‘The Waltons’ remake producers told cast not to watch the original show

In her recent YouTube “Behind the Scenes” segment, Judy Norton spoke to her modern counterpart, Marcelle LeBlanc; Mary Ellen in “The Waltons” remake. They talked about bringing “The Waltons” for a new generation of viewers. Then about the producers not allowing the new cast to see the original movie.

Norton asked LeBlanc if she had seen the original series before they cast her. LeBlanc replied, “When I was cast as Mary Ellen, I said, ‘oh, I’m going to see [‘The Waltons’] The current.’ And then, our first rehearsal, the creative team sat us down and said, ‘If you haven’t seen it, don’t watch the Homecoming movie or the original movie. “

She went on to say that the request confused the cast; Why don’t they watch the original series? The creative team told them, “’When we’re done shooting, we want you to come back and watch it, but while we’re doing it, we want to make sure you’re preserving as much of your own interpretation of the things as possible. this character in this storyline as possible.'”

“Because it was so iconic, it was easy for us to get in the head,” continued LeBlanc. “I know that acting is a lot of pressure that I put on myself because I was like, we are recreating something iconic that so many people know about. I want to do it the best I can. ”

Marcelle LeBlanc as the lead in ‘The Waltons’ remake

LeBlanc said she would watch the show to understand Mary Ellen, to be able to do her best, but “I know now, maybe watch it later, I know that if I watched it […] I thought so in my head. “

LeBlanc also gives a lot of praise to Judy Norton. She said, “I knew there was no way I could play Mary Ellen the way you played Mary Ellen. I looked for ways I could bring my own interpretation of her into this role. ”

Norton asked if LeBlanc would watch “Homecoming” after filming. LeBlanc replied, “I did, and I love it. Oh my gosh, it’s the sweetest movie ever. There’s a lot about it that was necessary then and is also needed now. I think it’s so special that whether it’s our ‘Homecoming’ or ‘Homecoming’ there’s a movie that families can sit together and watch together as a family, and find out what’s going on. character that everyone can identify. ”

“The Waltons” is definitely a series that brings people together. It provided a lot of family solidarity that the world needed at the time. Today, it still gives that feeling to those who watch it.