Movies
Jenna Ortega Reveals She Auditioned for Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’
When Ari Aster burst onto the horror scene with Hereditary back in 2018, Jenna Ortega was an established child star but hadn’t yet broken into the horror genre or become the big time Hollywood superstar she is today. It would be a handful of years before films like The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Scream and X made Ortega a household name on the horror scene, with Netflix’s “Wednesday” soon thereafter making her a household face around the world. But did you know that once upon a time, Jenna Ortega actually auditioned for Hereditary?!
Jenna Ortega revealed this little horror fun fact in a chat with the Big Bro with Kid Cudi podcast, admitting to her X co-star that she was definitely not right for the part at the time.
“I didn’t understand it… I was so young when it came in. But I think I auditioned for Hereditary,” Ortega explains. “Which obviously I wouldn’t have made any sense for… especially my disposition as a kid. And I didn’t know what I was looking at…. they gave us barely any sides… it was like two pages of just ominous words that, as a 12-year-old, kind of went over the head.”
“But I remember seeing it, looking at it, and thinking, ‘I feel like this is an important movie.’ And it was. Incredible movie,” Ortega continues. “Yeah, it’s funny to think that I went in for that.”
“Because again, I just didn’t make any sense for it.”
Milly Shapiro in ‘Hereditary’
We can only assume that Jenna Ortega had auditioned for the role of Charlie Graham, which was unforgettably played by Milly Shapiro in Hereditary. It’s hard to imagine literally anybody else other than Shapiro in that role, so some things really do work out for the best.
Jenna Ortega will be back in the horror genre in the upcoming third season of “Wednesday,” while she’s also set to star alongside Taylor Russell in a remake of Single White Female.
Check out the snippet from Big Bro with Kid Cudi below.
Kid Cudi: “I auditioned for Get Out. I was, [in] one of those situations where I read the script and I knew it was about to go.”
Jenna Ortega: “I auditioned for Hereditary … I remember seeing it, looking at it, and thinking, ‘I feel like this is an important movie.'”
Kid Cudi… pic.twitter.com/GfR0IWJz78
— Big Bro with Kid Cudi (@bigbrocudi) April 9, 2026
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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