Backstage with… Jenna Ortega and Gwendoline Christie as Wednesday Addams returns to screens
In 1938, The New Yorker magazine published a one-panel comic by cartoonist Charles Addams, starring a tall, gaunt woman, and a sturdy butler.
The image shows a man trying to sell the unimpressed looking pair a vacuum cleaner for their creaking, dusty home.
It was the first appearance of the characters who became known as The Addams Family, a macabre and wealthy bunch who delight in the bizarre, and whose members are known for their distinct looks and personalities.
They include moustachioed father Gomez, matriarch Morticia, troublemaker son Pugsley, and deadpan daughter Wednesday.
There’s also a disembodied hand called Thing.
Since that first cartoon in 1938, The Addams Family has featured in at least five films, six television series and specials, and is often credited as a major inspiration for goth subculture.
Netflix’s latest series, Wednesday, follows the character as she heads to a new school, with the titular role played by 20-year-old Jenna Ortega. In recent years, Ortega has become part of a new generation of female horror stars, after taking roles in the fifth Scream film, and Ti West’s slasher series X.
She told Sky News’ film and TV podcast Backstage that she felt pressure taking on the role because of the nostalgia many have for the ’90s films.
“It’s still the way that a lot of people are being introduced to The Addams Family, and it definitely made its mark on the character and in everything that she is. I think people expect something from her now that wasn’t expected from her,” she said.
“I’ve never played such an iconic character who’s someone that I grew up respecting so much.
“So I think, when you respect someone so much, you just want to do right by them and right by everybody else who fell in love with her for a very good reason.”
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Christina Ricci previously played Wednesday Addams in the 1991 and 1993 films – and, in the early ’10s, memes of her witty delivery in the role saturated the social media site Tumblr.
The cast were also so popular that they were asked to record extra lines of dialogue for a pinball machine based on the 1991 movie which – for the trivia fans among you – became best-selling pinball game of all time.
An exciting moment, then, when Ricci appeared on set – albeit playing a completely different character.
“It was interesting for sure, especially because I know that people are automatically making the comparison. But I think what kind of put me at ease was how cool and respectful and how generous of an actress she is,” Ortega said.
Luiz Guzmán, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Issac Ordonez star as other members of The Addams Family – Gomez, Morticia, and Pugsley (L to R). Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
“I think we got along really well. And also, I kind of comfort myself in knowing that because they live in two completely different realities. They’re two completely different individuals.”
The amplified gothic nature of The Addams Family lends itself well to the aesthetic of Tim Burton, one of the show’s executive producers, and director of the first four episodes of the series.
Gwendoline Christie, who plays Wednesday’s headteacher Larissa Weems, says she was thrilled to work alongside the award-winning director.
“I wanted to work with Tim Burton for the whole of my life and I really loved his films growing up. I adored them. They spoke to me, you know, they really they made me feel like there was a place for me in the world.
“But also that there was someone else that viewed the world as I did, a world that was more heightened than our own, more stylised, often more beautiful, actually, and certainly more sensitive to the darker elements.”
Gwendoline Christie, who plays Wednesday’s headteacher Larissa Weems, said she was thrilled to work with Tim Burton on the series. Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
The actor is no stranger to ensemble casts – Christie is a Game Of Thrones alumna – but she has particularly high praise for castmate Ortega.
“[She] is an exemplary actor and has done such an extraordinary job of bringing this character to life. She’s so dedicated to the work, and she’s also a deeply sweet and just divine person.”
Wednesday is available now on Netflix. You can listen our review of the show on this week’s Backstage podcast – subscribe for free wherever you get your podcasts.
Gyles Brandreth says he blames himself for the death of Rod Hull, who died in 1999 when he fell from the roof of his home while attempting to adjust his television aerial.
The 63-year-old entertainer was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital with a coroner later recording a verdict of accidental death.
Hull and Emu were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Pic: Rex Features
Speaking to John Cleese on the latest episode of his Rosebud podcast, Brandreth said: “I killed a man – it was Rod Hull, the emu man.”
The 76-year-old former GMB presenter went on to explain he had been at the theatre with Hull on the day of his death, a day he said was blighted by “terrible, terrible weather”.
Brandreth went on: “He was sitting next to me, and he was complaining all through the show – he was interrupting the show almost – going on about how he wanted to get home because he wanted to watch the football, but his Sky aerial wasn’t transmitting properly.
“And I said, ‘Don’t moan about it, if you want to watch the television get a ladder out, climb on to the roof, and fix it Rod’.”
He went on to describe Hull’s accident, saying: “And after the show, in this stormy weather, he went home, he got out a ladder, he climbed the ladder, and he tried to fix the aerial.
“Unfortunately, the wind was very great, and he fell backwards off the ladder and killed himself.”
Brandreth said that while he wasn’t present at the time of the accident, he felt he’d “encouraged” him to climb on the roof.
Hull and Emu on Michael Parkinson in 1976
Brandreth also explained how Hull had surprised those who attended his funeral with a pre-planned skit featuring his famous puppet.
