High school can be a pretty overwhelming experience, as the rumors spread among students can quickly lose control, resulting in backstabbing, revenge, and justice. The new film Jane showcases the fine line between vindication and vengeance, with actions that are initially meant to balance the scales among high schoolers eventually seeing those who spread those messages start to lose control of the monsters they’ve created. Madelaine Petsch stars in the film, with the movie’s themes and messages resonating with her so strongly that she also stepped behind the camera to serve as a producer. Janeย premieres in select theaters on Friday, August 26th and will be streaming exclusively onย Creator+ย Friday, September 16th.ย
Inย Jane, Olivia (Petsch) is a seemingly perfect high school senior who struggles with grief following the recent loss of a friend. After being deferred from her dream college she begins to spiral and experiences a series of increasingly frightening panic attacks. In an attempt to regain some sense of control, she embarks on a social media-fueled rampage against those that stand in the way of her success but, as things escalate, she is forced to confront-and ultimately embrace-her darkest impulses in order to get ahead. ย
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ComicBook.com caught up with Petsch to talk developing the film, her own high school experiences, and the future of her Riverdale character.
ComicBook.com: Jane has got some serious Cruel Intentions vibes, and that was based on Shakespeare. There’s a little bit of The Tempest, I feel, inspiring Jane. Cruel Intentions feels like a seminal high school movie, it’s a staple for a lot of high schoolers. Did you have staples when it came to movies that you absolutely loved and watched over and over again when you were back in high school?
Madelaine Petsch: Oh, my God. Of course I did. But I was a little bit of a unique child. I grew up with Blockbuster, I’m dating myself. But I used to go to the horror section of Blockbuster every weekend and I banged through the entire horror section during my high school experience. I did not go to parties, but I did watch every horror film in my local Blockbuster. And that is a feat within itself.
Sounds like we had very similar experiences in high school. When it comes to Jane, you’re not just starring in this, but you’re also a producer behind the scenes. What was it about this project specifically that made you want to get that much more involved and be a producer?
It was nice because I’ve been dabbling with the idea for a while. And then when Jane came along, it just felt so easy and a natural transition into it. I found the script really early on into the process, which I think is a really important key to being a producer. Jumping in at the end doesn’t really make any sense. And I really got along with the director, we had an incredibly similar vision for the role.
I think just all of the right pieces came together and I felt like, “Okay, I can champion the story in a way that’s further than being an actor. I have the tools and the capacity to do this.” So it was less about me actively going out and trying to find a producer role and more of it finding me in a really cool way.ย
I think it’s safe to say that things get a bit out of hand in this story, maybe just a smidge. Do you remember of a time in your life where maybe you started out with, say, a prank or a harmful little joke that things escalated very quickly and got maybe outside of your control?
I’d like to say that my life wasn’t that interesting in high school, but truly I just did my homework and dance classes and went home. I was pretty boring. I was bullied a lot in school. So I feel like if anything, I more identify with the other side of the storyline. But that’s something that’s so cool about this movie, I think, as it’s really not based in reality. It really is in its own genre of the world where these things happen and people get away with it. By no means do I think any of this actually happens in real life or should it.
It sounds like the worst is maybe not rewinding the video tape at Blockbuster and saying, “No, I totally rewound it. Sure.”
Well, actually, I had DVDs.
That’s the prank is handing them a DVD and saying, “Oh, I totally rewound this,” and them looking at you like, “What the hell are you talking about?”
That’s my idea of a prank as a high schooler.ย
We talked about the bullying component of this, and when things start out in Jane, it’s not necessarily with the ramifications that were anticipated. In the beginning, there was a bit of righteousness going on. People were being called out for some shady behavior. Do you think there was some justification of the manipulation at least early on in this story?
I can’t walk into a story with that stuff in mind, or else I’ll never be able to play the character with full unbias. So I don’t personally, as Madelaine, but when I was doing it, I couldn’t even cross that thought. I’m somebody who, in my personal life, I stay out of it all. I have no drama. I don’t say anything that I don’t have any involvement in. It’s just that’s who I’m as a person.
So I by no means feel like any of this is justified. The reason why they — I can’t talk about any of this because it’s not out yet. But the reason why they attack … I’m zipping it. I’m zipping it. Whatever. The ends do not justify the means. The reasons that they’re doing these things really don’t make any sense. It really is just everything spirals out of control.
What I like about the film is I feel like you can go back and re-watch it, you can see that maybe Olivia was planning, was sprinkling seeds the entire time. I don’t think she planned that whole ending bit. That was such an accident gone wrong, but I do think you can look and see that Olivia was maybe the antagonist the whole film from the jump.ย
It definitely makes you want to go re-watch as soon as it ends to see all of the bread crumbs that lead you to that ending. Speaking of endings, there’s this little TV show that you’re on that’s coming to an end. It’s called “Archie and Friends,” I think.
Oh, “Archie and Friends.” Yes, I did do a little stint on that.
I want a spinoff of you and Kiernan [Shipka’s Sabrina] going on all these supernatural adventures. With Riverdale coming to an end, would you like to keep playing Cheryl in something like a spinoff? Would you want to continue that character or do you think your time has been so fulfilling on that show that you want to go out on a high note and now you’re just looking forward to other adventures?
It’s like I love and adore Cheryl so much. We’ve been on such a ride together. We’ve grown up together. So the idea of saying goodbye to her does really make me sad and I can’t imagine a world where I’m not playing her or she’s not in my life.
However, I do feel like I’m just excited to explore other opportunities and try new things. And as an actor, we want variety and we want to play new characters. So I think, as much as I love her, I think I have to love her and leave her.ย
Well, you say that now, but I think if we give it six months, I’ll get on the phone with you and Kiernan. We’ll spitball some Sabrina and Cheryl adventures.
Absolutely. Give a call when I’m done with Season 7, and maybe we can talk.
Janeย premieres in select theaters on Friday, August 26th and will be streaming exclusively onย Creator+ย Friday, September 16th.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can contactย Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter.
