Jenna Ortega initially passed on the chance to play Wednesday in the Netflix series, but reconsidered after talking to Tim Burton

Once Jenna Ortega was hard at work playing the title character on Netflix’s Addams Family series Wednesday, she became so dedicated to making sure the title character came off just right that she would even change lines from the way they were written in the scripts. But during an interview with the UK’s Times, she revealed that she initially passed on the chance to star in Wednesday.

Ortega told the Times (as reported by Deadline), “I got the email, passed on it. I had done so much TV in my life, all I’ve ever wanted to do is film. I was scared that by signing on to another television show it could prevent me from doing other jobs I really wanted and cared about.“

It was the involvement of Tim Burton, who executive produced the series and directed four of the first season’s eight episodes, that convinced Ortega to give Wednesday a try. Eventually. “Tim is such a legend, and we just happened to get along very well. But even then I said, ‘Ah, no — I think I’m OK,’ a couple [more] times.” Ortega and Burton got along so well, they might end up working together again on Beetlejuice 2. And Wednesday turned out to be one of the biggest hit shows on Netflix.

Wednesday is described as

a comedic, supernaturally-infused coming-of-age series that follows the teenage girl’s years as a student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the town, and solve a mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new relationships at Nevermore. Snap snap.

Ortega is joined in the cast by Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley and Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gomez and Morticia. Also on the show are Riki Lindhome as Wednesday’s therapist Dr. Valerine Kinbot; Joy Sunday as Siren Nevermore student Bianca Barclay; Emma Myers as Wednesday’s sunny roommate Enid Sinclair; Hunter Doohan as townie Tyler Galpin; Moosa Mostafa as quirky Nevermore student Eugene Otinger; Georgie Farmer as awkward and shy Nevermore student Ajax Petropolus; Naomi J. Ogawa as vampire Nevermore student Yoko Tanaka; Percy Hynes White as supernaturally artistic Nevermore student Xavier Thorpe; Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin, Tyler’s father, who has a vendetta against Gomez; Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems, “the principal of Nevermore Academy who still has an axe to grind with her former classmate Morticia Addams”; Victor Dorobantu as Thing, the non-verbal disembodied hand; George Burcea as Lurch; Tommie Earl Jenkins as Mayor Walker; Iman Marson as Lucas Walker; William Houston as Joseph Crackstone; Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as Deputy Santiago; Oliver Watson as Kent; Calum Ross as Rowan; and Johnna Dias Watson as Divina.

Thora Birch had signed on to play a character named Tamara Novak, “Wednesday’s dorm mother and the only ‘normie’ on staff at Nevermore Academy, with a focus on all things botanical.” Sadly, due to a family illness, Birch had to leave the production in Romania and return to the United States before filming was complete. Christina Ricci, who previously played Wednesday herself in the live-action feature films The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values, replaced Birch, taking on the role of Marilyn Thornhill.

Are you glad Ortega finally decided to sign on to play Wednesday? Share your thoughts on the Netflix series by leaving a comment below.

Freddie Prinze Jr. hadn’t heard about the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel yet when trades reported he was in talks to star

Last month, it was announced that – twenty-six years after the release of the the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (watch it HERE) and twenty-five years after the follow-up I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (watch that one HERE) – Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) has signed on to direct an I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel from a screenplay by Leah McKendrick (M.F.A.), with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in talks to reprise the roles of Julie James and Ray Bronson. But in an interview with TooFab, Prinze revealed that he wasn’t, and still isn’t, actually in talks to star in the sequel. In fact, he hadn’t heard of the project at all until that announcement was made.

Prinze told TooFab, “I have been offered nothing, nothing. They just said that to get people excited. I haven’t spoken to anyone at their company, my agents haven’t received an offer from them whatsoever. I had a conversation with the director a few days after they announced that, just to be like, ‘Yo, what the hell? Why are they saying I’m going to be in a movie I’m probably not going to be in?’ And she said, ‘Let me pitch you the idea.’ So she’s spoken to me about the idea, but I haven’t said yes, I haven’t received an offer. I have no reason to lie to anyone, I have no skin in the game. I’m only gonna do things that I like and work with people that I like and there’s not gonna be any wiggle room this time around. I messed up the first time around, this time I just want to do stuff I’m passionate about.“

Prinze has been doing a lot of voicework, and recently went several years without having an on-screen role. His roles in the Punky Brewster TV series revival, the Netflix movie Christmas with You, and his cameo in Clerks III have been described as something of a comeback.

