IMAGINARY: PODCAST
Fear crawls out from the shadows of childhood nightmares and into the stark reality of our latest Cinema Judge episode as we peel back the curtain on Blumhouse's newest horror spectacle, "Imaginary." Step into the shoes of Jessica, an illustrator whose childhood imaginary friend turns out to be terrifyingly real, with DeWanda Wise delivering a performance that skillfully dances on the line between resilience and vulnerability. The cast, including Teagan Burns and Tom Payne, alongside director Jeff Wadlow, divulge the secrets behind crafting a film that intertwines psychological terror with an undercurrent of supernatural dread. Their insights reveal the meticulous care taken to present a narrative that is as emotionally poignant as it is goosebump-inducing, something horror aficionados won't want to miss.
As the shadows lengthen and the whispers grow louder, the episode transitions into a deeper exploration of the meticulous creative process helmed by Jeff Wadlow. The mastermind behind the lens isn't shy about sharing his inclusive approach to filmmaking, where every shiver and scream is a product of collaboration. Wadlow's fingerprints are on every frame, drawing influence from the visionary James Wan and utilizing practical effects to breathe life, or rather, an eerie semblance of it, into the film's malevolent entity, Chauncey. This chapter is an intimate look at how a horror movie director weaves a tapestry of fear that resonates with our most primal instincts.
As I detail my aspirations to mingle with the creative minds at Blumhouse, I extend an invitation to fellow cinephiles and creatives to dream alongside me. So, if you're eager to unravel the artistry behind a horror masterpiece, this is an episode that promises not just to entertain, but to inspire and ignite the artistic spark within.
IMAGINARY: PODCAST
Fear crawls out from the shadows of childhood nightmares and into the stark reality of our latest Cinema Judge episode as we peel back the curtain on Blumhouse's newest horror spectacle, "Imaginary." Step into the shoes of Jessica, an illustrator whose childhood imaginary friend turns out to be terrifyingly real, with DeWanda Wise delivering a performance that skillfully dances on the line between resilience and vulnerability. The cast, including Teagan Burns and Tom Payne, alongside director Jeff Wadlow, divulge the secrets behind crafting a film that intertwines psychological terror with an undercurrent of supernatural dread. Their insights reveal the meticulous care taken to present a narrative that is as emotionally poignant as it is goosebump-inducing, something horror aficionados won't want to miss.
As the shadows lengthen and the whispers grow louder, the episode transitions into a deeper exploration of the meticulous creative process helmed by Jeff Wadlow. The mastermind behind the lens isn't shy about sharing his inclusive approach to filmmaking, where every shiver and scream is a product of collaboration. Wadlow's fingerprints are on every frame, drawing influence from the visionary James Wan and utilizing practical effects to breathe life, or rather, an eerie semblance of it, into the film's malevolent entity, Chauncey. This chapter is an intimate look at how a horror movie director weaves a tapestry of fear that resonates with our most primal instincts.
As I detail my aspirations to mingle with the creative minds at Blumhouse, I extend an invitation to fellow cinephiles and creatives to dream alongside me. So, if you're eager to unravel the artistry behind a horror masterpiece, this is an episode that promises not just to entertain, but to inspire and ignite the artistic spark within.
Because we now have the Cinema Judge. Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the Cinema Judge. I hope my voice finds you well. To all my regular listeners out there, welcome back. If you're new to the show, welcome aboard Now approaching the bench, today we have the latest in the Blumhouse horror arsenal Imaginary. Now here's a tagline. A woman returns to her childhood home to discover the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and unhappy. She left him behind. Here's a trailer for Imaginary.
Speaker 2:How does it feel being back?
Speaker 3:Good, I had such good memories here. Maybe my happy place can be our happy place. I left you all alone down here.
Speaker 4:It was just my imagination. I'm playing a new game with Chauncey.
Speaker 3:The scavenger hunt list. That's fun.
Speaker 4:Chauncey says you're not allowed to play with us. Oh, because you left him. I need something happy.
Speaker 3:Something happy.
Speaker 4:Ugh.
Speaker 5:I thought bugs freaked you out.
