As we found out when I spoke to Fangoria editor Tony Timpone, horror movies are back in full force! One of the major forces behind this renaissance of good horror movies is Lions Gate and the horror movie SAW. Leigh Whannell co-writer of SAW and also pulled off a tour de force of acting in SAW just by sitting in a room. After SAW was an international and domestic hit, lots of opportunities came his way. He and SAW director James Wan decided to team up for their next movie, Silence, with Universal Studios and Whannell just wrote SAW 2 on his own.
I got a chance to talk with Whannell about the SAW DVD, how Silence is going and writing his first sequel.
Check out the website for the SAW DVD
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey man, did James Wan tell you about SuicideGirls?
Leigh Whannell: Yeah hes shown it to me before.
DRE: Well get you a membership.
What are you up to today?
LW: Im in LA trying to search for an apartment which is proving to be hard. Im pretty picky about where I live because I spend a lot of time writing at home. Its so fucking expensive here so its hard to compare to Australia. Its $1500 a month for a one bedroom apartment.
DRE: Are you keeping a place in Australia too?
LW: No, I was just renting a place with my mates in Australia.
DRE: How was doing the commentary for the SAW DVD?
LW: Good, its always fun to reflect on this stuff. I think DVD commentaries are an amazing thing. Im a fan of commentaries so to be a part of one is amazing. They are like little film schools. Kids these days can learn so much more than my generation ever could. It gives me the chance to tell some bad jokes and I cant be shut up anyway [laughs].
DRE: Did you do it before SAW was released in America?
LW: For the first DVD we did it before SAW was released and we just did another one for the special edition DVD with Cary [Elwes] which was a lot more lighthearted. SAW had come out and done well so the pressure was off.
DRE: What extras will the special edition DVD have?
LW: There is going to be some additional footage with some great extras. Its the one we always we wanted to do. We did it in LA and we had our hands in it helping to design some of the extras.
DRE: I know that before SAW came out in America, it had come out in the UK and kicked Sky Captains ass.
LW: [laughs] Thats right.
DRE: What did you and James think when SAW had that $18 million opening weekend?
LW: I couldnt believe it. It was huge. It was almost like it was too good because I dont think we will ever have as good of an experience as SAW. It really was a case of every star being aligned. While it was happening I was almost waiting for the cards to fall but pretty much everything went well. Even writing it was a good experience.
DRE: Did you and James look at any other screenplays to help with structure?
LW: I didnt so much watch other films and figure out how to structure SAW from that, but there were definitely films that were inspirations. When James and I thought up SAW we were pretty young, living in Melbourne and just really anxious to make a film. Eventually it occurred to us after five years that the only thing standing between someone who wants to make a film and someone who has made a film is money. Its pure capitalism. I was working on this website during the dot com boom and James worked nearby editing at a production house. We used to meet up for lunch and talk about the film we wanted to make. I remember distinctly saying to James, if we save enough money we dont have to wander around in limbo wondering who will give us money. I figured that over a year I could save $15,000 and if he could do the same we would have quite a bit. Then we could go off and do something like Pi or The Blair Witch Project.
At that age the idea of saving all that money then spending it all was scary. Then since we had a small amount of money we knew it had to be small scale film so we consolidated a bit. For inspiration we started thinking of other films that were made in a constricted space with a minimal cast like Memento, Run Lola Run and Pi. I bought the script for Pi and it had a little production diary in it. It seemed like [Pi director] Darren Aronofsky may have written it after the film was done and faked that he wrote it during production.
DRE: SAW pretty much makes sense. The movies that James said inspired him were Italian giallo films and those movies dont make any sense.
LW: Yeah I was talking about the movies that inspired us early on. Definitely as we got into writing it we started to think about how we wanted the film to look. Dario Argento is not someone who cares about logic. His films kind of exist in this European dreamscape and arent concerned with film logic the way Hollywood studios are. We intended for SAW to make sense but there are things in it that are quite bizarre. The idea of a doll riding a tricycle into a room or even the jawtrap are a bit surreal. Like who built those things?
DRE: Someone with too much time on his hands.
What kind of sequels and remakes did you and James get offered after SAW came out?
LW: So many people want us to remake 80s horror films. They are remaking everything.
DRE: Like what?
LW: We got offered The Blob, Scanners, The Hitcher.
DRE: Anything you want to do?
LW: No, Im not into this remake thing. Im not a fan of cover bands either. Under certain circumstances remakes can be great. I will be first in line for Peter Jacksons King Kong but thats not following any trend. This current horror remake trend is a trend and it will go away. How long did the Scream inspired slasher film trend last?
