Summary

Collider’s Steve Weintraub chats with Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd for A24’s Death of a Unicorn.

Death of a Unicorn is a dark comedic film about a father-daughter duo involved in a bizarre unicorn accident.

Ortega and Rudd discuss their favorite Steven Spielberg movies, joining this A24 dark comedy, Wednesday Season 2, and if we’ll be seeing Ant-Man in the next Avengers movie.

In A24’s dark comedy Death of a Unicorn, Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd are a father-and-daughter duo who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while driving. This bizarre incident leads them to a secluded corporate retreat, where a wealthy pharmaceutical CEO becomes obsessed with exploiting the unicorn’s mythical properties for profit. Writer-director Alex Scharfman’s feature debut blends satire, horror, and surreal humor and serves as a commentary on corporate greed and ethics.
In this interview, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with Ortega and Rudd about the upcoming genre-bending film, where the pair demonstrate their comedic chemistry. In addition to teasing Wednesday Season 2, Tom Gormican’s (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) star-studded Anaconda, and Ant-Man’s role in the upcoming Avengers movies, the duo discuss favorite Steven Spielberg movies and more. Watch what they had to say in the player above, or you can read the conversation below.
Jenna Ortega Shares Her Favorite Paul Rudd Movie Moment

“I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me.”

Image via A24

COLLIDER: How are you doing?
JENNA ORTEGA: Have I ever seen you in person?
Well, the restraining order was pretty severe for a while, and so now that it’s lifted, we get to talk in person.
ORTEGA: I never lifted it.
Well, then you should talk to your publicist because she likes me now.
PAUL RUDD: That’s a good shirt.
Thank you.
RUDD: The face over the face creates a really great kind of illusion.
This was not what I was going to do, but since I’m wearing a Spielberg shirt, do you have a favorite Steven Spielberg movie?
ORTEGA: I watch Jaws every Christmas.
RUDD: It’s a perfect movie. Here’s one that I think was one of my all-time favorites and had a major impact on me—Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
What’s funny is there’s no wrong answer. Neither of you have worked with him yet, right?
ORTEGA: No. I wish. It’s just one of those giant things that you can’t really imagine. I’ve never imagined working with him. I just know that I would die if I did.
RUDD: We would all want to. Everyone wants to.
I was noticing—again, I’m off the rails—the new Chris Nolan movie has everyone in Hollywood, but I think the two of you.
ORTEGA: Oh.
I’m just throwing that out there.
RUDD: [Laughs] So many incredible directors out there I’d kill to work with, and none of them have called.

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I’m a big fan of both of your work. Do you have a favorite Paul Rudd performance/movie?
ORTEGA: Well, I just said This Is 40, but honestly, I think it’s the one that I’ve seen the most. That’s what I’m into. I also like your random cameo in This is the End. The running down the street…
RUDD: With a giant bottle of champagne. That’s funny. I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me. I appreciate that. Thank you, Jenna.
ORTEGA: I’m so serious. It’s one of my favorite parts of the movie.
My next question for you is, when did you decide to own SXSW this year between this film and Friendship?
RUDD: [Laughs] I had no say in any of it. It’s pretty startling to have two back-to-back.
And both are good.
RUDD: Oh, nice!
So you can actually promote them with a big smile.
RUDD: I really love both of the films and everyone involved. Obviously, Tim [Robinson] is just a tornado of hilarity.
I laughed my ass off watching Friendship.
RUDD: Yeah, it’s a weird one. He’s incredible.
I strongly recommend it.
ORTEGA: I can’t wait.
Yeah, if you can see it today, I think there’s a premiere today. You want to see it with a huge crowd, especially like here.
ORTEGA: I’m not going to be here!
Paul Rudd Knew of ‘Death of a Unicorn’s Writer-Director Before

“There’s a good chance I won’t get to work with unicorns again.”