Prinze went on to tell TooFab that he would like to see the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel have a basis in reality, there shouldn’t be any supernatural aspects (as there were in the direct-to-video movie I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, which didn’t involve the Julie James or Ray Bronson characters). “I don’t like that, it just makes me think of old ’80s movies like Soapdish. That’s what it’d feel like for me if everybody came back fine or (hook-wielding slasher) Ben Willis was like, ‘I’m back again, 20 years older, I can’t move that well, arthritis.’ Hopefully they find an organic and just base everything in reality. … The cool thing about I Know What You Did Last Summer was you had four people feeling very differently about a horrible event. You had anger from [Ryan Phillippe], you had guilt from [Hewitt], you had fear from [Sarah Michelle Gellar] and you had regret from me. That was all screenwriter Kevin Williamson. That’s what made it special, it was four people reacting honestly, all four were relatable in a different way. I don’t know if they’re gonna have 4, 5, 10 kids, no kids, I don’t know what they’re gonna do. But hopefully it stays rooted in reality. I think that’s the best way to do horror, or you have to fully commit to the Freddy Krueger of it all. Which is awesome, they’re my favorite movies, but they’re ridiculous. So you have to lean all the way into it or all the way out.“

When the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel was first announced, it was said that the studio thought it was important to not reboot the franchise but do a sort of “passing of the torch” type of sequel where original cast members are brought back while a new generation cast members are added to the ensemble, similar to films like Creed or another 90s horror classic Scream. Once the idea was pitched by Robinson and McKendrick, the next step was getting Hewitt and Prinze back on board, which the two were game for after hearing the pitch. Now we know that Prinze hadn’t even heard the pitch yet at that point.

I Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Jim Gillespie from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson. The film has the following synopsis: A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. While pursuing who he thinks is responsible for the letter, Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is run over by a man with a meat hook. The bloodletting only increases from there, as the killer with the hook continues to stalk Julie, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay by Trey Callaway. The synopsis: A year after killing vengeful hit-and-run victim Ben Wills (Muse Watson), who gutted her friends with an iron hook, college student Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is still shaken by the experience. When her roommate, Karla (Brandy), wins a vacation for four to the Bahamas, she plans to bring along her boyfriend, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer), attractive Will (Matthew Settle) and Julie. At the resort, Julie starts receiving threatening notes and realizes Ben is still alive.

What do you think of the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel announcement saying Freddie Prinze Jr. was in talks to star in the film when he hadn’t even heard about it yet? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

The Alfred Molina-led murder mystery series Three Pines is being canceled by Prime Video after an eight-episode run.

Less than 24 hours after one of Hollywood’s most significant celebrations of the year, Prime Video announced Three Pines is canceled. The Canadian-set series starring Alfred Molina, inspired by Canadian author Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series of novels, lasted for one entire season, consisting of eight episodes.

“We are proud of the work done on the series and the opportunity to work with great partners,” a representative for Prime Video told Variety in an email.

During the eight-episode run, Three Pines shared four murder mysteries set in and around a fictional Quebec village called Three Pines. Alfred Molina plays Inspector Armand Gamache, Rossif Sutherland plays Jean-Guy Beauvoir, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as Isabelle Lacoste, Sarah Booth as Yvette Nichol, Anna Tierney as Clara Morrow, Julian Bailey as Peter Morrow, Tanto Cardinal as Bea Mayer, and Marie-France Lambert as Reine-Marie, among others.

Unfortunately, the series ends on a cliffhanger, with Molina’s Inspector Armand Gamache in imminent danger and his team scrambling to come to his aid. Fans will have to read the books to know how things turn out.

“It has been difficult to process the news that there will be no second season of #ThreePines,” Tailfeathers wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to everyone who watched and supported the show. It meant the world to me knowing that this show resonated with such a massive global audience. As an Indigenous actor, I never thought I’d have the opportunity to be the leading woman on a #1 show like this. It was huge. Our stories matter and this show demonstrated that audiences, regardless of background, are hungry for Indigenous content.”

“Thank you for all the overwhelming messages about ‘Three Pines.’ I know there’s a lot of disappointment that the show won’t be returning, and I’m sad for the wonderful cast, crew and fans,” Showrunner Emilia di Girolamo wrote on Instagram. Girolamo left the production after the first season wrapped to work on another project.

“I was not involved in the conversations and negotiations around renewal but I have been told Left Bank, Sony & Prime Video all wanted to bring the show back but were unable to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”

Are you upset to hear Three Pines is canceled? Feel free to let us know in the comments section.