Speaker 4:If I can finish my list, Chauncey will take me on a trip to the place he's from.
Speaker 3:Something that hurts Owens.
Speaker 5:You've been spending time with a new friend. He asked you to do something that hurt you. It was part of the game. Does that seem like a game a good friend would want to play?
Speaker 4:Maybe we should have played together any more, Chauncey. Maybe we should have been friends. No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 5:Alice, alice, alice, alice, alice Alice.
Speaker 3:She's lost, but we're gonna find her.
Speaker 6:Every culture has entities that tether to the young. They call them imaginary friends. You are always playing with your imaginary friend. When the connection is severed, the entity becomes enraged.
Speaker 4:He says he's right behind you.
Speaker 6:Can I hang out with your imaginary friend?
Speaker 4:He's not imaginary, he's not your friend.
Speaker 1:I admire Blumhouse Jason Blum, everything he's done. Now he has officially James Wan with him, part of the company. They work together and when they do work together it's just magical. Later on you're gonna hear an interview when they were talking about the story, about how just one little simple idea by James Wan changed the whole aspect of the movie. Hearing those kind of things is just incredible because you realize how much of a team effort all movies are, whether it's a drama, period piece, action movie, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:There are so many people invested in all kinds of movies and I love hearing about that because some people when they think of a horror film, they might just think it's a throwaway or they're just slapping it together. And that could be further from the truth, especially when it's Blumhouse Jason Blum. What he's created over all these years is simply amazing and mind-blowing. I would love to be a fly on a wall in his company world. See the meetings, see the discussions. That would be the ultimate dream. So first we're gonna hear from the owner of Blumhouse Jason Blum. He's gonna talk about the story, but then we're gonna have several interviews that I'm gonna play for you that they talk about the script, they talk about why they got involved in the project. So first we're gonna hear from the director, jeff Wadlow, then we're gonna hear from DeWanda Wise, tegan Burns and Tom Payne, and they all talk about A the plot and or why they wanted to get involved in this film.
Speaker 7:Imaginary is a psychological horror film that takes a common childhood experience to terrifying extremes. The film follows an average family whose youngest child develops a relationship with a seemingly harmless imaginary friend. However, when a series of eerie and inexplicable events begin to unfold, they are forced to confront the horrifying truth Chauncey is real and he is out for vengeance. The film blurs the lines between reality and fantasy and explores the psychological and supernatural elements of fear, revenge and the enduring power of the imagination.
Speaker 8:I was inspired to bring Imaginary together because I was challenged by Jason Blum to make a really slow, creepy movie and I just wanted to try a very kind of slow, terrifying supernatural thriller. So to make a very slow, scary, supernatural horror movie, you just have to turn the volume down right. So you just have to slow down, you have to take your time, you have to allow the audience the moments to explore the negative space in the shots, and what that does is it allows them to use their imagination to project what evil might be lurking behind our main characters.
Speaker 3:When I first read the script, I didn't read it in one sitting because I got scared so I stopped. And then, I think, mid-read, my reps were like Jeff is interested in meeting with you, so I said let me go ahead and finish this scary script. That scared me and then I reached that turn which is Jessica's essentially her emotional arc of the story, where she's in that nightmare sequence that I'm obsessed with. That I think we hopefully executed beautifully and I was hooked.
Speaker 5:When I first read the script, I was super excited and just intrigued about the level of physical as well as emotional stuff that Taylor goes through in this film. I was really excited to be able to portray it and just be able to do that.
Speaker 2:Blumhouse had been on my list to work with for quite a long time. I really admire what they've done at that company, what Jason's done, and the movies that they create, and I had heard a lot of good stuff about how their sets are and how everyone has a good time. And also I hadn't done a horror movie like this before. I've been out to Eastern Europe and done a horror movie. I've never done an American studio horror movie and that was attractive to me and it's also a family story.
Speaker 2:It's the first time I played a dad in a movie, so that was a big step up for me and I am a dad in my private life now. There was a confluence of things that happened around the time that the project came in and I love the practical effects that are in the movie. There isn't much CGI in this movie and that was really attractive to me. The movies that I grew up with, that I enjoyed, were very practical and I think that makes it more scary and I think this film is a scary film because it feels real and, yeah, tactile.
