“We share so much of our lives on social media that you would think that these young girls could have some privacy when needed,” Garcelle Beauvais said during a press conference to promote the Lifetime original movie Caught in His Web, premiering February 19th at 8/7c. Inspired by true events, the film follows three teenage girls who unite against their cyberbully by hiring a detective, played by Garcelle. “I had never worked for Lifetime, believe it or not,” Garcelle revealed. “I've been in the industry for 100+ years. So that definitely was an opportunity that I didn’t want to pass.”
(Luka Cyprian/Lifetime)
The film tells a cautionary tale about trusting a stranger online. “I had friends in high school who had their photos shared, unfortunately,” Alison Thornton shared, who plays Emma. “I feel like it's something that is really common nowadays. Sending a picture is like currency, especially I think in the age of COVID when everyone's separate. So I think that it's a really important message.”
Part of the attraction to the project for Malia Baker, who plays Olivia, was the ability to start a conversation about these issues for viewers. “Especially being a young girl in today's society, you have to normalize kind of almost connotation of this can happen,” Malia said. “If you take pictures, it's kind of inevitable for that to happen and I feel like this movie just dives deep into it on a great level. It's really important and I'm glad that we're able to share the message.”
“My favorite part of the film is just the fact that these girls are so much stronger together,” Emma Tremblay added, who plays Gabby. “The way that they form their team is so beautiful and fun to watch, and I'm so glad that I got to work with Malia and Alison as my two classmates. They were incredible. And then Garcelle as well. We were just a great team. We were a great team together.”
“Remember when you were a kid?,” Garcelle Beauvais asked. “I think everything was rosy and you were so hopeful and full of life and trusted people. And I think the cautionary tale is not that you can't trust people, especially if you're in high school because you need to make friends but it's what you share with people. And if someone's asking you to share something inappropriate, it's probably inappropriate to do so. I have two 14-year-old boys, and I try to tell them if someone sends you a picture of someone, do not forward that picture to another friend because that's how it all gets started.”
Caught in His Web premieres Saturday, February 19th at 8/7c on Lifetime.