DRE: About three years, I think up until that movie Valentine was released.
LW: Thats right; Valentine was the kiss of death. So I think a lot of this trend will end in the same time frame. Why would you want to be part of a fad when you can come up with your own original story? I cant see how they would turn anyone on except an executive who wants to make money.
DRE: Have you seen High Tension yet?
LW: I have and I thought it was great. I thought it was a really stripped down and bare and it reminded me a lot of those 70s and 80s horror films where the filmmakers had a real sense of cruelty towards their character like in Last House on the Left or I Spit on Your Grave. It seems like the filmmakers dont care about their characters living or dying. If you put Sarah Michelle Gellar in your horror movie shes not going to die. But in many of the video nasties from the 70s and 80s horror films there is real sense of tension knowing that any time any of the characters could have their head cut off. Thats what I got from High Tension.
DRE: I really liked High Tension but there is a twist at the end that could have just as easily not been in it. While in SAW the twist is integral to the film.
LW: Exactly. We were really happy with that because we feel we pulled off an original story with SAW. Some people might liken SAW to other films but I feel that if I could come up with another original story like SAW I would be very happy. In this post-Shyamalan world twist endings are in! Its almost an afterthought now with screenwriters.
For whatever flaws there are in SAW I think we generally pulled the rug out from underneath people. Its pretty hard to find someone who saw that ending coming.
DRE: I know people that love SAW and I know some people that really hate it. What flaws have people picked out and do you agree with any of them?
LW: I havent had anyone sit down and point out flaws to me but I definitely know that there are people who dont like it. James and I check out the internet because we want to see what people think. It doesnt bother me but I guess if everyone hated it I would be bothered. The general zeitgeist of SAW seems to be that people either passionately love it or passionately hate it. I dont mind if people hate it as long as they are passionate about it. Tis better to inspire passionate hatred than moderate love [laughs].
DRE: How did you decide on Darren Lynn Bousman to direct SAW 2?
LW: He was a guy who had submitted scripts to the producers of SAW. His stuff was really dark, twisted and fucked up so they saw him as the right guy. James and I wanted to move on and do something. We definitely wanted a hand in it but we didnt want to make it. They saw Darren as the logical guy to take over because he is really young, enthusiastic and obsessed with horror just like James was. They took a chance on him and its coming out well.
DRE: I read that originally you werent supposed to write SAW 2 but now I see that you are. What made you change your mind?
LW: I was actually quite busy but then I had a bit of time and I did it. Its coming along well. The gore level follows the number one rule of sequels as laid down in Scream 2, bigger, better and more. It is so violent and it makes SAW look like a chin stroking psychological thriller with no scenes of blood or gore.
DRE: Is the jawtrap back?
LW: I wouldnt say the jawtrap is back but there is something that is twice as sick and twice as fucked up as the jawtrap which I didnt think could be achieved.
Its hard to talk about this stuff though because Lions Gate has professional assassins out there who will shoot me.
DRE: Ok, does Shawnee Smith have a much bigger role?
LW: She does! She gets really involved in the story. We are really exploring the story of Jigsaw [Tobin Bell] so its really his story. We all know that he is slowly dying of cancer so SAW 2 will have to be his final hurrah. I just got back from Toronto where they are shooting. They are all such good actors so seeing Donnie Wahlberg and Tobin Bell going at it is a thrill.
DRE: There will be a SAW 3 whether it goes into theatres or straight to DVD, how involved would you want to be with that?
LW: Im not sure. I think I will wait and see how SAW 2 does.
DRE: No matter what SAW 2 will be a big hit on DVD.
LW: Yeah for sure, I hope so. Everything is a first for James and me so I have no idea how well this sequel will do. If it does really well maybe we will want to continue the story. Its almost like the pressure is off because we dont have as much to do with it. Now we can just laugh at Darren, in fact we do laugh at him. We call him up and laugh, then tell him he better not fuck it up. Just helpful stuff [laughs].
DRE: How is Silence going?
LW: Its good. Its interesting working for a big studio and its definitely different than working for Lions Gate.
DRE: Did you pitch it?
LW: It was a pitch Universal bought. Its a different film from SAW. Its more old school and more of a ghost story.
DRE: Are you worried about something similar happening to you with what happened between Rob Zombie and Universal?
LW: He didnt have a very good experience but it really comes down to the individual experience. To be honest I just want to see how it turns out. Were just starting in the process. It could be a great experience or it could be hellish. So far its been pretty good. Lets talk again in a year and I will tell you the truth if it was bad experience or not.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I got a chance to talk with Whannell about the SAW DVD, how Silence is going and writing his first sequel.
