, but knowing the budget is key for finding our production offices, getting them set up, furnishing them, and logistical stuff like that, I’m calling medics and arranging them for the entire shoot. 

One of the last scenes we filmed was at Crown Center, and we had this really big fun Christmas market scene. When I read that in the script, I asked the production designer about it, and he was like, “Yeah, we usually get just some big pop-up tents and background casting will hire people to look like vendors and stuff.” And I’m like, what if I got you real people in Kansas City, like, real vendors who would die to be a part of the movie and show up and have their product on camera? You don’t have to worry about props and it’s gonna look so much more authentic anyways. They were like, “Oh my gosh, we would love that.” So then I took that on.

It sounds like you’re a puzzle master.

I would remove the word master and say I’m on a puzzle team. It’s definitely another thing I love about the film industry in general–it’s so collaborative. And there is a lot of trust. 

Courtesy of Hallmark Media

Now let’s get specific. Tell us what a day of filming was like for you. 

We have call sheets, which is like, a very unique-to-our-industry schedule, but it’s basically like a roadmap of the day, and we send them out to the crew the night before. And that doesn’t matter if you work on a TikTok, all the way up to a feature film. It tells every single person what time they need to be where, where breakfast is going to be, what the weather is, what the sunrise and sunset is–just all the things that you would need to know to successfully run a day. 

So on a day of filming at Arrowhead, I would get the call sheet the night before. Someone in my position would typically be the first one in and the last one out. You’re there to kind of put out fires, and fires are going to happen all day. They can be little ones like, “Hey, the generator is not working,” and so we’re going to have to call in a replacement. So maybe I’m getting on the phone and finding local rental houses that might have an available one to replace it, and then I’m coordinating the replacement of that. That’s typically like a grip and electric job, but they’re setting up for the day–they don’t have time to sit there and make phone calls. So that’s something I might do. 

At Arrowhead we had high security there, so I was in charge of the list, like who all had access. So I was there with security, giving people badges, and knowing who was on the crew, extra, cast, publicity. 

“There’s no set thing that a production supervisor does on set other than everything.”

And then into filming, you’re kind of like a Swiss Army Knife. There’s no set thing that a production supervisor does on set other than everything. Other than in a moment of crisis or need, you are immediately the person taking care of it. 

What kind of considerations were taken for filming winter-wardrobe Christmas scenes in the July heat?

That was the first and kind of biggest overarching topic or conversation that was had in the entire prep of the movie. I was really happy and proud to see that safety was such a concern on this movie, and people did take the time to talk through it, and from top down, everyone was involved in it. We had upwards of hundreds of extras at Arrowhead, and if you’ve been to a Chiefs game in the summer, it’s like a bowl–you’re just sitting in stagnant hot air, asking people to come in winter clothing. 

We had coolers full of ice bags. We people bring their own personal umbrellas so they could shield themselves from the sun when we weren’t filming. They were asked to bring winter clothes, but they had cooler summer clothes under it. If you want to wear a tank top, you can put the coat on for filming then immediately take it off. They were allowed to bring anything that they needed to stay comfortable.

Courtesy of Hallmark Media

Hundreds of regular Kansas Citians had the opportunity to be extras in the film. What can you tell us about their experience?

We didn’t have the SAG of it all—it didn’t apply to our movie when it came to background, so anyone could be an extra. I would say nearly 100% of them had never done it before, so yeah, it was very exciting for a lot of people. 

And I laugh, because I’m like, I’m sure the first two hours were exciting. I mean, like I said, I got into it because of the magic, and I’m sure the entire thing was magical for them. I do think it’s very unique to not only get to see how something is made, but literally, be a part of it. You’re kind of on the edge of your seat when it comes out to see if your elbow makes it into it. But, at the end of the day, truly, that is the case of background. We really rely on them–I mean, imagine a movie without background talent, it would just not look real. It wouldn’t look the same. So they’re really important. 

“You’re kind of on the edge of your seat when it comes out to see if your elbow makes it into it.”

I think the extras who got to be at Arrowhead got a really cool experience. We hired fake football players, guys that got to put on uniforms and literally walk through the tunnel and be on Arrowhead and pretend to be football players. I cannot imagine as, like a young boy or like a Chiefs fan, getting to pretend that you’re a Chiefs player. A lot of them were in the stands, but, you know, instead of a football game, they got to watch a movie get made, which was pretty cool. 

A lot of them got to be up close and personal with talent. That’s something that I’ve also not experienced too much of. I’ve worked on a lot of stuff where the talent is very obviously separate from everyone else. I was so pleasantly surprised at how generous our cast was. I mean, so generous. We filmed in downtown Independence for the majority of it, and we had an audience, literally a public audience, show up every single night that we filmed. There were some nights that we didn’t wrap until 2 or 3 a.m. and more than 20 people would be there with their lawn chairs, beverages and coolers, literally, they were tailgating watching us film. The actors would immediately walk off set and go straight to this group of people and take pictures, talk to them. It was very generous cast.

Do you think that’s typical for Hallmark movies, or do you think that’s more reflective of a welcoming KC?

This is my first Hallmark movie. But from what I am learning, it is a Hallmark thing. I think that Hallmark and Hallmark cast have a fan base that I didn’t know existed until this. And as an actor, it’s probably pretty easy to lean into that and give back to supporters. 

And that makes sense as a Kansas City thing at the same time, yeah? Because truly, a lot of our crew are Hallmark veterans. Like, this is their 20th Hallmark movie, and one of the best compliments I heard from the out-of-town crew was “I don’t usually make friends with the crew–I usually just come in and do my job and leave, but I loved the Kansas City crew.” 

“I think it’s cool to see that our reputation as a city bleeds into even the harshest of industries.”

I think it’s cool to see that our reputation as a city bleeds into even the harshest of industries. And so I think that people showing up to like, cheer us on is not just a Hallmark thing–it’s also so Kansas City.

Courtesy of Hallmark Media

Was there a cast member that you connected with?

Yeah, Hunter was such a doll. We particularly bonded over podcasts. I felt like she is insanely talented, graceful, beautiful–what you see is what you get with her. 

Ed Begley Jr is like my hero. I was so, so stoked to work with him. I got to have quite a few moments with him, just because of what I do. He has been in a lot of niche sketch comedy stuff that has been inside jokes in my household for years. So it was really funny to get to talk to him about just some really niche funny things that he has done. Just little funny one-offs that I would be able to walk by him and be like, “You got any cinco gel today?”

Did you keep any props as a memento?

Natalie squirms, then finally reveals an answer that is safe to publish without breaking NDAs.

So many lovely memories, beautiful–it felt like summer camp memories. And it was Christmas, so a little vintage ornament is one thing I got from set. Oh, and an office fridge. 

How can readers follow along with your projects or support you? 

Instagram is great. (@natalianstalion) I love to post behind-the-scenes stuff on there once I’m able to for each project. I feel like Instagram is just a really fun visual journal, and I treat mine like that. I’m not a vlogger or blogger by any means, but I’m public, and I know that people love behind-the-scenes stuff.

Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story will air on Hallmark Channel on November 30 at 7 p.m. CT.