Why Wanda Sykes Almost Turned Down Her Role In “Breaking News In Yuba County”

Breaking News in Yuba County features stellar writing by Amanda Idoko, directing by Tate Taylor, and an all star cast featuring Allison Janney, Wanda Sykes, Mila Kunis, and more. The ladies deliver comically dark performances with surprising twist and turns that will leave you fully intrigued and wanting more.

The film follows Sue Buttons (played by Janney) — A woman who buries the body of her husband after he dies of a heart attack when caught cheating on her. As she struggles to keep her misdoings a secret, all while becoming a local celebrity, things take a turn and unexpected consequences take affect. It’s a uniquely-dark roller coaster of a ride, one that Janney told HipHollywood she was thrilled to get on.

“Sue was definitely a complicated character but I really was struck by her — the way Amanda portrayed her as so starved for attention, love, validation … just completely deprived of that.”

And while Janney was excited to jump into her role, Wanda Sykes was a bit apprehensive … even though she loved the script.

“At first I was a little hesitant, I had to do some research. I got the script, I loved the script, and then they said we’re going to shoot it in Natchez, Mississippi. So I called Octavia Spencer, like give me the low down on Natchez cuz you know, we’re in some rough times right now. And Tate was like ‘yea, you’ll stay at my house on the plantation,’ and I was like who, wait a minute. And Octavia said ‘you’re going to love it,’ and she was absolutely right.”

Octavia spent time in Natchez shooting another Tate Taylor film, “Ma”. We’re thankful she talked Wanda into doing Yuba because her character Rita is absolutely a highlight of the film.

Breaking News in Yuba County is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 12th.