By Kaitlyn Huamani
LOS ANGELES (AP) --As she reprises her role as the witch everyone loves to hate, Kathryn Hahn says it “makes total sense” she’s continuing the story.
The “Agatha All Along” star, who first introduced Agatha Harkness to the world in the hit 2021 Marvel series “WandaVision,” said the rich complexity of her character excites her.
“It’s so juicy. You can see her as a simple bad witch, but she’s not. No one is bad,” Hahn said. “There’s always something that they’re covering up that they put all these levels on top of, so the fun was trying to keep the mask on with all these meteors of truth banging at that core.”
The Marvel Television series, which premiered Wednesday (9/18) on Disney+, picks up after “WandaVision” as Agatha forms a makeshift coven to travel down the mythical Witches’ Road on a quest to regain her powers. Although Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch captured Agatha’s magic in “WandaVision,” Hahn said she has felt empowered by the role.
A symbol that has become a crucial part of her character is the Neopagan triple goddess — the maiden, mother and crone as depicted on a brooch Agatha wears in both shows. Hahn says those symbols of transformation in the female life cycle have been reflected in her own life.
“I did feel, walking into this, like I was going to be walking through a portal into my crone area, whatever that means, and it did feel very powerful to feel wise while walking through this journey as a woman,” Hahn said.
Beyond references to Neopaganism, Wiccan culture and other witchy motifs, “Agatha All Along” is ripe with allusions. Several films, television shows, musical groups and more permeate the show’s otherwise spooky aesthetic, but none appear more prominently than “The Wizard of Oz.”
Jac Schaeffer, the series’ head writer, director and executive producer who also created and wrote “WandaVision,” said the 1939 film felt like a natural touchstone. “We’re in the land of witches,” she said.
“Early on, it was clear that it needed to be a quest structure. And for me, the movies of my childhood that I love so much are all quests,” Schaeffer said. “Once we were sort of locked into that as the structure, it was like, ‘How many allusions can we bring in and what makes sense and what’s delightful, what’s witchy enough for us?'”
Schaeffer said the series also alludes to Fleetwood Mac, Kate Winslet in the gritty crime drama “Mare of Easttown” and “Big Little Lies,” which she described as a “prestige lady drama soap” where everyone has “sweaters and good hair.” She also said the group on that show, led by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, are a coven in their own right.
The references work because Agatha is “such a performer,” Hahn said — and perform she does. In addition to borrowing from “WandaVision’s” propensity for allusions and replicating aesthetics, “Agatha All Along” also features another catchy tune the cast sings throughout the series.
Hahn, along with the ensemble cast including Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp, sing a memorable song that opens a door to The Witches’ Road. Emmy-winning songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who also wrote the viral sensation “Agatha All Along” song for “WandaVision,” penned the tune.
Although some cast members said they were initially nervous to sing in front of LuPone, a Broadway legend, the three-time Tony winner insisted everyone in the cast could sing and blend their voices well.
“It’s magical to be in a chorus. Sometimes, the fates just align. Each member of this coven did have to pick up instruments or we did have to sing, and it all sounds great,” LuPone said. “Sometimes, things are fated. I think this was fated.”
The tight-knit bonds of the on-screen coven seem to have transcended off camera, as well. Hahn said the group developed a close bond during the shoot in Atlanta.
“Everybody is such a such a powerhouse in their own right that it was very easy to come to work. Everyone stepped up because we were all so excited to be working with each other,” Hahn said. “We were just sitting in a circle on the stage every day, just telling stories and talking about what food we’re going to eat next. It just became a dream.”
As the cast and creatives behind the series wait for its two-episode premiere, Schaeffer said she is holding her breath while eagle-eyed fans dissect trailers and theorize about the plot. Although she once thought “WandaVision” would be a “huge flop,” Schaeffer said she feels confident in the show.
“What ‘WandaVision’ taught me is it all kind of shakes out,” she said. “Not everyone will be satisfied, but the majority of people, I think what they really want is the ride and I feel confident that’s what we’re providing with ‘Agatha.'”
Changing OpenAI’s Nonprofit Structure Would Raise Questions and Heightened Scrutiny
The artificial intelligence maker OpenAI may face a costly and inconvenient reckoning with its nonprofit origins even as its valuation recently exploded to $157 billion.
Nonprofit tax experts have been closely watching OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, since last November when its board ousted and rehired CEO Sam Altman. Now, some believe the company may have reached — or exceeded — the limits of its corporate structure, under which it is organized as a nonprofit whose mission is to develop artificial intelligence to benefit "all of humanity" but with for-profit subsidiaries under its control.
Jill Horwitz, a professor in law and medicine at UCLA School of Law who has studied OpenAI, said that when two sides of a joint venture between a nonprofit and a for-profit come into conflict, the charitable purpose must always win out.
"It's the job of the board first, and then the regulators and the court, to ensure that the promise that was made to the public to pursue the charitable interest is kept," she said.
Altman recently confirmed that OpenAI is considering a corporate restructure but did not offer any specifics. A source told The Associated Press, however, that the company is looking at the possibility of turning OpenAI into a public benefit corporation. No final decision has been made by the board and the timing of the shift hasn't been determined, the source said.
In the event the nonprofit loses control of its subsidiaries, some experts think OpenAI may have to pay for the interests and assets that had belonged to the nonprofit. So far, most observers agree OpenAI has carefully orchestrated its relationships between its nonprofit and its various other corporate entities to try to avoid that.
However, they also see... Read More