Jenna Ortega is taking over the world. Last week, it was announced that the 18-year-old actress would lead Tim Burton’s highly anticipated Addams Family–inspired series Wednesday for Netflix. It marks the second cult franchise the prolific young performer steps into: last year, she embodied Tara Carpenter in the fifth Scream film.

The movie is said — according to close sources — to be the ultimate subversion of the slasher genre. And while we wait out the Scream 5 countdown, this site keeps tracking every safe, verified detail of this revival.

Occasionally, some tidbits slip past the radar (looking at you, Google Alerts). But, as promised, we bring them back when they do. Take, for instance, this Cosmopolitan interview with Jenna Ortega from April: it’s a small slice of oral history that adds meaningful behind-the-scenes trivia.

Last fall, she was working on the Scream revival in Wilmington, Delaware, and her fellow cast and crew set up a surprise birthday party for her in a hotel conference room.

“I wasn’t really expecting anybody to go out of their way and do that for me. But they did, and that was really nice,” she says now, while sitting in front of her generic hotel bed (which is made, of course).

How she joined Scream 5

Jenna Ortega also explained how the role of Tara Carpenter first came her way:

“I auditioned for the project in the very beginning of quarantine. And I didn’t really expect anything out of it, because I don’t know if you noticed, but they tend to cast 30-year-olds to play teenagers. I remember my mom asked me about it, and I told her, ‘Yeah, there’s just no way they’re gonna cast a 17-year-old girl.’ Five months later, I got a callback to meet with the directors.”

Working with the legacy trio

Her memories of sharing the set with Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette feel almost surreal:

“David taught us how to do Bob Ross paintings because he’s, like, a certified instructor, apparently. Courteney invited us all to a dinner. Neve invited us to breakfast at this beach house she was at, and she loved to give us the keys or leave the doors open so we could go take the surfboards out. I don’t think I was expecting that kind of hospitality, especially considering they are the Scream franchise. You never know what to expect when you’re meeting people of that standard, but they truly were just the most down-to-earth, sweetest people.”

On her character (without spoilers)

“I kid you not, two seconds ago, I was like, Did I say too much? Like, I’m not even kidding. So when it comes to this part, I’m keeping my mouth shut because I’ve been feeling pretty dangerous right now.”

Scream (2022) arrives on January 14th, 2022.