David Ayer says he regrets giving Jared Leto’s Joker a “Damaged” facial tatoo in Suicide Squad because the studio cut lacked context.

Several years after the release of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, fans (and the filmmaker) are still discussing what did and didn’t work for the villain-centric DC film. One topic that continually crops up is Jared Leto’s portrayal of the Jester of Genocide, Joker. While Leto’s version includes the classic character’s chemically-tinged green hair, twisted grimace, and warped body language, there’s an aspect of Joker’s appearance that bothers Ayer, too. I’m talking, of course, about Joker’s facial tattoos—specifically, the word “Damaged” on his forehead.

Ayer shared a photo of Leto in full Joker regalia on Twitter, to which a fan said Leto’s version of the character was a letdown. Ayer is extremely vocal online regarding Suicide Squad and how fans have yet to see his preferred version of the film. He often responds to fan comments about the movie, and this instance was no exception. Responding to the harsh analysis, Ayer said, “that’s what happens when you hack a performance and character arc to pieces. I’m sorry that’s all you were allowed to see. Now your mind is closed to the truth.”

Experiments pic.twitter.com/k9o3fVIwlk

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) February 22, 2023

Ayer continued by responding to a question about Joker’s “Damaged” tattoo, saying he regrets its inclusion, even if the ink has a story to tell. According to Ayer, the tattoo serves to “troll” Batman, who, in Ayer’s universe, knocked out Joker’s teeth by punching him in his Cheshire grin. Responding to the question about the tattoo, Ayer said it was “the one aesthetic choice” he wished he didn’t make and “caught a lot of smoke” for its inclusion.

Experiments pic.twitter.com/k9o3fVIwlk

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) February 22, 2023

What do you think about Joker’s appearance in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad? Do you think Warner Bros. will ever release Ayer’s version of the film, or has that ship sailed for good now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the DCU? Are you a Suicide Squad defender? Feel free to let us know what you love about the film in the comments section below, and show a little love for Ayer’s vision of DC’s Task Force X and all the deaths that come with being one of Amanda Waller’s pet projects.

Kiefer Sutherland leads a very familiar espionage story in this Paramount+ thriller series.

Plot: John Weir, a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, is framed for murder by powerful forces who have the ability to influence and control populations.

Review: Kiefer Sutherland experienced a career resurgence when he played Jack Bauer on the long-running FOX series 24. As an unabashed fan of the insane, real-time thriller series, I loved Sutherland’s intense portrayal of an All-American hero who would stop at nothing to defend his country. After 24 left the air, Sutherland played a much different character in the political series Designated Survivor. Sutherland’s down-to-earth performance was consistent throughout the series, which made him an everyman character who bordered on being a superhero. Now, Kiefer is back in a new thriller show with action elements and conspiracy theories aplenty, this time on a streaming platform where he can drop copious f-bombs while still defending the United States from nefarious bad guys harnessing technology to bend the masses to their evil ways. Basically, Rabbit Hole is Mr. Robot if it were produced by the creators of 24. That is not necessarily bad, but you know what you are in store for from when the series begins.

Based on the trailers, you may think you know what Rabbit Hole is and would be partially right. Kiefer Sutherland plays John Weir, an expert at corporate espionage who helps sway business outcomes based on carefully orchestrated operations that make his clients rich, and their enemies fail. Think Mission: Impossible meets Inception but without the science fiction twists. John and his team are experts at their craft, making them incredibly paranoid. Weir has mastered thinking of scenarios a dozen steps in advance, allowing him to pull off intricate schemes without a hitch. But, when a plan goes awry, Weir becomes the prime suspect in a massive murder conspiracy that puts him on the radar of every major agency. At that point, the series adds a big dose of The Fugitive, a reboot of which Sutherland starred for the now-defunct Quibi. All of this occurs within the first episode with a hefty twist that changes what this series is really all about.

Having seen the first four episodes of Rabbit Hole, I am unsure if series creators John Requa and Glenn Ficarra were entirely certain about what they wanted this show to be. Over the first episodes, the plot, tone, and style of Rabbit Hole shift again and again from dramatic to tense, comedic and light to violent and cynical, and then to a rip-roaring thrill ride of a tale. What is certain is that Kiefer Sutherland appears to be having a lot more fun with this character than he has in any series he has starred in. Sutherland plays Weir as a smart-ass who suffers from anxiety and paranoia but is not afraid to mess around with his colleagues and the targets of his various tactics to clear his name and attempt to stop the malicious antagonists at the center of this narrative. Sutherland gets to do what he has become quite good at doing, including running around, using computers via VPNs and all sorts of Hollywood hacker technology, and tapping into the political climate at any given time. Rabbit Hole is awash with references to the Deep State, fake news, and extremists coercing the public with online propaganda.

