The two directors Christina Ricci considers geniuses: “I’m a huge fan”
It’s not often that a child actor is able to successfully make the transition to being an adult performer, because while there tends to be a smaller number of young actors vying for select child roles, the market becomes much more competitive for roles in the more traditional age brackets.
Christina Ricci is the rare example of a child star who both continued her career once she got older and surprised everyone with how willing she was to take performative risks. Betting on one’s own success isn’t an easy decision to make, but it’s been beneficial to Ricci, whose roles in The Addams Family and Casper granted her teen idol status, yet she was never one to coast on her own fame by picking easier, commercial projects that wouldn’t have been as challenging.
Instead, she sought out the opportunity to work with acclaimed, award-winning filmmakers like Ang Lee, Sally Potter, Woody Allen, Tim Burton, John Waters, and, controversially, Vincent Gallo, among others, garnering a type of success that only comes from ambition.
Ricci hasn’t been shy when discussing the filmmakers she’d enjoy working with, and given that she certainly has had a few instances in which she’s been able to show off her musical skills, it should be no surprise that she has expressed admiration for the legendary director Bob Fosse.
“I think one of my favourite films of all time is Star 80,” she admitted, “I’m a huge Fosse fan, and I love that movie. There’s something about it; the music, Eric Roberts is so incredible in that movie. There’s something about the way he made that movie. It sort of lulls you into this comfortable state, and then all of a sudden it’s absolutely horrifying. It’s also kind of funny and ironic at times and winky. I just think he was a genius.”
Star 80 is based on the Pulitzer awarded Village Voice article ‘Death of a Playmate’, which reported on the horrific tale of abuse model Dorothy Stratten underwent before being murdered by her husband, Paul Snider. Initially attracting significant backlash, the graphic content and bleak tone led many to accuse Fosse of going too far, but in recent years, the film has gained a critical reassessment, wherein the lead performances have been handily praised.
On the other hand, further from the grimness of reality, Ricci has also had vast experience in science fiction and fantasy films, which also makes her a fan of Terry Gilliam, who began as a member of Monty Python, before going on to establish himself as a unique filmmaker telling supernatural, surrealist, and darkly comedic stories, of which Brazil and The Fisher King are widely celebrated as his masterpieces. However, the actor declared her allegiance to a later masterpiece.
“I love 12 Monkeys,” she said, “It’s one of my favourite movies of all time. I love sci-fi, and I think Terry Gilliam is just a genius. That movie is just so fantastic. The whole tie-in with the Hitchcock movie. It’s just so smart. It’s such a smart science fiction film.”
While Star 80 was Fosse’s last release, Gilliam continues to seek out financing for a new film, and most recently completed and released his long-term passion project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, in 2019. Since Ricci has found newfound popularity as a result of her appearances on Yellowjackets and Tim Burton’s Wednesday, she may be in a better position than ever before to pursue a collaboration with the funny man turned filmmaker.
