Following the Dr. Mae Jemison and Dr. Michio Kaku panels at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018 in Room 220BC on Saturday, April 7 was Christina Ricci, probably best known for her role as Wednesday in the Addams Family movies.
Christina Ricci started acting as a young child, and it’s been really surprising to her how much of her work has carried on, such as Casper and The Addams Family. Although she has had the chance to be in both TV and film, she said that film is her preferred medium. She recalled being on the Paramount lot when she was 12, where Coneheads and Star Trek: The Next Generation were being filmed, and feeling that this was really special, and thinking to herself that this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. In fact, she prefers working on a film studio lot as opposed to filming on location, because it feels more glamorous.
Because she was an actor from such a young age, she learned “set etiquette” early on in life by being quiet and watching. Christina said that it was annoying when people don’t know how to behave on set.
She talked about the challenges of working with a green screen, and having to trust what she is being told about what’s on the screen, and having to double check where certain objects are supposed to be.
Christina also talked about producing Z: The Beginning of Everything, an Amazon series, in which she also stars as Zelda Fitzgerald. She addressed how because the character is based on a real person, you are beholden to certain facts, as well as certain myths about that person. However, she is glad that there is no video footage of Zelda Fitzgerald, because her least favorite thing to do is an impression of someone.
One of the projects she was most excited about was when she got to work with the Wachowskis (in Speed Racer). She had also been very excited to work with Terry Gilliam (in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) because she had been such a big fan of 12 Monkeys. Christina praised Terry Gilliam’s attention to detail.
One interesting thing that happened to Christina after playing Wednesday on The Addams Family and Addams Family Values (but before being in Sleepy Hollow) was that people would say to her, “Oh, you played that witch!” and she would be like, “What are you talking about?” Even when she would go on things like an MTV awards show, random pop stars would say that to her as well.
The panel was also opened up for audience questions.
One person asked her about the chain in Black Snake Moan. Christina said that they chose a chain that was heavy, but not so heavy that she would have trouble moving it. She also said that it was easier to actually use the chain in scenes than to act like she was. Regarding working with Samuel L. Jackson on that movie, she said it was amazing, and that she loved working with him, as she had been obsessed with Pulp Fiction when she was 14. Christina also confessed that when she was scared as a teenager, she used to pretend she was him! She recalled that there were many times while shooting Black Snake Moan that she would cry, and he would just hold her while she cried.
When asked about working with Wes Craven, Christina said that she hadn’t gotten to know him well because he was very reserved, but that he was very sharp and intelligent.
As for working on Sleepy Hollow, she said she had a great time — except for being afraid of her horse!
Recalling her time on the Addams Family movies, Christina said that Anjelica Huston (Morticia) would invite her into her trailer and have talks with her about the industry, Raul Julia (Gomez) would always be singing opera and dancing with them, while Christopher Lloyd (Uncle Fester) was very quiet, but was fun to watch.
When asked about her perspective on women in Hollywood, and the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, she seemed a little caught off guard about answering the question. She was so unsatisfied with her initial answer, that she came back to the question after another question had been asked. Christina clarified, “I fully support everything that is happening,” and that she supports all equality. She went on to say that she hopes it inspires all women to come forward and tell their story, and that it’s not solely a problem in Hollywood.
A young woman who came up to ask Christina about playing Roberta in Now and Then broke down into tears because the character and the movie meant so much to her. Christina recalled that she and Gabby Hoffman became best friends during that movie, and they would ride their bikes, sing songs, and quote Pulp Fiction. She said that there was a lot of heart and that they put a lot of love into that movie.
When a question about the movie Gold Diggers came up, Christina pointed out that Jewel Staite (also a guest at Silicon Valley Comic Con this year) was also in the movie. She said that she’d seen Jewel backstage and said, “Oh, I haven’t seen you since we were 12 years old!” But the question was about filming in nature, which Christina said she didn’t really like, but she still had a lot of fun on the movie, for which she had to learn how to river raft and mountain climb.
As for working with Vincent Gallo on Buffalo ’66, Christina said that he hadn’t wanted her to bring a guardian with her — and she was only 17. It was her first movie without her mother. She recalled that he was a “maniac” and she didn’t know what was happening, and she was trapped in a car with someone who was screaming at her for most of the time. However, Christina is still proud of the movie. She said that as an actress, you work with a lot of crazy people, and that “if you do it right the first time, you never have to do it again.”
Christina also talked about working with Cher on Mermaids. There had been a director change in the middle of the movie, and Cher hadn’t wanted her to worry about anything, so she would hide Christina in her trailer during director meetings, saying, “They won’t like it, but you should know what’s going on.” One time, Christina was misbehaving, and Cher snapped at her, saying, “You are at work, do you understand that? This is a place of work. I love you, but we’re at work, and you can’t be annoying, or a child.” At the time, Christina broke down crying, but looking back, she wishes more people had talked to her like that when she was growing up, because she would have had a more realistic view of life. Christina went on to say that everything Cher did was very “pragmatic” and that she had an outlook of “Why would I lie to you?” She said that Cher was an amazing role model with a “no bullsh*t” attitude.
Christina recalled working on Casper, where they would first use a ball on a stick to trace the outline of where Casper was supposed to be. Then when they would film, there would be nothing, and she was just supposed to imagine it all herself. It was very challenging, but she liked the challenge.
Regarding Tim Burton, Christina said that he’s another director like Gilliam who has a great attention to detail. She told us that if you look behind the monitor while they’re filming, he’s mouthing the lines to the dialogue! Christina commented that it’s amazing and rewarding to work with someone who’s so passionate about what they’re doing.
That about wrapped up the panel. Up next in Room 220BC was Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica). Stay tuned for our recap and photos of that panel!
You can see more of our photos of Christina Ricci at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018 below.
