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Look out, Mrs. Trunchbull: Matilda is coming back!
We have just learned that Danny Devito and Mara Wilson are planning a mini-“Matilda” reunion. Yes, Mr. Wormwood and his magical daughter are planning to lead a film screening of the 1996 film. The movie will be accompanied by a live orchestra led by the film score’s composer, David Newman.
In a recent interview, the 78-year-old DeVito discussed his plans with The Messenger.
“Mara and I were planning to perform ‘Matilda’ live with the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra just before the strike hit,” DeVito said. “We had it all set, but, after the strike hit, we couldn’t proceed because it would be seen as a promotion for a movie. We’re going to watch the movie with David Newman’s score and try to do it sometime soon, as it seems the strike may be coming to an end — I hope!”
The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike ended on Sept. 27, which means that New Jersey might soon be able to look forward to this special “Matilda” experience.
Although Wilson has shied away from the spotlight in her adult years, she has always been upfront about how much she loved working with DeVito. In a 2013 EW interview, the child star said that Devito and Rhea Perlman felt like family by the time the film wrapped. (Perlman played DeVito’s wife, Mrs. Wormwood, in the Roald Dahl film adaption, and the couple have been married in real life since 1982, though they are now separated.)
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In a 2016 interview with NPR, Wilson also recalled that DeVito and his family gave her the best birthday party ever, so it’s clear that she retains happy memories of her time with the iconic actor, despite having struggled with life as a child star.
In recent years, Wilson has done voice-acting work and written her second memoir, “Good Girls Don’t.” (Her first memoir, “Where Am I Now?“, came out in 2016.) However, she is not sure if she ever wants to act again.
“I don’t know if they really know what to do with a short, curvy, Jewish brunette,” Wilson said to The Guardian earlier this year. “I don’t want anybody telling me, ‘You need to lose 30 pounds and get a nose job … I defined myself for so long by the media’s terms, by Hollywood’s terms, instead of defining myself by my own goals, my own relationships, my own life.”
Still, the many fans of “Matilda” will be glad to see her back for this one-time event, whenever it happens! Stay tuned.
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