When Catherine Zeta-Jones’ husband, Michael Douglas, suggests they go camping, “I’m like, ‘Forget it,’†the Oscar-winning actress says.
But if the Douglases had a set-up like the Addams Family, “I’d go camping every day of the week.â€
In the second season of “Wednesday,†the Netflix series about the Addams daughter, her school and her friends, Morticia (Zeta-Jones’ character) and her husband, Gomez (played by Luis Guzman) show up with a tent that’s “pure elegance,†Zeta-Jones says.
It's one of the little extras Executive Producer and Director Tim Burton brings to the hit adaptation.
The camp, for example, has more than just a few tents. It’s the site of a competition where Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna Ortega) figures out how to outrun, outplay and outlast students from a rival school. Filmed in Ireland, the sets help the actors get into character quite quickly, largely because costumes, lighting, hair and makeup do an exacting job of creating the world.
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“We have to be so careful because it could be so Party City,†Zeta-Jones says. “But it’s so refined and just real. Our lighting has that wonderful gray edge to it. It’s cold, but when they get in close, it gets warm. Everyone brought their ‘A’ game ... and we’re very appreciative of that.â€
Also helping foster the vibe: Ortega. She has a laser focus that helps foster relationships with friends and peers, co-stars say.
Then, too, there’s the writing that doesn’t rely on earlier incarnations but forges its own course.
The push-pull relationship between Morticia and Wednesday gets another dimension when Morticia’s mother (played by Joanna Lumley) shows up and shifts the power dynamic.
Morticia, Zeta-Jones says, “is trying to put an old head on young shoulders,†when dealing with her daughter. “She knows Wednesday has a fantastic power and ability, but she doesn’t just say that. It’s the 'putting the older head on the young shoulders' that a lot of parents do. I do it myself.â€
Because Morticia has been drafted to chair a fundraiser for Nevermore, Wednesday’s school, she’s around campus quite frequently.
That gives Zeta-Jones an opportunity to lean in on some particularly dry lines. “She has a humble quality, which I love,†the actress says. When Morticia is asked if she sings, she responds, “only at funerals.†She also sword fights and gets to fence with her daughter.
“It’s organic to the character,†Zeta-Jones says. “It’sÌýnot like, ‘Oh, (Catherine) was in “Chicago.†Let’s give her song to sing.’ It’s all organic to Morticia — and it was just a dream.â€
Burton, she says, encourages a creative environment. “You’re not afraid to say, ‘Tim, what about doing it this way?’â€
The veteran film director and animator often creates on the set, prompting the cast to rise to his level. Ortega, too, is “like this butterfly going into the stratosphere,†Zeta-Jones says. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer, better person and I’m just thrilled that I’m in her gang.â€
Season Two of "Wednesday" begins Aug. 6 on Netflix.
