WonderCon 2016: The Conjuring 2 Talk with James Wan
Ted Hentschke
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WonderCon is becoming a destination for horror fans. After Blumhouse Productions used the event to give us looks into Sinister 2, The Gallows, and Insidious: Chapter 3 last year, the folks over at Warner Brothers have followed suit with some exclusive looks into The Conjuring 2 and Lights Out.
The mood at the unveiling was electric, but nowhere near as excited as I was to talk to director James Wan. My time with him was brief, so I made the most of it for the sake of you lovely folks.
Ted: With The Conjuring 2, you have yet another franchise on your hands. How do you go about approaching this film with a series in mind, as opposed to the first as an individual film?
James: Ha, well, it’s not like I go into every film expecting it to spawn a ton of sequels. For me, it’s not about making a series, but about making a film people want to see. This focus carries different weights when you have a sequel. I honestly thought this would be a cakewalk at first. Same team, same cast, what could go wrong? Well, you have to keep in mind what fans want to see. You can’t go too far from the first, but you also can’t just rehash the same material. There’s a lot of expectation hanging over you. I had to keep improving to make sure this lived up to those expectations. I also realized that this wasn’t just about the scares. People really liked the ghostbusting duo that Patrick (Wilson) and Vera (Farmiga) brought to life, and I wanted to take these characters to a new level.
Ted: You’re pretty well loved by both hardcore horror fans and general audiences. What do you think it is about your approach to filmmaking that resonates with audiences?
James: Well for the horror community, I think it’s because I’m really respectful to what they love. I want to make a scary movie. I don’t want to make horror comedies. As far as the public, I think part of it is that my films aren’t all that offensive. They’re scary and bloody, but at the end of the day they are fun movies. I like to think I have very “common man” tastes. I make movies that I want to watch. Commercial films should speak to everyone, and I make films that I want to watch. I’m just lucky that the films that I want to watch are what everyone else wants to see as well.
Ted: Time is short, so my last question is about Leigh Whannell. My, you guy’s have done some great work together, and he’s seen his own success now with Insidious: Chapter 3. Are you looking to work with him again in the future?
James: We will work together again someday, and I’m incredibly excited about the prospect of that. I’d absolutely love to produce something for him. He’s an incredibly talented writer and has an amazing talent for making films that will be successful in the genre world, but with a little twist that makes it really special. Even when working within a series, he has such a talent for coming up with something new, and I really respect that.
With Wan at the helm of a new production company, Atomic Monster, I think a collaboration might not be that far off. As a horror fan, I’m giddy at the thought of another Whannell/Wan venture. Dibs on exclusives if they call their studio WW Brothers.
If you haven’t checked out the new trailer for The Conjuring 2, do yourself a favor and check out with our first look here. Hitting theaters on June 10th, check back in for our official review to find out if it lives up to the hype. Considering how well the first film did and the success of the Insidious franchise, my hopes are high. How about you? Are you looking forward to revisiting the adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren? Think it will live up to the first? Did I totally ask the wrong questions? Am I a charlatan hack who shouldn’t be trusted with such important interviews? Let me know below!
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