By ADAM SCHRADER
Published in The Lewisville Texan Journal on March 18, 2016
NBC has ordered a pilot of the TV sequel to the 1999 hit Cruel intentions. It will include a cast member from Lewisville, Anne Winters. The 21-year-old usually plays teenagers on shows including The Fosters, Wicked City and Tyrant.
In the movie, Kathryn Mertieul (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (played by Ryan Phillippe) are seductive step-siblings who make a bet with cruel intentions. Sebastian must have sex with the headmaster’s daughter, Annette, before the end of summer break.
If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian’s vintage 1959 Jaguar Roadster. If he wins, he gets her. Kathryn also plans to ruin the life of another character, Cecile, a naïve girl whose mother asked Kathryn to help her fit in at her new school. Sebastian journals his sexual conquests, which comes into play later in the film.
Not much is known about the TV plot yet. But, Winters said that story follows Bash Casey, the son of Annette and Sebastian about 15 years later. Bash finds his father’s journal and, on the pursuit for answers, leaves his small Kansas town for a scholarship to Brighton Preparatory Academy in San Francisco. His step aunt attempts to control his soul and the family business.
Winters said she will play the “slutty best friend who makes bad decisions” of Cassidy, the girl whom Bash falls in love with, at the private school. Cassidy will be played by Samantha Logan, who also had a recurring spot on The Fosters.
“We’re actually friends and I’ve known her for a while,” Winters said. “So I’m so excited to work with her.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar will reprise her role. In the film, Annette was played by Reese Witherspoon. In the TV show, Annette will be played by Kate Levering, known for Drop Dead Diva, Like Dandelion Dust and Chlorine, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The O.C. star Peter Gallagher will be joining the cast as Edward Valmont, the father of Sebastian who died in the movie. Entertainment Weekly reported that the character is described as a “sexy, beguiling, sophisticated, powerful and ruthless billionaire hotel magnate” who finds out that he has a long-lost grandson named Bash, whom he grooms for a life with money and power.
The original writer and director Roger Kumble will be the direct the pilot and serve as the show’s executive producer, Winters said.Cruel Intentions The Musical creators Jordan Ross and Lindsey Rosin are helping write it “for a modern feel,” Winters said.
Winters said the show has not been picked up yet and that she’s not listed as a series regular right now.
“I’m just booked for the pilot and don’t know what’s going to happen for my role specifically,” she said.
Winters said she wanted the role the instant she heard there was going to be a TV sequel.
“I love the movie and thought it would be so fun to be in the world,” she said.
Winters said that one of her lines during the audition had her hooked. The line was, “One dick is boring, two dicks are better, but declare yourself bisexual and imagine the possibilities.”
“It cracked me up and it was so fun. That’s when I knew I had to get the role,” she said. “So I dressed to the nines and wore what I thought Cruel Intentions would be and killed it.”
Winters said she was worried she wouldn’t be able to take the role because of her role in FX’s Tyrant.
“Tyrant was going to start filming soon and it would have conflicted, but we ended up working it out,” she said.
Winters said she’ll start filming Cruel intentions on March 22, fly to Budapest on March 23 to film Tyrant on March 29. She’ll return March 30 to film Cruel Intentions again on March 31, before once again flying out to film in Budapest.
“Cruel Intentions will be one of the hottest pilots of 2016,” said her father, Harold Winters. “Anne is one busy girl.”
Winters said that because of her busy schedule, she’s happy her role seems small right now.
“Anything more than a few days of filming for the show and I may not have been able to be a part of it,” she said. “But I would like for the role to grow.”
Winters said that she’s still in a recurring role on Tyrant.
“I am only in the first three episodes of the season so far, but I’m doing a lot of a cool stuff that I can’t tell you, but it will be worth watching,” she said.
Winters is also pleased that Wicked City was released on Hulu after it was cancelled by ABC.
“It feels really good that those episodes are out and I’m really grateful I got to sing on the last episode,” she said. “That was so fun and it was cool to showcase my voice on a show.”
“And I got to see it. I wouldn’t have been able to see it if it hadn’t been released to the public either, so that’s amazing.”
Adam Schrader 