The Netflix series “Wednesday” is being hailed by many viewers, but apparently there were behind-the-scenes creative disagreements between actress Jenna Ortega and producer Tim Burton. Ortega, who plays the role of Wednesday Addams in the series and thus became a celebrated star, said in a podcast that she had changed some aspects of her role on her own – and was criticized for it.
Speaking to podcaster Dax Shepard, the 20-year-old said, “There were moments on set where I almost got unprofessional from just changing my lines.” “Everything she does, everything I have to play, doesn’t make sense for her character,” Ortega said. She simply changed some of her character’s statements, for example in a scene about Wednesday’s graduation dress.
Discussions about individual elements of films or series between actors and directors or producers are not unusual, but sometimes even desirable – sometimes they make the end product better. But it is very unusual for an actress to make such changes on her own. Especially when it comes to a very young actress like Jenna Ortega and an experienced, highly decorated producer and director like Tim Burton.
In the industry, Ortega’s approach is also causing a frown. TV producer Steven DeKnight, best known as the producer, writer and director of “Smallville,” slammed the actress on Twitter. Many actors don’t see “the big picture” and therefore can’t understand why certain lines in the script are important to the story. “She’s young and doesn’t know any better (but she should be),” DeKnight tweeted of Ortega, calling her comments “toxic.” Ortega should ask himself how it would feel if a director or producer talked about their work like that.
Many of Ortega’s fans found these statements inappropriate, and DeKnight clarified that he didn’t mean to question the Wednesday actress’ performance. But he emphasized again that the actress had broken the relationship of trust on the set: “Creative differences should stay in the family.” Shortly after the series was published, there was criticism of Ortega’s behavior on the set: she had shot a scene despite corona symptoms. She was later diagnosed with Covid-19 infection.
Tim Burton himself still doesn’t seem to have a problem with Jenna Ortega – according to the “Hollywood Reporter” he could soon work with her again on “Beetlejuice 2”.
Sources: “Armchair Expert” / Steven DeKnight on Twitter / “Hollywood Reporter”
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