On the Estella Warren-starring creature feature
On Saturday, February 27, Syfy kicks off its run of original movies based on popular fairy tales with Beauty and the Beasts. Estella Warren and Rhett Gilles star in this retelling that features Belle and the titular beast taking on a witch and its murderous troll.
The movie was written by Gavin Scott, who co-wrote Small Soldiers and The Borrowers in addition to penning Earthsea and The Mists of Avalon. Mr. Scott spoke with Shock Till You Drop about the project’s origins, how he approached writing such a familiar story, the necessary elements of a successful genre piece and more.
Shock Till You Drop: How did you initially come to be involved with this project?
Gavin Scott: Partly it is because I have a strong New Zealand connection. I grew up there and the producers of this particular project, a company called Limelight International, are based in New Zealand and Australia. One of the movie’s producers is also a longtime friend of mine. In addition I have worked with the Syfy Channel before, so that’s kind of how I became involved.
Shock: How did you approach writing a story that so many people are familiar with? How did you go about putting your own spin on it?
Scott: My first way of looking at the story was to look at it through this particular strand of Syfy entertainment. That is to say, it falls into kind of a monster movie area, a sort of guilty pleasure on a Saturday evening. Knowing the category into which Syfy wants to try to give it a gentle twist, I looked at it as how can I take this fairy tale and turn it into a scary monster movie. That was the immediate creative challenge.
Shock: What elements did you feel were important to include in this genre?
Scott: Genuine suspense, which is so important to the horror genre, more than what you actually see. That was a guiding light to me, so that people would wonder what is going to happen next. That sense of anticipation is definitely something you have to achieve. The next thing was to make sure that there were scenes where what you are seeing is gratifyingly horrible. You want the reaction to be, “Ugh, that’s terrible!” I came up with ideas that were inspired by movies like Alien. The troll, which is actually responsible for the killings, needed to be as appalling as possible in its creation as well as physical appearance. I came up with the idea that it is actually genetically engineered in a cauldron. So in essence there’s the suspense and then making sure that what people see is suitably terrible. That is what the viewers have come for.
Shock: Looking at what you have written in the past, there is a lot of science fiction and fantasy. Are you a fan of those genres and what specifically do you enjoy about writing for them?
Scott: Yes, I love sci-fi and I love fantasy. Things I’ve written in the past have combined my love of science fiction and history as well as fantasy and history. What I love is the way that both sci fi and fantasy can free up the imagination in a way that few other genres can. Not quite anything can happen but a much wider range of things can happen. I enjoy the possibilities those genres give you as a writer, the way you can let rip with your imagination.
Source: Paul Doro
