Random Dark And Morbidly Funny Behind-The-Scenes Stories From The '90s 'Addams Family' Films (14 items)

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  (#8) Christopher Lloyd Thought He Was Going To Get Fired After An Early Screen Test

  Christopher Lloyd loved the original The Addams Family TV show and Uncle Fester's character in childhood. He remembered, "When I first got the role of Fester, I was so excited. I was an avid fan of Charles Addams's cartoons when I was an adolescent. Fester was a favorite of mine. I loved his mischievous personality. Decades later, I got a call to be in the film, to be Uncle Fester. I was blown away: What are the odds!"

  However, Lloyd felt discouraged after an initial screen test in which he wore heavy prosthetics. When he was called in to speak to the producers, he was convinced he was going to be replaced - but that wasn't the case at all. The creative team just wanted him to act without all the extra makeup.
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  (#5) Test Audiences Thought Wednesday Killed Amanda

  During the Thanksgiving play finale in Addams Family Values, Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) makes her acquaintances affix Amanda Buckman (Mercedes McNab) to a post. Then, the 12-year-old puts an apple into her nemesis's mouth, pours gas, and flicks a match. Apparently, test audiences thought this scene was excessive, especially since in an initial cut of the film, Amanda never returned to the screen.

  McNab noted the producers "didn't want kids watching the movie to think [Amanda didn't make it] because that obviously doesn't really look too good for them to be out there killing off children, no matter how awful the child is."

  To appease the masses, Amanda appeared in the movie a final time: She was with her parents, flying home from camp.
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  (#4) The Original Production Studio Went Bankrupt

  Figuring out who owned the rights to the movies proved challenging. Orion Pictures started The Addams Family, but the studio went bankrupt in the middle of production. Instead of waiting out the huge financial windfall from Barry Sonnenfeld's movie, the heads of the studio were forced to act out of self-preservation.

  Paramount stepped in and bankrolled the rest of the picture, which eventually made almost $200 million worldwide. 
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  (#11) 'Addams Family Values' Almost Got Its Own Michael Jackson Tune

  The production team booked Michael Jackson to make the theme song for Addams Family Values. In the music video for the song, Jackson's neighbors chase him from his home in the Addams family mansion with pitchforks. The whole project imploded, though, when the singer encountered legal issues. MC Hammer released a song for the film instead.

  Even though producers cut ties with Jackson, they left a joke in the movie at his expense. Writer Paul Rudnick explained:

  “There's a moment in the film when Wednesday, Pugsley, and Joel, to discipline them, were placed in the Harmony Hut. It's the most sparkly, wholesome, vanilla place imaginable. Joel starts screaming uncontrollably and then the camera cuts to a poster of Michael Jackson on the wall, which was a good joke when we began and then, after the scandal, it became an enormous laugh. It was just so in the air at the time.”
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  (#2) Director Barry Sonnenfeld Was So Stressed Out, He Fainted On Set

  Apparently, nerves overtake director Barry Sonnenfeld whenever he's on set. He gets sick, he gets emotional, and sometimes he even he passes out. Sonnenfeld made The Addams Family his directorial debut, but the anxiety of taking on such a large project weighed heavily on him. A few weeks into the shoot, he fainted on set and almost derailed the entire movie. He noted: 

  "I had four espressos - one, two, three, four - and as I'm looking at the monitor, I think, 'This is weird, someone's blowing up a balloon inside my chest,' and then I say to myself, 'I'd better sit down.' Then I say to myself, 'But I'd better not walk to the chair. I'd better just sit for a moment. On the floor here.' And then I hear, ‘GET A BLANKET! SOMEONE GET A BLANKET!’"

  When Sonnenfeld woke up, he did not want producers to send anyone home. He said, "If we have to stop every time I faint or start to cry, we'll never get this movie done." 
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  (#1) Raul Julia's Eye Fell Out Of Its Socket - But He Caught It

  Raul Julia, who played Gomez Addams, went out to unwind after a day of filming The Addams Family. During the excursion, his eye fell out of its socket. Apparently, a blood vessel had burst. Luckily, Julia caught the eyeball and put it back in place.

  Hearing of the incident, the crew decided to tease Julia a little bit the day after. Anjelica Huston shared, "I called up every joke store in LA and bought every pair of those joke glasses on springs, where the eyeballs fall out. So the next morning, when Raul walked onto the set, the entire crew was wearing these glasses. He laughed... It was serious, but it was also really bizarre."

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