Speaker 1:Now coming up. Next we're going to have what they call the voice of Broadway, betty Buckley. This woman not only is brilliant on the stage, but if you look at what she's done on TV and movies you're like, oh my goodness, the laundry list of what this woman has accomplished the movie split, the happening Carrie Frantic TV show, the Cleaning Lady, lawn Order I can go on and on. This woman is just top to bottom an amazing actress and I love this interview. Take in mind what I just said this woman is massive talented. She can do anything she wants. Then you hear her talk about Jason Blum, how she just praises everything about him. And when you get that from somebody at her level, at her status she's seen it all and when you get that kind of praise, you know you're doing something right. So here's Betty Buckley talking about Jason Blum, but then, right after that, we're going to hear from Jason Blum just pretty much telling us what everybody knows, how great she is.
Speaker 6:Well, I'm a huge Jason Blum fan and Blumhouse fan. I think they've made some spectacular movies in the past many years and I was fortunate to get to meet Jason and work with him, get to know him a little bit on the film Split by Im Night Shyamalan. I just thought he was this film producer, but no, he's like this really artistic guy and I admire so much what he's created with Blumhouse. You know, he's champions young filmmakers. He's so creative. Right now he's 85 projects in the works. I mean, he does that. He's like old school only this modern, wonderful man who's like champions artists, young artists and other artists as well.
Speaker 6:And so when I came off the Hello Dolly tour, I did the National Tour of Hello Dolly for a year in 2018 and 19. Right after I finished that, he offered me a film at Blumhouse by a young writer, first time director, and I was so exhausted from the tour that I just felt like I couldn't do the film for him and I felt really bad about it. So I wrote him last summer saying, okay, I've got my strength back and what do you have out there that I can participate in? And he immediately the guys. He's such a mensch like you know he doesn't make you wait a few days for his response to emails. He got right back that day and said as a matter of fact, I have this script, I'm sending it to you now, and I was just so touched by that.
Speaker 7:Betty is a horror legend. Her background in Broadway allows her to truly immerse herself into each role she plays, and Gloria is no exception. Betty had a unique connection to Gloria's costumes and the set of her home that shines through on the screen.
Speaker 1:And what also impressed me about Jason Blum. He's so involved A lot of times when he does these kind of interviews, shows where you have all these things pre-sent to you. Rarely do you get the owner, the creator of said company or the head beast, if you will, but he's always involved. He's every aspect of the filmmaking, from the beginning, middle end and even stuff of this nature where some people go. I don't do interviews, come on, I'm bigger than that Not for him. All he cares about, I think, is truly entertaining us, the project, each one. He just goes all in and again, I'm just totally amazed by his total commitment to the product and to us Also.
Speaker 1:Starting in this movie, we have a young actress called Piper Braun. She's been in Desperation Road, aaron and Aaron Superkitties and what the Elf, just to name a few things. This young woman is going to be amazing when you just see her in anything she's in, but also in these interviews. She has this energy, she has this charisma for a young girl. You're like whoa. This young girl is so dialed in and professional. You're like who knows to her. It's really going to be fun to watch where she goes, what she accomplishes. Here she is as a young girl now, but then who knows where she'll be, and that kind of stuff just makes me just go wander and go, wow, where will she be?
Speaker 1:I digress people, I'm rambling, but we're going to hear from Piper coming up. First she's going to talk about working with monsters and a little bit more about her character, and then we're going to hear from several key members of this film praising Piper and what they did to get her here, because at first because she's on Nickelodeon and all these other things she might not have been able to be part of the film, but they kept pushing and pushing and you know, who knows, will it pay off? That's up to you to decide. So first, after we hear from Piper, we're going to hear from the director, jeff Wadlow, then Jason Blum and then DeWanda Wise, who plays Jessica, but also she doesn't just play Jessica, she's the executive producer also, and that's another key element when actors are involved in the production part of it they are all in. They care more about the project too. Just another cool aspect. But here they are.
