You guessed it. Both were directed by Richard Donner, the longtime Hollywood hitmaker who first made his mark on Hollywood with the creepy 1976 classic "The Omen" and continues to work in the business today.

In his 30-plus years in the film biz, Donner repeatedly worked with the same supporting players, developing a makeshift repertory company along the way.

This was especially evident during his heyday in the late '80s and early '90s, with the Christmas fave "Scrooged" and his "Lethal Weapon" action series.

The two didn't share any leads, of course -- Bill Murray would have looked out of place chasing dirty cops with Danny Glover and Mel Gibson -- but they shared more than a dozen supporting actors.

It would be impractical to list them all here, but a few of the notables include Damon Hines, who played Glover's son in the "Lethal Weapon" films, starting with the first in 1987, and played the son of Murray's secretary in "Scrooged" the following year.

Steve Kahan is another. He played the captain in all four "Lethal Weapons" and popped up for a very brief turn as a studio technician in "Scrooged."

Some of these working relationships have persisted throughout Donner's long career. J. Mills Goodloe, for example, appeared in the "Lethal Weapons" and "Scrooged" and was there for Donner again 10 years later in his 1997 pic "Conspiracy Theory."

Kahan seems to be Donner's favorite go-to guy, but that makes sense when you discover that they're cousins. He has appeared in 12 of Donner's films, starting with the 1978 hit "Superman."

This phenomenon also makes sense when you've seen a few Donner pictures and start to realize that large-scale is sort of his trademark. The comically outsized Christmas special being staged in "Scrooged" could well be a joke about Donner's own films, which are mostly elaborate productions featuring dozens of characters.

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