When Alex and I were at last year’s New York Comic Con party for Legendary Films/Legendary Comics, we had the opportunity to have a long personal conversation with writer/director James Wan, who co-created the Saw series and wrote and directed the first blockbuster film in that long-running franchise. What was the biggest takeaway from our conversation is that Wan told us several times that while he made his name in horror with films like Saw, Dead Silence, The Conjuring, and Insidious, he really wanted to do something outside the genre. In particular, he said he really wanted to direct an old-school action movie.
So while some were surprised that Wan was announced as the director for Fast & Furious 7 since it seemed outside of his usual type of film, we weren’t. And now the rest of the world isn’t either because Wan has said in an interview with Moviefone that he’s done with horror.
Wan said, “I’m going to go on record and say I am finished with the horror genre. Conjuring and Insidious 2 are my two last scary movies.” He then added, “I spent the last ten years of my life doing this. It’s time for a change, for goodness sake!” and “Hollywood puts you in a box. If you do a successful comedy, then you’re know as The Comedy Guy. If you do a successful car chase movie, then you become that guy. So I’m a student of cinema, so I just want to make sure I get the chance to make other kinds of films.”
What’s funny about that is I remember Wan using the exact “box” analogy when we spoke at Comic Con. Alex and I both wished him good luck with pursuing other types of films, and I have to admit that I almost felt bad for him when his next two announced films were horror films (and I do mean almost… after all, the guy still gets to fulfill his dream of directing movies!) But I’m happy Wan is being given the opportunity to showcase what he can do outside of horror.
Wan’s Fast & Furious 7 is set for a July 11, 2014 release.
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