Speaker 4:I was excited to work with the Chauncees. I didn't know there were multiple Chauncees yet, but I was excited to work with Chauncee and see how he looked. I was excited to work with monsters. Monsters were really exciting to see in person. Alice is at the new house getting out of her car and she sees this new house and it's a big house. It's a beautiful house and Alice is the youngest daughter of the family and she's been through a lot of trauma in her life with her mom, biological mother, and that just makes her a little bit off and that's why she finds love and confidence in this new imaginary friend. I think Alice really likes Chauncee because she can take care of something and love something and she just can play with someone and have someone to like kind of interact with. I think she was scared to go into through the blue door but once she got into the imaginary world she was happy and all her badness went away.
Speaker 8:Piper. I mean I can think of maybe two other times in my career when I've been in an audition and when the audition finished I went that's the person. We actually have an expression in Hollywood. We say put them in makeup, which means like get them to set, put them in makeup, they're in the movie. And I turned to my casting director after that audition and I said get her in makeup, she is it. And we had all these problems casting her because she's so talented. She was on another show, she was committed and at one point it looked like we weren't going to get her and my partners at Blumhouse said you might want to think about someone else for this role and I said no, no, she's it. We have to have her. We have to have Piper. She's that kind of talent.
Speaker 7:Piper has this genuine, whimsical, childlike wonder that she balances with talent and professionalism. She's impressively adept with her emotions, which was a crucial part of Alice's character arc.
Speaker 3:Piper was our first choice and kind of our only choice. We were praying every day that she would be, you know, cleared from Nickelodeon because, you know, I mean really she needs none of us Like. Piper is going to be a CAO one day. She's going to probably be directing herself. She's such a filmmaker. She is a true, true, true pro. I want everyone to see her audition tape because it's just blew us away. Not just her work and her emotional availability, but also her capacity of human understanding. Like immediately after her audition she goes okay, you know, let me shake it off, jeff. Can I tell you a joke? She has an awareness that many adult performers don't possess. I just want to work with her for the rest of my life. She's a remarkable, remarkable, remarkable young actress.
Speaker 1:Okay, you just heard DeWanda talking about Piper. Now we're going to hear Piper talking about DeWanda Wise. But then right after that we're going to have a clip for you. In this clip, DeWanda Wise is standing out in the hallway, she's on the phone talking to her husband and she's standing outside the door and sitting at a little table in her bedroom. We have Piper Braun and she's talking to somebody and then you hear like a whisper or a thank you. Dewanda walks a little bit closer and kind of peeks in and Piper looks at her and says she says she's right behind you. And they cut back to her and you see this shadowy figure right behind her. It's just one of those subtle things that make a horror movie a proper horror film, not just about torture, porn or anything like that, like how some movies go to. But this one goes that slow burn. It just builds up to it and you see like little shadows in the background.
Speaker 4:DeWanda is fabulous. She's just a very hard worker and she's a strong woman and it's really been great having her and taken as my co-stars. Would you like to go, oh?
Speaker 3:my god, max, so cute she's having tea with her imaginary friend.
Speaker 4:It's a donut from England Across the pond, they pronounce it skull, she's a total daddy's girl. Your dress is so pretty, thank you. She says he's right behind you.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the other major characters in this movie is Jessica, played by DeWanda Wise. So first we're going to hear from the director going a little bit deeper into that character, about her being an artist, being thrust into this new world, and then we're going to hear from DeWanda Wise talking about her character, but then we're going to hear from people just talking about how great she really is. First we're going to hear from the director, jason Blum, and Tom Payne, who play Max, and anytime you get this many people just telling the world how talented somebody is, that's pretty darn cool, at least for me.
Speaker 8:A major motif in the film is the artwork that our lead character creates. Jessica is an illustrator and she has a series of children's books called Molly Milliput, and she's taken a lot of these terrifying images from her dreams, but also from her past, and tried to understand them, try to work them out through her artwork and her books. So what's cool for me about that as a filmmaker is we're able to see a lot of these ideas, a lot of these visuals the hallway, the blue door, the spider you see sort of the children's version of these things in these sort of Lewis Carroll-esque books. But you see how she's taken these things that have happened to her and she's tried to process them through her creative assets right to generate something that she can try to understand and share with the world.