What helps make Rabbit Hole work is the solid cast surrounding Sutherland, especially Charles Dance and Meta Golding. Dance, who plays Dr. Ben Wilson, also seems to have a lot of fun with his character here, playing Ben Wilson as a vital participant in Weir’s operation and a mentor deeply rooted in the conspiracies that make up this story. Golding, who plays attorney Hailey Winton, is a solid foil for Kiefer Sutherland, serving as both a love interest as well as our entry into the complex core of this tale. Jason Butler Harner is great as Weir’s friend, Valence, while Enid Graham is solid as FBI agent Jo Madi who is on the trail of Weir before anyone else realizes what is going on. Many other characters factor into this story, but to divulge anything about them would spoil what Requa and Ficarra have in store for you. It should go without saying that this series has pretty much summed up its entire concept in the trailer but really gives away nothing about what is really going on here.

Best known for writing Bad Santa and directing Crazy, Stupid, Love, and Focus. John Requa and Glenn Ficarra are clearly trying to emulate Joe and Anthony Russo’s career trajectory with this series. Rabbit Hole does not quite have the grandeur of big-screen productions, but it does feature solid set pieces and some well-orchestrated moments that kept it from feeling too much like a network drama. Still, several commercial break moments made this series feel more basic cable than premium. The problems with the series are that it feels like something we have seen before, even from a series that starred Kiefer Sutherland. Requa and Ficarra’s last series, neXt, was a network drama with a procedural format that boasted a couple of actors we see in Rabbit Hole. The biggest shift from that series to this one is the profanity.

Fans of 24 and Designated Survivor will probably like Rabbit Hole. Fans of Mission: Impossible will probably enjoy it, too, but no one will get a series that reinvents the genre. At best, Rabbit Hole has fun playing with the conventions of the espionage genre and gives Kiefer Sutherland a character who is having a little more fun saving the world than he has over the last twenty years. For an eight-episode season, the first four chapters of Rabbit Hole set up a lot of different directions this series could go and boasts an ensemble that would be entertaining to watch as they try to get there. Some tweaking and a little more intensity could make this a solid ongoing series, but for now, it is a forgettable one. I had fun watching Rabbit Hole while it was on, but I felt no need to keep going once I finished the available episodes.

Rabbit Hole premieres on March 26th on Paramount+.

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Oscar Isaac is in talks to executive produce and star in the serial killer thriller series Helltown, where he would play Kurt Vonnegut

Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight) is in talks to star in and executive produce the crime thriller series Helltown for Amazon Studios – and if the deal goes through, Isaac will be taking on the role of author Kurt Vonnegut, the writer of such novels as Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. Mohamad El Masri (Severance) is writer, executive producer, and showrunner on Helltown, which is based on a novel by Casey Sherman (pick up a copy HERE).

Deadline reports that Ed Berger, director, co-writer, and producer of the Best International Film Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front remake, is on board to direct and executive produce the series.

Helltown is set to consist of eight episodes and will tell the story of Kurt Vonnegut before he was a renowned author and cultural lightning rod. In 1969 Kurt was a struggling novelist and car salesman living life with his wife and five children on Cape Cod. When two women disappear and are later discovered murdered underneath the sand dunes on the outskirts of Provincetown, Kurt becomes obsessed and embroiled in the chilling hunt for a serial killer and forms a dangerous bond with the prime suspect.

Coming to us from Team Downey and Amazon Studios, the series is also being executive produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Amanda Burrell of Team Downey, along with Sherman. Isaac will be executive producing with Gena Konstantinakos through his Mad Gene banner.

Deadlines notes that Sherman is “a bestselling author of 17 books, including The Finest Hours, which was adapted for a 2016 film, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, by Disney; and Patriots Day, adapted for a 2016 film, starring Mark Wahlberg, by CBS Films.”

How does Helltown sound to you? Are you a fan of Kurt Vonnegut and/or Casey Sherman? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Just the fact that this show is going to be about Oscar Isaac (assuming his deal will go through) tracking a serial killer is enough to get me interested. We’ll keep our readers updated on Helltown as more information is made available.