Guinness World Records Set by B.C. Teen Inspire Movie

Salmon Arm teen Auldin Maxwell holds multiple Guinness Book of World Records Jenga stacking titles. The Grade 10 student's love of the stacking blocks began when he was just six years old. PHOTO BY SELINA METCALFE / IHANA IMAGES /jpg

Block by block Auldin Maxwell has stacked his way to the top.

Salmon Arm teen, Auldin Maxwell holds multiple Guinness Book of World Records Jenga stacking titles. The grade 10 love of the stacking blocks began when he was just six years old.

Since he was a little kid, Salmon Arm’s Auldin Maxwell was stacking things.

Books, his toys — you name it, Maxwell stacked it.

That penchant for putting things on top of things paid off as Maxwell, a Grade 10 student at Jackson Secondary, is the current Guinness World Record holder for stacking Jenga blocks (1,840) and Jenga Giant blocks (900). And his stacking story is now at the centre of the new Hallmark movie, A World Record Christmas, which debuts Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. on the W Network.

“I just loved stacking them and building these symmetrical towers,” said Maxwell, who is on the Autism spectrum. “I have great hand-eye co-ordination. I really do have magic hands.”

Maxwell’s stepdad explained during a phone call with Maxwell and his mother, Kelly Murray, that one of the features of autistic kids is stacking things and focusing on tasks.

“It really was a match made in heaven for him,” said David Murray Auldin’s stepdad. “He liked to design and stack and build things.”

Maxwell, who was diagnosed with Autism when he was seven years old, locked into a Jenga set when he was six. He broke his first Guinness World Record at 12. His most recent records were set last January.

“It’s really hard to believe. I would have never thought that playing with my Jenga blocks when I was six would lead to a movie and five Guinness World Records,” said Maxwell.

For Maxwell’s parents, the whole movie thing left them a bit gobsmacked.

“It feels very surreal,” Kelly said. “Sometimes I think this isn’t our life. This isn’t his life. We will say things in conversation like, ‘Oh, we talked to this person at Hallmark’ or, ‘Yeah, we were talking to a person at Guinness in New York,’ and I’ll say to my husband, ‘Can you believe this is our life and we’re actually saying this to each other?’

“It’s pretty unreal.”

The idea for the film began when Antonio Cupo, the film’s executive producer, and the film’s writer, Mark Hefti, were talking about story ideas.

“Writer Mark Hefti and I had been playing with the title, World Record Christmas but had trouble coming up with an idea we could actually shoot,” said Cupo in an email to Postmedia News. “We thought to reach out to Guinness World Records and see if there was any chance of including them in our story.”

From left, Lucas Bryant, Nikki DeLoach and Aias Dalman star in the Vancouver-shot Hallmark Christmas movie A World Record Christmas. The film premieres on the W Network on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.PHOTO BY HALLMARK MEDIA/ALLISTER FOSTER /jpg

After discussing various record-holders, Cupo said they settled on Maxwell’s unique story.

“After a conversation with him and his mother, we had enough inspiration to start writing and develop a concept inspired by his amazing world-record journey,” said Cupo, who shares story credit on the film. “I absolutely love producing movies that move me, emotionally grounded, relatable stories that reflect our own lives, in a way.”

Cupo added that Maxwell’s unique story is the perfect glue to hold together a classic Hallmark tale about love and family. In this case, the storyline is an autistic boy’s attempts to break a world record on Christmas Eve and, in doing so, helps to unite his family and his community.

“Auldin’s story added so much colour and complexity. And we were so excited to collaborate with him, but never imagined what it later became,” said Cupo. “Director Jason Bourque and I would literally get shivers watching our actors, Nikki DeLoach and Lucas Bryant bring their absolute best in making the characters come to life.”

Vancouver actor Aias Dalman, who is also autistic, plays the young Jenga stacker in the film.

When Hallmark reached out and wanted to talk about her son’s story and his journey with autism, Kelly recalls the decision to go ahead being an easy one.

“We were happy to permit that because I think it is important,” said Kelly.

In what Cupo calls a full-circle situation, Maxwell actually appears in the film and has a couple of lines.

“I’m just really excited to see the movie. But I will say I am a little bit nervous to see myself act. I have never seen myself act before,” said Maxwell, who hopes to continue acting.

As for his role in the film, Maxwell says he can’t share exactly what his part entailed in the film that was shot in Vancouver last March. His mom, though, offered a bit of a hint.

“It’s art imitating life, where he was encouraging the movie version of himself in a movie,” she said.

Salmon Arm teen Auldin Maxwell is seen in the Hallmark movie A World Record Christmas, which is based on his life and his journey to become a Guinness World Book of Records’ Jenga stacking champion.PHOTO BY HALLMARK MEDIA/ALLISTER FOSTER /jpg

The family is planning on watching the movie together at home and Kelly hopes that Hallmark will send a screening link that they then can play for their family and friends at the local movie theatre.

As for future plans, Maxwell, who is also an avid basketball player, hopes to break the Guinness record for most successful shots taken behind the backboard. He is also after the most Rubik’s Cubes solved on a unicycle record. And he hopes to earn records for stacking the most bowling bowls and the most dominoes.

“I go and Google Guinness Book of Records for most of something stacked on one thing,” explained Maxwell.

When asked about his key to success, Maxwell doesn’t say steady hands. Instead, he says steady focus — and good old-fashioned persistence.

“You really just have to follow your dreams and focus on whatever you have a passion for.”

November 16, 2023