Tim Burton at Lucca Comics and Games 2022
Visionary, outsider, dreamer. Tim Burton gave one of his latest proofs of dark creativity with his new Netflix TV series, Wednesday, and on the occasion of its upcoming release on the platform on November 23, the director presented the title at Lucca Comics and Games 2022. A meeting with the press in which CulturaPop also had the opportunity to participate and to discover more details regarding Wednesday, the relationship of Tim Burton with the character and the world from which he comes, that of the Addams Family, but also the realization of the product, before TV series directed by the Burbank director.
Tim Burton at Lucca Comics and Games 2022
Wednesday is first of all a mystery with teen tones, supernatural and investigative, which sees the eldest daughter of the Addams Family as the protagonist, busy explaining the strange events that are unfolding in the school for outsiders that the young woman attends, the Nevermore Academy. Over the years there have been many announcements that have aired a possible direction by Tim Burton of a product concerning the Addams Family and finally such a project has been able to find realization. Indeed, the weirdest family in the world seems to be perfect for Tim Burton and his gothic and often humorous style of him. But what was it like for the director to work on this TV series?
I grew up watching the TV series, even though I actually started to love the Addams Family from the very first cartoons. I have always had a great interest in this family and I must say that Wednesday has always interested me as a character. Maybe that's actually what interested me most because I've always felt like Wednesday, ever since I was a kid. We share the same black and white point of view. I also love the character of Wednesday because like her I have lived with mental disorders all my life, I identify with her and she is a source of inspiration. She is always very clear and direct, she always says what she thinks. But she has always been represented as a child, while I wanted to see how she would be as a teenager, at school, with her family, with teachers. This is how the project started. - th_culturapop_d_mh3_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh3 "); }
Tim Burton also spoke about the Addams Family, the great influence it still has on the public today and its characteristic of always being current:
The Addams Family is by definition a family of weirds, of weirdos, and I think most families are made up of "weirdos". So I think anyone has a way to identify with this family in some way. Something present in Wednesday is also the embarrassment that kids often feel towards their parents. Imagine her embarrassment at having Morticia as a mother.
Speaking of Wednesday's character, Jenna Ortega's interpretation of him in the Netflix TV series is undoubtedly noteworthy. An actor's rehearsal capable of communicating the strength of the character sometimes only with a glance, without the use of verbal acting. In this regard, Tim Burton commented on the presence of Jenna Ortega in the cast:
Wednesday is an iconic character, so it was very difficult to find a suitable actress to play her. However, in my opinion without Jenna Ortega this series would not have existed. She manages to impersonate, to embody Wednesday, with her eyes and her gaze, but above all with her strong character. This was what our character needed. She manages to convey this "black and white" character, even if some nuance of humanity shines through on Wednesday without betraying the fundamental core of the character.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm afraid of the internet. When I look for something on the internet, I find myself inside a black hole. Many of its contents are certainly used for a good purpose, but I have strong fears of this tool, so I share the point of view of Wednesday, who is an outcast, an outsider even more than the outsiders themselves who populate Nevermore.
To support Wednesday in this new Netflix TV series, however, there is also her whole family, including Mano. What was the work behind the creation of this character?
It is a particular character, to whom I wanted to give a life of him, a wider and more lived presence. It is for this reason that we have also applied a more worn, worn look to Mano. I liked it in previous performances because it gave me the idea of being a horror movie creature, like a beast with five fingers, so on Wednesday I also tried to give Hand a past, a particular story, as if it were a magical being. . We could define Mano as the Dustin Hoffman of the hands.
We also remember that the soundtrack of the TV series Wednesday was created by the composer who works alongside Tim Burton almost from the beginning of his career, that is Danny Elfman. What was it like working alongside him once again for this new project?
Danny and I have been friends for a lifetime, we share the same tastes, we love the same types of films. This is why we have such a close relationship and it is so easy to work with him. Moreover, I consider Danny as another author, I treat him as such, the music itself is one of the characters in the series. And I'm happy that he agreed to write the music for Wednesday, as he was back in his career as a rock star, so it was great that he found the time to work on this project.
There is also space for the costume component, on Wednesday, which was curated by the multi-award-winning Oscar winner Colleen Atwood. A component about which Tim Burton expressed himself at Lucca Comics and Games 2022 in these terms:
Also in this case the collaboration with Colleen, which has been going on for many years on many projects, has been very important . Wednesday has only ever had one look, so I think Coleen was instrumental in finding different looks for her, while still setting her apart from the other Nevermore students and other characters. For me it is essential that her world is visibly different from that of others.
As mentioned at the beginning, Wednesday is the first serial product that the Burbank director, who has always been involved in making films for the big screen, worked on. So what was your approach to a TV series and what is your relationship with cinema now?
It was a great pleasure for me to make this TV series, also because it was interesting to see what it was like to work at a different pace. Almost a kind of slower cooking, compared to cinema, which still continues to be my first love. I also found it very interesting to work with the other directors who made Wednesday. Regardless of the work you do, I have a lot of respect for the work of other directors, I know that kind of effort, and it was also a very good and positive feeling because I get a lot of inspiration from others. We set the tone for the series and they followed it, but I also draw inspiration from other directors. It is a give and take. It's like a big, slightly strange family.
