Director Veena Sud on Welome to the Blumhouse Feature, THE LIE
Nick Taylor
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Veena Sud is a writer, producer, and director, perhaps best known for developing the television drama The Killing, now streaming on Netflix. Veena was also behind Seven Seconds, and the Quibi horror web series, The Stranger.
Veena’s latest project is The Lie, a thriller feature from Welcome to the Blumhouse premiering today on Amazon. As a collaboration between Blumhouse Productions and Amazon Studios, Welcome to the Blumhouse is releasing a slate of films showcasing diverse casts, female, and emerging filmmakers with a focus on family dramas. The Lie stars Joey King, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mierille Enos, and tells the story of two separated parents who have to navigate protecting their daughter after she murders her best friend.
Amazon Prime Video will launch the initial four Welcome to the Blumhouse movies as double features starting with The Lie and Black Box, both premiering today. The next two, Evil Eye and Nocturne, will debut Oct. 13. While four additional Welcome to the Blumhouse films will launch in 2021.
We sat down with Veena to discuss The Lie and what its like to work within the Blumhouse system. Check it out below.
Dread Central: The Lie was really startling and emotional and compelling and there seemed to be so many, very topically relevant elements in it, like the issue of helicopter parenting, bullying, and toxic social media culture…
Veena Sud: I think that’s right on. I think there was a subconscious collective element to the helicopter parenting. It’s interesting that you say that because I had no conscious awareness that I was trying to do that, but what I do know is that the best adaptations come from walking in the shoes of the characters, then you have to create based off your experience or feelings from scratch. That’s how I did The Killing. That’s how I did this.
Two things I was very conscious of in creating it as an American story was putting the audience in the parents’ shoes, I wanted the audience to never be able to detour away from them. I wanted the audience to experience this insane roller coaster ride, where you cannot get off the ride. There is no escape. The other thing I wanted to do is talk about the criminal justice system as it relates to race. And when a brown man and a brown child are the victims of a crime, how too often they are perceived as the perpetrator. So, all of that kind of was brewing as I was writing.
DC: As a writer, story developer and director, is there any sort of process for unleashing that part of your unconscious that lets you get in touch with this kind of work?
VS: In my writer’s room, we joke about the fact that the best ideas come on the way to the bathroom. You’ve you’ve given that part of your brain a rest. Usually when I start out in writing a story, I’ll just read things that are on the periphery of the idea. I will try really hard to meet people who’ve had the experience of the characters and talk to them at length about random things.
I’ll try to be in their role for a while because I find that the research in and of itself creates the Petri dish that your mind consciously can play in, versus not knowing any facts or having any experience at all and just trying to weakly make it up. The real world actually gives me way more interesting ideas that I can come up with myself. So, I take full advantage of that.
I also feel that half the time, I don’t know what I’m looking for, and what I think I’m looking for is probably a really bad idea. So, sometimes I try to create these giant spaces of time when I’m starting a project where I’m not doing anything or going on a hike or cooking a meal so, the thing that I’m looking for, will tell me what it is.
DC: Blumhouse is a very fascinating studio in terms of how they structurally approach movies. It’s usually high concept & low budget, forcing directors to be super resourceful. And the beauty of Blumhouse is they give directors final cut so the movies are just pure unadulterated visions. What was your framework for working within the Blumhouse system?
VS: I think that’s one of the incredible genius strokes of Jason is that he gives you no parameters. He’s just like, “I like your script. Go make the film. Here’s a little bit of money, just don’t go over that budget.” Don’t go over budget is the one rule that he gives his filmmakers. The only analogy I can think of is what it must’ve felt like to make films for Roger Corman. I never felt at all like I was policed. I think there was an unusual amount of freedom.
DC: I feel like that’s why Corman birthed so many great producers, directors and writers because he gave them freedom and he allowed them to completely explore their own sensibility, which is pretty amazing.
VS: Yeah.
DC: You’ve had a pretty inspiring career. Were there any books or resources that really enabled you as a director, writer, producer either in a business context or from a creative context?
VS: Creatively, Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen. It’s an amazing book. I keep it very close to me and I go to it all the time.
DC: I have it. I haven’t read it yet.
VS: It’s so worth it. It’s so worth it as a writer. Read it even if you don’t direct actors ever, to know what the process is and to create that intention as you write so that, you know what the underlying map they’re going to be following.
DC: Great. Well, Veena, this was such a pleasure. Huge congratulations again on The Lie!
VS: Thank you!
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