Check out the website for the SAW DVD
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey man, did James Wan tell you about SuicideGirls?
Leigh Whannell: Yeah hes shown it to me before.
DRE: Well get you a membership.
What are you up to today?
LW: Im in LA trying to search for an apartment which is proving to be hard. Im pretty picky about where I live because I spend a lot of time writing at home. Its so fucking expensive here so its hard to compare to Australia. Its $1500 a month for a one bedroom apartment.
DRE: Are you keeping a place in Australia too?
LW: No, I was just renting a place with my mates in Australia.
DRE: How was doing the commentary for the SAW DVD?
LW: Good, its always fun to reflect on this stuff. I think DVD commentaries are an amazing thing. Im a fan of commentaries so to be a part of one is amazing. They are like little film schools. Kids these days can learn so much more than my generation ever could. It gives me the chance to tell some bad jokes and I cant be shut up anyway [laughs].
DRE: Did you do it before SAW was released in America?
LW: For the first DVD we did it before SAW was released and we just did another one for the special edition DVD with Cary [Elwes] which was a lot more lighthearted. SAW had come out and done well so the pressure was off.
DRE: What extras will the special edition DVD have?
LW: There is going to be some additional footage with some great extras. Its the one we always we wanted to do. We did it in LA and we had our hands in it helping to design some of the extras.
DRE: I know that before SAW came out in America, it had come out in the UK and kicked Sky Captains ass.
LW: [laughs] Thats right.
DRE: What did you and James think when SAW had that $18 million opening weekend?
LW: I couldnt believe it. It was huge. It was almost like it was too good because I dont think we will ever have as good of an experience as SAW. It really was a case of every star being aligned. While it was happening I was almost waiting for the cards to fall but pretty much everything went well. Even writing it was a good experience.
DRE: Did you and James look at any other screenplays to help with structure?
LW: I didnt so much watch other films and figure out how to structure SAW from that, but there were definitely films that were inspirations. When James and I thought up SAW we were pretty young, living in Melbourne and just really anxious to make a film. Eventually it occurred to us after five years that the only thing standing between someone who wants to make a film and someone who has made a film is money. Its pure capitalism. I was working on this website during the dot com boom and James worked nearby editing at a production house. We used to meet up for lunch and talk about the film we wanted to make. I remember distinctly saying to James, if we save enough money we dont have to wander around in limbo wondering who will give us money. I figured that over a year I could save $15,000 and if he could do the same we would have quite a bit. Then we could go off and do something like Pi or The Blair Witch Project.
At that age the idea of saving all that money then spending it all was scary. Then since we had a small amount of money we knew it had to be small scale film so we consolidated a bit. For inspiration we started thinking of other films that were made in a constricted space with a minimal cast like Memento, Run Lola Run and Pi. I bought the script for Pi and it had a little production diary in it. It seemed like [Pi director] Darren Aronofsky may have written it after the film was done and faked that he wrote it during production.
DRE: SAW pretty much makes sense. The movies that James said inspired him were Italian giallo films and those movies dont make any sense.
LW: Yeah I was talking about the movies that inspired us early on. Definitely as we got into writing it we started to think about how we wanted the film to look. Dario Argento is not someone who cares about logic. His films kind of exist in this European dreamscape and arent concerned with film logic the way Hollywood studios are. We intended for SAW to make sense but there are things in it that are quite bizarre. The idea of a doll riding a tricycle into a room or even the jawtrap are a bit surreal. Like who built those things?
DRE: Someone with too much time on his hands.
What kind of sequels and remakes did you and James get offered after SAW came out?
LW: So many people want us to remake 80s horror films. They are remaking everything.
DRE: Like what?
LW: We got offered The Blob, Scanners, The Hitcher.
DRE: Anything you want to do?
LW: No, Im not into this remake thing. Im not a fan of cover bands either. Under certain circumstances remakes can be great. I will be first in line for Peter Jacksons King Kong but thats not following any trend. This current horror remake trend is a trend and it will go away. How long did the Scream inspired slasher film trend last?
DRE: About three years, I think up until that movie Valentine was released.
LW: Thats right; Valentine was the kiss of death. So I think a lot of this trend will end in the same time frame. Why would you want to be part of a fad when you can come up with your own original story? I cant see how they would turn anyone on except an executive who wants to make money.
DRE: Have you seen High Tension yet?
