It’s been nearly 20 years since Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman starred in the now-cult Halloween film Practical Magic, so it might just be time to conjure up a sequel. And one actress is ready and willing to embrace her witchy ways in the reboot: Jenna Dewan Tatum.
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We recently had the chance to chat with Dewan Tatum, who — let’s be real — is basically a shoo-in for a Practical Magic spin-off. She starred in the TV series Witches of Eastwick, surrounds herself with crystals and uses essential oils like it’s nobody’s business. Plus, she’s alluringly beautiful. In other words, she just generally gives off that whole Fleetwood Mac “Witchy Woman” vibe.
When we pitched the idea to Dewan Tatum about bringing Practical Magic back to the big screen, she couldn’t contain her excitement.
“Oh my gosh, that’s so cute. Let’s do it — make that happen!” she said, adding, “First of all, Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies. I think that’s kind of one of the best movies ever made. It’s one I put on when I need to make my day a little better or cheer myself up. It’s such a great movie.”
Dewan Tatum suggested that perhaps Sandra Bullock (or “Sandy,” as she calls her) could make a cameo. Which begs the question, How would Dewan Tatum fit into the Practical Magic picture?
It could be a straightforward reboot, in which case Dewan Tatum would actually star as Sandra Bullock’s character, Sally Owens. In which case we suggest Jessica Chastain stand in for Nicole Kidman as Sally’s sister, Gillian.
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Another option would be to have Dewan Tatum play the grown-up version of Sally’s raven-haired daughter, Antonio. This works out well because the actress who originally played the little girl, Alexandra Artrip, is no longer acting.
Antonio’s sister, of course, was played by a young Evan Rachel Wood. And since we all know she is still acting (hello, Westworld!), she can star alongside Dewan Tatum.
A third and final option would be to cast Dewan Tatum in the prequel. Yep, you heard me — there’s a prequel. Don’t feel bad if you weren’t in the know, because it just came to be. Practical Magicauthor Alice Hoffman’s The Rules of Magic hit bookshelves on Oct. 10.
According to the book synopsis, Rules follows Susanna Owens and her three children: Franny, Jet and Vincent. “The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart,” says the synopsis. “The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.”
Get hype, people! This could certainly lead to a Practical Magic spin-off, in which case Dewan Tatum is the perfect pick to play Jet in her younger years.
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Let’s just hope that whatever reboot or revival film comes — ’cause you know it’s inevitable — fares better than the original when it comes to bad juju. According to director Griffin Dunne, in fact, the first film was actually cursed by a real witch.
In a new interview with Vulture, Dunne opened up for the very first time about the incident, explaining that he hired a witch consultant to ensure the film’s authenticity. Unfortunately, he got a whole lot more than he bargained for.
When the witch demanded an additional $250,000 for her services and a producer refused, the witch was livid. Dunne returned to the office that day to find a scathing and, to be quite honest, entirely too creepy message waiting for him.
“I got back to my office on the Warner Bros. lot and I listen to my voicemail,” she recalled. “‘How dare you sic that shrew on me?’ she said in the message. ‘You think you can buy me off, well let me tell you something… there is a land of curses!'”
Then, Dunne says, the witch slipped into speaking in tongues.
“It was terrifying. I listened to as much as I could and then I hung up. Within minutes, Warner’s been served with papers. She’s suing Warner Bros.”
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Ultimately, the studio did settle for an undisclosed amount in order to get the witch to back away. However, Dunne could never shake the idea that she really did somehow hex the movie — upon its release in 1998, it was critically panned and largely unsuccessful at the box office.
But hey, the joke’s on the witch, because Practical Magic is a Halloween classic now. If you don’t believe us, just ask Jenna Dewan Tatum.
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