‘That bloody bird’
Brandreth said: “It was a great funeral though because at his funeral the coffin came in, and as the coffin was being carried in, it was a sort of [knock, knock, knock].
“He’d arranged a beak sound to be inside the coffin as though the emu was also in the coffin.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Hull and Emu first found fame on an Australian children’s TV show, before returning to the UK to establish their act.
Emu famously attacked talk show host Michael Parkinson in 1976, with only a threat from Billy Connolly keeping the puppet under control for the rest of the show. With the moment becoming one of Parkinson’s most memorable moments, he would later refer to the itinerant puppet as “that bloody bird!”.
Read more:
Britney Spears says paramedics turned up ‘illegally’
Gavin & Stacey to return for ‘last ever episode’
Their popularity peaked in the late 1970s and 1980s, getting their own shows first on the BBC, then ITV, and a later animated follow-up – Rod ‘n’ Emu – on CITV in 1991.
Brandreth, who was previously a Conservative MP for the City of Chester, also said he “killed Harry Secombe”, describing how he had just completed a phone interview with the Welsh actor when he “fell and slipped backwards down the stairs, and a few days later he died”.
Secombe, who was a member of the radio comedy troop The Goon Show, died in 2001 aged 79.
Entertainment
Britney Spears says paramedics turned up ‘illegally’ after twisting her ankle at Chateau Marmont
Britney Spears has downplayed concerns about her health, after paramedics were called to the Chateau Marmont, a boutique hotel in LA.
The 42-year-old singer shared several posts on social media, addressing the incident in the early hours of Thursday morning at the luxury venue on Sunset Boulevard.
Photographs taken by paparazzi appeared to show Spears wearing pyjama shorts outside the hotel, while wrapped in a blanket and clutching a pillow.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Spears wrote: “Just to let people know… the news is fake!!!,” adding, “I am getting stronger every day!!!”
She went on to detail an injury she had suffered that night, writing: “I also twisted my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door illegally. They never came in my room but I felt completely harassed. I’m moving to Boston.”
In a later post, she shared a short video showing her swollen ankle, saying: “I really twisted my ankle last night… It’s so bad… F****** idiot here tries to do a leap here in the living room at the Chateau and I fell, embarrassed myself, and that’s it.
“Paramedics came to my door, illegally, and of course caused this scene, which was so unnecessary, when all it needed was ice. But yeah, it is actually pretty bad.”
Spears is now “safe and at home”, two sources close to Spears told NBC News.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department did not identify Spears as the subject of a 911 call at the Chateau Marmont but confirmed paramedics were dispatched to the hotel Thursday morning after a report that an adult female had been injured.
The call was received at 12.42am according to the spokesman, Brian Humphrey.
Humphrey said it was unclear if paramedics encountered the person who had reportedly been injured or offered medical help.
No law enforcement was summoned to the address and paramedics left at 1.17am, Humphrey said.
He said the LAFD has no immediate comment on the claims Spears made in her social media post.
Spears with ex-husband Sam Asghari. Pic: AP
The incident comes in the week Spears’s divorce from Sam Asghari was finalised. The former couple – who were married for just 14 months – recently filed paperwork, indicating they had reached a divorce settlement.
Meanwhile, it was announced last week that Spears had also reached a settlement with her father about her controversial 13-year conservatorship which ended in late 2021.
Late last year, Spears released a tell-all memoir – The Woman In Me – giving insight into her stage career, her relationship with Justin Timberlake, friendships with stars including Madonna and Paris Hilton, and her breakdown in 2007.
Sky News has contacted Britney Spears’s representatives for comment.
Entertainment
Gavin & Stacey to return for ‘last ever episode’ on Christmas Day, James Corden announces
Hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey will return for its “last ever episode” on Christmas Day, James Corden has announced.
Corden posted a picture on his Instagram of himself and co-creator Ruth Jones holding a script.
The text on its cover reads: “Gavin & Stacey: the finale. Written by James Corden and Ruth Jones 2024.”
In the caption, Corden added: “Some news…It’s official!”
“We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin & Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James.”
The series, which is primarily filmed in South Wales, first aired in 2007 and lasted for three series, before returning for a special in 2019.
James Corden and Ruth Jones. Pic: James Corden
The comedy follows the blossoming romance of Gavin Shipman (Matthew Horne) and Stacey West (Joanna Page). Shipman is from Essex and West is from Barry in Wales.
Corden and Jones appear as their respective best friends Smithy and Nessa.
Nessa’s catchphrase – “what’s occurring?” – is one of many widely quoted lines from the programme.
Other well-known actors in the cast include Rob Brydon, Melanie Walters, Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb.
A Christmas Day return for the series had been rumoured earlier this year after reports in US media.
Jones had previously denied the claims, but now the show’s comeback has been officially confirmed.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The last special ended on a cliffhanger as audiences eagerly awaited Smithy’s response to Nessa’s marriage proposal.
The 2019 special was watched by around 18 million viewers.
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