You’re both in a good state where I’m sure you’re being offered a number of scripts. What was it about this one that made you say, “Oh, yes, I am doing this?”
ORTEGA: I was familiar with some of the filmmakers before and had worked with them previously on X, so I remember having a really excellent experience on that. And it’s nice when you have that trust and that understanding of what you’re getting into. Also, Alex Scharfman is so incredibly witty and smart and charming and just wrote a really lovely script. I really do try to work with first-time directors. I feel like it’s very inspiring and exciting, and I want to do everything that I can to help. But also, it’s unicorns. I’ve never done anything like this before. There’s a good chance I won’t get to work with unicorns again, so when you get that opportunity, I feel like you do kind of have to take it.
You’re not wrong.
RUDD: It’s true. I love the way Alex writes. When I read the script, I thought it was really funny and clever and unique. Unicorns aside, I just think that he writes people and characters… He can write really despicable characters but in a funny way. He had written a script many years ago that I had read that I loved. The movie never got made, but that was when I first became aware of him. So, when there was another script written by him, I was like, “Oh, I can’t wait to read this,” and I wasn’t disappointed.
Death of a Unicorn’s Ultra-Wealthy Antagonists Coming at the Perfect Time

“I think it would have been relevant then, but now more than ever.”

Image via A24

There’s a lot of anti-ultra-wealthy anger in the air right now, and this film captures it. I think it’s coming out at the right time, in terms of the portrayal of certain villains in the movie, if you will. Do you agree, disagree? Because they’re really terrible people, Richard E. Grant and the rest of the cast.
RUDD: Yeah. It was like that in the other script that he had written, too. It was a script for a movie called Cats of Baxley. It wasn’t ever made, but it followed kind of a Leona Helmsley-type character and all the family members who are all really wealthy and really awful, and also verbal and bright. All the characters were really smart and despicable. I think that is resonant, and it’s just funny.
ORTEGA: Also, this has been years in the making. So the fact that it is coming out during this time is pretty perfect. I think it would have been relevant then, but now more than ever.
I’m not trying to make you talk about it, but I feel like there’s a lot of resentment towards things that are going on.
RUDD: Well, for sure.
Ortega Teases the Future of Netflix’s Wednesday

“With a show like that, you kind of want to get ahead of the game.”

Image via Netflix

Like half the planet, I’m a big fan of Wednesday, and I know that you recently filmed Season 2. What can you tease people about it? I know it’s early, but how much have you guys already been talking about Wednesday Season 3 and when that might go? Because I’m 100% sure that Netflix will say yes to that.
ORTEGA: We haven’t gotten an official thumbs up or anything like that, but I know that the writers are… With a show like that, you kind of want to get ahead of the game. So, I think that they’re kind of messing around and throwing out ideas. We’re still in the edit. I was doing ADR for it two weeks ago. That’s the funny thing about these jobs is you’re done, you wrap, but you’re not really done. So, I’ll probably be working on it until the end.
Visually, I can say we have some of the most fun we’ve ever had. It’s crazy to talk about one frame like this, but there is a frame of Pugsley rolling his eyes back with this contraption around his head – that’s all I can say – and it reminds me so much of Full Metal Jacket. It’s insane. So bizarre. I just feel like there are a lot of scenes and frames, and there’s a whole episode based off of slashers, and we make a lot of horror references. So, everything about it, I feel like we kind of had a little bit more trust, and therefore, we felt like we could do bigger, more elaborate sequences, which is nice.
Rudd Tries to Send Coded Messages About the Marvel Cinematic Universe

“Can I blink and send messages, like Morse code?”

Image via Marvel

I can’t wait. Individual question for you, Paul. Have the Russo Brothers asked you to save any dates this year? And part two: you’re filming or about to film Anaconda?
RUDD: I’ve got a week left.
What can you say? Is it PG-13, is it R, is it funny? What’s the tone?
RUDD: Did you see The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent?
Yes.
RUDD: It’s the same director, and the tone of that movie, which was kind of a meta-comedy, it’s like that. It’s about a bunch of people who are certainly inspired by and loved the movie Anaconda from the ‘90s, but it’s not a remake. It’s a totally unique thing, and it is funny. As far as the rating, I don’t know. But we’ve got about a week left, and it’s been a blast.As far as the Russos, they have my number. They know where I’m at, and that’s all I can really… I don’t know how to play these things.
ORTEGA: They train them for this thing.
It’s so funny because they’re starting to film in, like, a month.
RUDD: I know. Can I blink and send messages, like Morse code? Let’s do some Johnny Got His Gun, and I’ll tap out things with my head.
Are you traveling to London any time soon?
RUDD: Isn’t everyone traveling to London soon now in this business?
ORTEGA: God, he’s good.
Death of a Unicorn premieres in theaters March 28.

Death of a Unicorn

Release Date

March 28, 2025

Director

Alex Scharfman

Writers

Alex Scharfman

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