Sparked by a late-night conversation with an attractive women who was “clearly not a local” in a club outside of his Minneapolis hometown, Rance learned she was actually from North Carolina but living in New Ulm, Minnesota (population 13,595) as an executive at a food plant. While chatting, she told Rance about the pressures of climbing the corporate ladder, dealing with locals and trying to earn the respect, not to mention the loneliness of being new in town.

“At the moment, I knew her story was a movie,” Rance says. “I didn’t write the script right away. But I carried the story with me for quite awhile. I’ve always believed that the best stories are true stories.”

While it took 16 years for the story to make its way to the big screen, Rance is particularly happy that the final cut retained the warm and Christian-based community values of New Ulm, even throughout the revision process with fellow screenwriter C. Jay Cox (Sweet Home Alabama) and with input from the actors and director Jonas Elmer in his American film debut. “I wanted the story to be authentic and organic, complete with the town’s local accent, culture and language,” Rance says. “If a New Ulm resident were to see the film, I wanted them to be able to say I got it right.”

And for scene-stealing funnywoman Siobhan Fallon (Baby Mama, Seinfeld), the opportunity to play a quirky New Ulm local who loved to scrapbook and believed that her special tapioca pudding was the cure-all to all life’s ailments, was literally an answer to her prayers.

“I remember praying ‘God, let there be a script that you’d be proud to have me in.’ Then this script came along, and it was an answer to my prayer, so I knew I better do the best job I can do,” Fallon shares. “I feel like this is going to be something that the Christian community will be so happy about. And I hope they will flock to it.”

An Old-Fashioned Feel

What Fallon also appreciated about New in Town was being able to talk about Jesus in a non-mocking fashion.

“When my character [Blanche] talks about Jesus, it’s not done disrespectfully. It’s not politically correct or politically incorrect. It’s so beautifully done,” Fallon shares. “[This movie] represents the beliefs of such a huge part of the United States that it seems like Hollywood veers away from because it's not hip. I just thought it was a gift to have this script, and that the producers were brave enough to do it. And I'm so proud to speak about Jesus three times in it and not mock it and have it be something the community is proud of—and not a weird thing.”

Also a departure from the norm is the film’s old-fashioned approach toward relationships. “The relationship between Ted [Connick] and his daughters is so respectfully done. In most TV shows and movies, you see just the opposite,” Fallon continues. “The way the romance is done, it’s like a Frank Capra film. You don’t have the bedroom scenes, and it’s not necessary. And how many movies do you see where the community sings ‘O Holy Night’ in the town square?”