Two D.C. film critics have written their own Hollywood ending. Call it “The Joy After ’The Nightmare Before Christmas.’”
WTTG Fox 5 entertainment reporter Kevin McCarthy wished to propose to DCFilmGirl.com founder Lauren Veneziani, whom he had been dating for nearly four years. So he devised a proposal scenario that incorporated their favorite film, some well-loved movie dialogue, a lot of planning — and just a bit of subterfuge.
“I basically had to lie to her for a month and a half,” Mr. McCarthy told The Washington Times.
For several months, he made logistical phone calls to personnel at Disney World to help execute his plan: to ask for Ms. Veneziani’s hand in marriage on their favorite holiday, Halloween, while standing in front of actors dressed as the Jack and Sally characters from their favorite film, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
“Jack and Sally are only there during Halloween. I didn’t even know they were there,” Ms. Veneziani said with a smile.
“Lauren had absolutely no idea,” Mr. McCarthy said, nudging her.
The scene was set. The couple flew last month to Orlando, Florida, and on Halloween, they stood in line for a meet-and-greet with Jack and Sally at Disney World.
“Luckily, Lauren left the line to get a Rice Crispy treat, and I ran back to the attendant and said, ’Are we all good to go?’” Mr. McCarthy said. “The lady took a picture of me [then] took the picture back to the characters and said, ’This is the guy who is going to be proposing.’”
But as they snaked their way through the queue, he was seized by a moment of panic.
“She’s on her phone, and I’m on my phone Googling, ’What knee do you put on the ground?’” he said. “It was left knee down, right knee up, hand the ring to her in left hand. I was literally looking that up three minutes before I did it.”
Soon it was their turn to “meet” Jack Skellington and Sally, the stitched-up rag doll. His heart racing, Mr. McCarthy handed off his camera under the ruse of not “having to pay $20 for the photos they’ll take professionally, and we’ll grab screenshots from the video.”
The couple took photos with the characters, and then Mr. McCarthy dropped to his knee — his left knee.
“Is this really happening?” Ms. Veneziani can be heard saying on the video taken with his cellphone, her palm meeting her mouth in surprise.
Mr. McCarthy then launched into his film quote-laced proposal:
“Lauren Veneziani, I love you more than anything and ever since our first date at Taco Bell,” he can be heard saying as realization dawns on Ms. Veneziani’s face.
His entreaty included “You complete me,” from “Jerry Maguire”; “I’m just a boy standing in front a girl asking her to love him,” a gender-twist on a Julia Roberts’ line from “Notting Hill”; “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible,” from “When Harry Met Sally”; and “As anyone can see, we’re simply meant to be, baby,” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
An awestruck Ms. Veneziani said yes, as Jack and Sally and nearby well-wishers applauded.
The couple’s tale has struck a romantic nerve — their video has garnered more than 100,000 YouTube views. They appeared on Fox 5’s “Good Day DC” on Nov. 2 after returning to the District, where staffers congratulated the pair with cake and champagne.
“Fox and Friends” in New York called next.
“A thousand people get engaged in a day, but I think people just got a kick out of that we both love movies, we’re both film critics, we’ve been together in D.C. for 3 years,” said Ms. Veneziani, whose day job is working in ad sales for Breitbart, the website for which she occasionally contributes reviews.
Not only did film bring the couple together, but also fandom. Upon seeing one of Mr. McCarthy’s reviews on television, Ms. Veneziani’s father suggested she get in touch with the nebbish TV personality.
“I’m a bad writer; Lauren’s a good writer. “I can talk,” Mr. McCarthy demurred, adding that his TV reviews are unscripted and done in the manner of conversing with his fellow anchors as if he were discussing film among friends — a way to balance his passion with his professional responsibilities as a journalist.
“Kevin’s a good writer too,” Ms. Veneziani added with a wink.
“When I went over to her dad’s house, he had movies stacked up he wanted to show me scenes from,” Mr. McCarthy recalls of first meeting his future father-in-law. “I passed his test. Then he gave me a bunch of movies to watch.”
Mr. McCarthy is also an aspiring filmmaker. His greatest praise happened when the legendary Steven Spielberg gave told him: “Why are you doing interviews? You should be a filmmaker?”
“The beauty of my job is I get four minutes with a director or an actor that I admire, and I get to ask whatever I want with regards to filmmaking,” Mr. McCarthy said, adding that he asked Mr. Spielberg about the so-called “’Vertigo’ shot” in “Jaws” and the manner in which he shot the gruesomely realistic Normandy beach invasion in “Saving Private Ryan.”
“We took a picture, and he didn’t like the way the lighting was, so he starts directing the guys in the room,” Mr. McCarthy recalled of his photo with Mr. Spielberg. “We took four pictures, the fourth of which he finally approved.”
Mr. McCarthy was told secondhand by another film writer that Mr. Spielberg said of Mr. McCarthy: “That kid’s gonna be a filmmaker; he’s got the stuff.”
“The way I look at my job right now, I’m kind of going to a glorified film school,” Mr. McCarthy said of his professional education. “I’m sitting down with my heroes and picking their brains about how they shoot different things. I love what I do right now, and I don’t want to change that, but I do see myself in 15, 20 years directing.”
In the meantime, the now-engaged couple can continue to watch and discuss the newest films on offer, then share their opinions with each other and their respective District audiences.
“The good thing about talking movies with someone who loves movies is I can talk about movies all the time,” Mr. McCarthy said of his fiancee.
Though the couple has not set a date, they do have some cinematic ideas for the wedding.
“We will definitely be including movie-related elements here and there for the ceremony and reception,” Ms. Veneziani said.
• Eric Althoff can be reached at twt@washingtontimes.com.
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