LW: I have and I thought it was great. I thought it was a really stripped down and bare and it reminded me a lot of those 70s and 80s horror films where the filmmakers had a real sense of cruelty towards their character like in Last House on the Left or I Spit on Your Grave. It seems like the filmmakers dont care about their characters living or dying. If you put Sarah Michelle Gellar in your horror movie shes not going to die. But in many of the video nasties from the 70s and 80s horror films there is real sense of tension knowing that any time any of the characters could have their head cut off. Thats what I got from High Tension.
DRE: I really liked High Tension but there is a twist at the end that could have just as easily not been in it. While in SAW the twist is integral to the film.
LW: Exactly. We were really happy with that because we feel we pulled off an original story with SAW. Some people might liken SAW to other films but I feel that if I could come up with another original story like SAW I would be very happy. In this post-Shyamalan world twist endings are in! Its almost an afterthought now with screenwriters.
For whatever flaws there are in SAW I think we generally pulled the rug out from underneath people. Its pretty hard to find someone who saw that ending coming.
DRE: I know people that love SAW and I know some people that really hate it. What flaws have people picked out and do you agree with any of them?
LW: I havent had anyone sit down and point out flaws to me but I definitely know that there are people who dont like it. James and I check out the internet because we want to see what people think. It doesnt bother me but I guess if everyone hated it I would be bothered. The general zeitgeist of SAW seems to be that people either passionately love it or passionately hate it. I dont mind if people hate it as long as they are passionate about it. Tis better to inspire passionate hatred than moderate love [laughs].
DRE: How did you decide on Darren Lynn Bousman to direct SAW 2?
LW: He was a guy who had submitted scripts to the producers of SAW. His stuff was really dark, twisted and fucked up so they saw him as the right guy. James and I wanted to move on and do something. We definitely wanted a hand in it but we didnt want to make it. They saw Darren as the logical guy to take over because he is really young, enthusiastic and obsessed with horror just like James was. They took a chance on him and its coming out well.
DRE: I read that originally you werent supposed to write SAW 2 but now I see that you are. What made you change your mind?
LW: I was actually quite busy but then I had a bit of time and I did it. Its coming along well. The gore level follows the number one rule of sequels as laid down in Scream 2, bigger, better and more. It is so violent and it makes SAW look like a chin stroking psychological thriller with no scenes of blood or gore.
DRE: Is the jawtrap back?
LW: I wouldnt say the jawtrap is back but there is something that is twice as sick and twice as fucked up as the jawtrap which I didnt think could be achieved.
Its hard to talk about this stuff though because Lions Gate has professional assassins out there who will shoot me.
DRE: Ok, does Shawnee Smith have a much bigger role?
LW: She does! She gets really involved in the story. We are really exploring the story of Jigsaw [Tobin Bell] so its really his story. We all know that he is slowly dying of cancer so SAW 2 will have to be his final hurrah. I just got back from Toronto where they are shooting. They are all such good actors so seeing Donnie Wahlberg and Tobin Bell going at it is a thrill.
DRE: There will be a SAW 3 whether it goes into theatres or straight to DVD, how involved would you want to be with that?
LW: Im not sure. I think I will wait and see how SAW 2 does.
DRE: No matter what SAW 2 will be a big hit on DVD.
LW: Yeah for sure, I hope so. Everything is a first for James and me so I have no idea how well this sequel will do. If it does really well maybe we will want to continue the story. Its almost like the pressure is off because we dont have as much to do with it. Now we can just laugh at Darren, in fact we do laugh at him. We call him up and laugh, then tell him he better not fuck it up. Just helpful stuff [laughs].
DRE: How is Silence going?
LW: Its good. Its interesting working for a big studio and its definitely different than working for Lions Gate.
DRE: Did you pitch it?
LW: It was a pitch Universal bought. Its a different film from SAW. Its more old school and more of a ghost story.
DRE: Are you worried about something similar happening to you with what happened between Rob Zombie and Universal?
LW: He didnt have a very good experience but it really comes down to the individual experience. To be honest I just want to see how it turns out. Were just starting in the process. It could be a great experience or it could be hellish. So far its been pretty good. Lets talk again in a year and I will tell you the truth if it was bad experience or not.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
So far he's probably the only good thing that came out of the recovery show.
But I am in total aggreement with what Leigh Whannell has to say in this interview. I hope more independent horror filmmakers will strive to make original films, rather than doing remakes of classic films from the 70's & 80's (which wasn't that long ago, to be honest).
[Edited on Jun 09, 2005 by Goatfish]