Whoopi Goldberg to Play Female Santa

WASHINGTON – It took four years for Whoopi Goldberg and Garth Brooks to make the TV movie Call Me Claus, but Goldberg said the delay wasn't because she'd be starring as a black female Santa.

"It never occurred to anybody that that was the problem. The problem was that it was an old-fashioned story," she said. "And if you're looking at something like The Sopranos and Sex and the City, this comes up a little — you know, I don't know — old-fashioned."

Goldberg said she's co-producing and starring in the movie because she wanted to make a holiday special for her grandchildren.