Within a fortnight of becoming available to stream on Netflix, Wednesday has become one of the most talked about productions. The comedy horror series by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar debuted on the streaming platform on November 23, and consists of a total of eight episodes.
Main star Jenna Ortega has specifically come in for great praise for her performance in the series. The 20-year-old is becoming a staple in the horror genre overall, and is being described in some quarters as “Gen Z’s scream queen.”
The rest of the Wednesday cast is made up of stars like Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, The Sandman), Joy Sunday (Dear White People), Hunter Doohan (Your Honor, Westworld) and Riki Lindhome (The Lego Batman Movie, Knives Out), among others.
While the actors will most likely take most of the glory, just as much – if not more – credit is due to director Tim Burton, who also functioned as one of the executive producers on the show.
Burton directed the first four episodes of Wednesday, with Gandja Monteiro and Smallville’s James Marshall taking charge of the final four. Burton’s vision was influenced in no small part by the 1976 horror film, Carrie.
What Was The Movie Carrie About?
The movie Carrie was released in November 1976. The story was adapted from the similarly-titled novel from two years prior, by renowned horror author Stephen King. The project was directed by Brian De Palma who would later gain acclaim for his work in Scarface, The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible.
Lawrence D. Cohen penned the script for the movie. A synopsis for Carrie on Music Box Theatre reads: “Withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother at home.”
“When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross, Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually take a dark and violent turn,” the plot summary concludes.
Sissy Spacek featured in the titular role, with Piper Laurie playing her mother Margaret, and Amy Irving, William Katt and John Travolta all adding to the cast line-up. From a production budget of around $1.8 million, Carrie returned a healthy gross of nearly $35 million at the box office.
How Did Carrie Impact Tim Burton’s Vision For Wednesday?
When the movie Carrie was released in 1976, Tim Burton was 18 years old and coming towards the end of his time at Burbank High School in California. Being one of the best films of that year, he went to see it at the cinema, and immediately started to relate the story and characters to his own personal life.
“In 1976, I went to a high-school prom,” Burton told Empire Magazine in a September interview. “It was the year Carrie came out. I felt like a male Carrie at that prom. I felt that feeling of having to be there but not be part of it. They don’t leave you, those feelings, as much as you want them to go.”
Indeed, Burton carried those feelings into his adult life and career, and they have come to influence the work that he does – including his latest project. “Wednesday and I have the same worldview,” the director insisted.
Wednesday exists within the world of the legendary Addams Family, depicted in the eponymous film of 1991, which Burton turned down the opportunity to direct.
Why Did Tim Burton Pass On The Original Addams Family Project?
When Tim Burton was approached to direct The Addams Family in the early ‘90s, he was already committed to DC’s Batman Returns. As such, he said no to the offer, and Barry Sonnenfeld was hired in his place, in what was in fact his directorial debut in a feature film.
In 2010, another opportunity to work in the same universe presented itself to Burton: Universal Pictures wanted him for a stop-motion animation film, with a story revolving around the Addams Family. He was not convinced about the creative direction, and once again declined the offer.
“That never really went anywhere,” he said in the Empire Magazine interview. “I was intrigued by it… but I think they wanted to go a more computer-generated way.” When the script for Wednesday eventually landed on his lap, however, he felt that the stars had finally aligned.
“When I read this, it just spoke to me about how I felt in school and how you feel about your parents, how you feel as a person,” continued Burton. “It gave the Addams Family a different kind of reality. It was an interesting combination.”
