Discussing development, the scare process and heading into the past
Oren Peli. Master of mystery. At least when it comes to talking about anything other than Paranormal Activity. Lucky for Shock, we want to talk “paranormal.” The man who kicked off the series with his 2008 release, has shepherded a new film, Paranormal Activity 3, opening in theaters this Friday. In the director’s chair this time: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who last brought us Catfish. Although not strictly horror, the film unsettled its audience in other ways. Shock spoke to Peli on the phone shortly after catching the third Paranormal chapter at Paramount.
Shock Till You Drop: How soon after the release of Paranormal Activity 2 did discussions begin to get a third chapter going?
Oren Peli: Shortly after the sequel turned out to be a success and we found the fans were still there, to learn more about the mythology, we started talking about, in generic terms, a third one. But it took a few months to develop the idea and figuring out if we were going to make it or not.
Shock: As a producer on the sequels, how deep to you go into story development?
Peli: The idea exploring the young girls in the ’80s was an idea we always thought would be very cool. Basically, after the second, we could move forward or go backward. We thought it would be fun to go back and explore the girls and there were tons of scary moments to explore. Going back was one of the leading ideas and I would say I was fairly involved in this one. On the second one I was less involved in the development stages, but I was more involved in the production stage, being on set. On part three, it was more of the opposite. I was more involved in the development process, the concept and the story, but I was so busy on other projects during production, so I wasn’t on the set as much.
Shock: Did you have any apprehensions about whether or not Ariel or Henry could pull off the scares given their previous project, which was not horror?
Peli: Yes, you always have concerns. This is supposed to be a horror movie but it’s also supposed to capture realism. What I liked about their film Catfish is that it’s something that feels authentic and very real. They managed to make a movie that’s not really a horror movie, but it feels like one. It has some intense moments. So, we got a sense that they understood the pacing and the timing. Once we met them, we definitely thought they knew what they were talking about and got what we were doing.
Shock: How do you keep the principal photography process so under wraps?
Peli: Well, we keep a very small crew, but I think everyone loves and respects the project they’re working on. Also, I don’t think anyone want to be on the receiving end of a lawsuit. If anyone wanted to leak anything, they’d have way more to lose than gain by doing so.
Shock: On of the things you and I lightly discussed post-screening was how the cut of the film was constantly evolving. The original trailer had a lot of footage that’s not in the final film. I can imagine you have a tight schedule, how much time to do you give your directors in post to play around with the cut as much as you did?
Peli: We have a specific deadline for when we have to have the movie delivered, but the movie is constantly taking shape. There were several pages during the production where we took a step back and looked at a rough assembly. So, for instance, we could look at something and say, Here is one particular plot line, while it was great, doesn’t really work. So, let’s take it out and see if we can find something else. This scare? Doesn’t work, let’s try a new angle. So, we’ll split up, and reconvene with new scares and new plot lines. We’ll have another shooting period and another assembly and say, Okay, this works, this doesn’t. There’s a lot of trial and error until we get it right.
Shock: Was the character Randy â the wedding video assistant â always there?
Peli: Randy was there from the beginning, he was a great actor and terrific character. He brings charm and humor to the film. We tried to keep him involved in the movie for as long as possible and get him involved in the exploration of what was happening.
Shock: This film is much more go-for-the-throat than its predecessors. Is this in response to what you’re noticing the audience respond to?
Peli: For this one, the audience already has a familiarity with the style and the characters, we spent a little less time setting things up. The first and second had a slower build. We thought we could get away with jumping right into things because the hardcore fans know what we’re doing. Again, it was about experimentation and getting to the good stuff.
Shock: Because this takes place in â and utilizes cameras from â the ’80s, was the look manipulated in post-production?
Peli: We used modern cameras. If we did shoot on cameras from the ’80s, it would look awful. There’s a line where we said we wanted to be 100% authentic, but we couldn’t say that because of what we shot on. It’s a movie, so we wanted to save everyone the headache â and the eye ache â of shooting on an actual ’80s camera and leave the authenticity of the decade to the characters, the production design and the wardrobe.
Shock: Are you already mulling over where you can take the series from here? Do you see a finish line?
Peli: I never saw beyond the first one. Obviously, because of the success, we wanted to see if we could make a second one. It wasn’t until two we decided what to do for three. If the fans are still on board after three, we’ll discuss ideas for the next one.
Shock: Since the success of your first film, you’ve really embedded yourself in the Hollywood horror scene as a producer. What’s getting you excited about that venture?
Peli: It’s definitely fun to produce movies. You get to work with amazing filmmakers like James Wan [Insidious] and Rob Zombie [The Lords of Salem]. As long as it makes sense, I’ll keep producing. I like directing, although it’s way more stressful and way harder work.
We pressed Peli for details on his upcoming projects, including Area 51 and an untitled film he’s set to direct, but he remained mum about both projects.
Source: Ryan Turek, Managing Editor
