Sinister 2 Set Visit Report; Interviews with Scott Derrickson, James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, Ciaran Foy, and More!
Ted Hentschke
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Lastly, I had a phone chat with producer Jason Blum a month or so after the set visit since he was unable to join us for the press conference. His company, Blumhouse Productions, has achieved numerous box office horror hits since Paranormal Activity by using a simple yet strict business model. This mode of efficient filmmaking uses a lower budget while enriching the film with solid concepts, good characters, and strong directors.
On working with children on set:
“The shoot took 30 days. The days are short because we have kids. The biggest challenge is the hours are very short and there are more people on set. It’s harder to manage. It’s a time pressure when you’re working with kids.”
When asked if children are ever worried about working on a scary movie set:
“Scary movie sets are not scary… There’s a lot more joking around than on a comedy. I don’t know why that is. Ethan Hawke had never done a horror movie before… He’s really not a big horror movie fan because he doesn’t like to be scared. One of the reasons he’d never done a horror movie was because he was worried about being scared on set. He found out very quickly that the set is not scary. That is why he agreed to do The Purge four months later.”
On whether Ethan Hawke will be a regular face in future Blumhouse productions:
“Well, we did three together so far. We did The Purge, Valley of Violence–the Ti West movie, and then we did Sinister so hopefully that’s the beginning of a long trend.”
I made a general comparison between his successful business methods, strong work ethic, and being part of a stepping stone for many actors’ careers to the likes of the great Roger Corman. As to whether there’s a connection:
“Well, I’m a big fan of his. He was also a director–I’ve never directed. I’m never going to direct a movie so he also has that. His body of work, you know, is much, much, much larger than mine, and I am very flattered by the comparison so I would hope to have half the level of success he’s had. I love the comparison. We have a different approach to making scary movies for sure, but I’m a big fan. He distributed a bunch of specific movies in the ’70s & ’80s. He’s a great titan in the movie business.”
Jason Blum on being a producer:
“I kind of always wanted to be a producer. I produced Noah Baumbach’s first movie when I was 21 years old. I always kind of liked the mix of art and commerce that’s in a producer’s job. I think it’s an interesting puzzle to try and figure out every day. I never set out to make a specific kind of movie. I really just wanted to make movies and TV. And, once I did Paranormal Activity, I found a really fun niche for me, which is kind of making independent movies and having them not released in studios sometimes–not all the time–and I like that part of it. I’ve come to learn a lot about horror movies from working with Scott Derrickson, James Wan, and James DeMonaco. I really love them and hope I’m lucky enough to make them for the rest of my career.”
On his business model allowing directors total creative control:
“If we keep the budget down, we can take creative risks. It’s a fun way to work and sometimes can be successful.”
Blum explains his process for choosing scripts worth making into a film:
“Well, you never know for sure. Sometimes the movies are more successful than other ones, but I take a lot of cues from the artists involved. If a director I really love has a real point of view and a real vision about a script–even if I read the script and don’t totally get it–I’ll go forward with it because I believe in the artist, in the director’s work. That’s really kind of the biggest thing. I take my cues off of other people whose work I admire and what gets me… If there’s no director attached, I literally look for, ‘Does it feel new and different?’ And, that’s the one thing that I look for when I’m reading scripts. Does it feel like we have not seen this before? If it’s scary and we haven’t seen it before, then we usually make those.”
Offering added insight into shooting Sinister 2:
“We shot it in Illinois, which we usually don’t do. We shoot in LA, but Scott really wanted to shoot it in Illinois. Scott really helped find Ciarán. I’d never seen Citadel before, and I really thought it was great. I think Ciarán has done a terrific job. I’ve had a great time working with him. I think he’s going to surprise everybody because Citadel was kind of a cult movie in the U.S. I’m excited for people to see that Ciarán can really work and make a very original, more mainstream movie. It’s also been fun working with Scott in another capacity as a producer on the movie.”
On working with Ciarán Foy during his second feature film:
“He has a little bit more resources to play with than the first movie that he did, and I think he’s a visionary, Ciarán… People didn’t know what to expect or make of him. The crew is really behind him 100% and he’s very very invested. He loves Sinister and the franchise; he’s been talking all the time to Scott, Cargill and I. Obviously, it’s the first movie he’s shot in the United States. I think he’s going to move to California, which I’m excited about, and hopefully, I’ll get to make some more movies with him.”
Jason Blum’s take on my trilogy question:
“We try and make each movie as well as we can, and I would love to make more Sinister films. I think there’s a lot of mythology and a lot of different stories we could tell. We have no plans to make a third one currently. We’re just focused on the second one, but I certainly hope… I agree with Scott. I hope we make ten more.”
Ciarán Foy directs the film from a script by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill. James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, Lea Coco, Robert and Dartanian Sloan star.
Look for Sinister 2 in theatres on August 21st.
For more visit Sinister 2 on Facebook and follow @SinisterMovie on Twitter using the hashtag: #Sinister2
Synopsis:
The sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie. In the aftermath of the shocking events in “Sinister,” a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of “Wayward Pines”) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life brothers Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find themselves in a rural house marked for death as the evil spirit of Bughuul continues to spread with frightening intensity.
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