Write On: 'Imaginary' Writer/Director Jeff Wadlow and Co-Writers Greg Erb & Jason Oremland
March 6, 2024
“The movie in many ways is about creativity. And it's one of the reasons why I really love it. It's not just about an evil haunted teddy bear. It's about the power of imagination. There's a reason why the movie isn't called Chauncey - it's called Imaginary. It was really fun as screenwriters to just let our creativity run wild and think of all the different ways we could explore imagination and creativity through the lens of a movie,” says Jeff Wadlow, director and co-writer of Blumhouse’s new film Imaginary.
In this episode, I talk with Wadlow and his co-writers, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, about digging into scary tropes and how the character Chauncey the Bear evolved over four years of development and numerous script drafts. We also discuss how movies like Pan’s Labyrinth, Labyrinth, Friday the 13th and Alice in Wonderland served as inspiration and why horror films should be a good time.
“I would tell people to make their horror fun. I think those very grim dirges that can sometimes get made as horror films – while they certainly are satisfying to a segment of the audience – they're not my favorite. I think you're going to have a lot more luck getting your movie made if you capture the fun of horror. There's no reason why you can't have a good time and be scared. It should be it should be a roller coaster,” says Jeff.
To dig deeper into Imaginary, listen to the podcast.
Read More: The Horror Spec: How to Write a Horror Movie
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Written by: Shanee Edwards
Shanee Edwards is an L.A.-based screenwriter, journalist and novelist who recently won The Next MacGyver television writing competition to create a TV show about a female engineer and was honored to be mentored by actress/producers America Ferrera. Shanee's first novel, Ada Lovelace: The Countess Who Dreamed in Numbers was published by Conrad Press in 2019. Currently, she is working on a biopic of controversial nurse Florence Nightingale. Shanee’s ultimate goal is to tell stories about strong, spirited women whose passion, humor and courage inspire us all.- Topics:
- Podcast
- Film
- Interviews
- horror
