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The phenomenon of YouTube breakout stars-turned-feature filmmakers is nothing new for director, writer and producer James Wan. He’s been scouting this kind of talent at his own production studio Atomic Monster for decades.
“The very first movie that we made at Atomic Monster was ‘Lights Out,’” Wan recalls. “David Sandberg, when he made ‘Lights Out,’ was one of these internet people. He made a short film that went viral on YouTube.”
Wan, the horror and franchise film hitmaker who has worked on billion-dollar box office projects, launched his own career with the short film that became “Saw.”
“Technology makes it so easy today to just go out there and shoot something,” Wan said during Variety’s Entertainment & Technology Summit presented by EY. “If you make something great, no matter how big or small it is, people will find it.”
For Wan, this accessibility to new filmmakers amid the changing industry landscape is a good thing. It “keeps us on our toes” and helps avoid complacency, he explained. It also provides the added benefit of immediate feedback. Emerging filmmakers can see how audiences are responding to their content online and adapt their work accordingly.
More filmmakers making more content also means a more crowded marketplace. To stand out, Wan recommends searching for uniqueness and creating “small, intimate movies that have a high concept around them.”
Wan’s sixth sense for finding stories that connect with audiences drives his work as a director and backs his work as a producer. His extensive experience “allows me to get at a filmmaker’s level — that I think is basically my secret sauce with what I do at the company,” he said. He’s not as involved in the financing side of things — that’s what Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions is for.
The mad race to find the next hit YouTube creator springs from the massive popularity of the horror genre. The “Insidious,” “Conjuring” and “Saw” helmer credits this to younger generations who grew up with horror and were inspired to become filmmakers and critics themselves. He experienced this after seeing “Poltergeist” at age 7 or 8. The creepy doll left such an everlasting imprint on him that almost all of his work to this day includes at least one creepy doll figure.
While Wan has not filled the director’s seat in a few years, he is still chugging away on new projects and is currently developing three films. “It’s a bit schizophrenic at times,” he says. One is the remake of South Korean crime film “The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil,” which he is set to direct. Atomic Monster’s latest film “The Last Kiss” debuted on digital platforms on Sept. 15, and its upcoming release “Other Mommy” will haunt theaters on Oct. 9.