Speaker 3:She doesn't know. Yet. You know she's really refining and defining it over the course of our story. I think there's this beautiful thread that just breaks my heart, where she's really trying to figure out what love is Like. She's terrified that she doesn't know. She's terrified she doesn't know how to love. She's terrified that she doesn't know how to receive it. You know she has this deep insecurity around family. You know that she doesn't feel like she knows how to be in a family. She's never been a part of a traditional kind of nuclear family. So in that respect, this experience, when we first meet her in this story, this is completely new. We know the superficial things about her. We know she's an illustrator, we know she's successful, she's published, but we don't know because she's still figuring out who she is in the context of this new role of motherhood that she finds herself thrust in.
Speaker 8:Duanda Wise is playing Jessica Barnes in the film and she I mean, I just don't really have the words to describe Duanda. She is magnetic, charismatic, vulnerable, strong, smart, insightful, empathetic. What I love about her is that she's bringing so much of herself to the role of Jessica, but she's also trying to create a character that's different than herself and different than some of the roles she's played in the past. She's an executive producer on the film. She's been just a tremendous partner and collaborator and I've loved every minute of working with her.
Speaker 7:Duanda has an amazing ability to convey both vulnerability and strength. She brings a depth of emotion and authenticity to her character that allows the audience to immerse themselves in her story and feel invested in it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was excited to work with Duanda as well. I'd seen her work in other things and had taken notice she's a wonderful actress. But more than that, on a film like this, where you're in every single day and you're the lead of the cast and the crew, it's important, I think, that you have the right temperament and are capable of doing that, because it's not just about the acting. I was happy to discover that Duanda was just a fantastic leader of the cast and crew and knew her job in every single way, knew exactly what was required behind the scenes as well as in front of camera. Her character goes through a very extreme situation in the movie and she carries it with a plon. Her character in the movie doesn't have children and by her relationship with Max, children come into her life and she's very a loving presence in the movie for Alice and Taylor, as much as Taylor pushes her away. I think she feels that and you see their relationship change during the movie, which is really nice.
Speaker 1:Now coming up next is one of those scenes that sometimes for me, just sends a chill up down my spine. You just shake, almost You're just like no way. For example, I don't know if you guys saw a quiet place. Remember that scene when Emily Blunt is walking down the steps in the basement and you see that nail and you see it and you know what's going to happen. That moment is just sheer and just sends chills up most of her spine, knowing how that feels.
Speaker 1:In this next clip, Alice, who's played by Piper, is out in the backyard but then up in the bedroom we have Jessica looking at all these drawings and these drawings are saying all the things that they've been this creature's been telling Alice to do, and she's looking at all these paperwork and keep cutting back to her old side. And then she takes up this board, she puts it on the table and you see a nail and it's just it's poking there and she's like, well, will it hurt much? And then you see her whip her arm up and she's going to slam it on down. This clip stops before anything like that could happen. But just the idea alone of taking your hand and going whoop-ha and then the nail goes through your palm.
Speaker 1:Not good, it just it just freaks me out. I don't even know why, it just really freaks me out. But that's good filmmaking when it causes that effect for somebody, Because it's not the end of the world, it's just. We know that kind of pain and we know the sting, we know the burn, whatever it is. That's just playing with our heads to the perfect way.
Speaker 4:I'm nervous, promise it won't hurt.
Speaker 5:Okay.
Speaker 1:You can just hear that in the music. You just feel the tension rising and you know what's going to happen. It's going to leave a mark. Now, another actor in this film. Her name is Tagan Burns, and we're going to hear DeWanda Wise talking about her, and then we're going to hear from Tagan Burns elaborating a little bit more about her character. And then we're going to hear from Tom Payne. He talks about working with a lot of these young actors and especially he talks about Tagan. And then we're gonna hear from the mastermind himself, jason Blum Tachmul Tagan.
Speaker 3:Tagan is one of the loveliest human beings I've ever met. We're shooting her introduction and I remember this moment where I was like, oh, wow, you could feel underneath of Taylor in so many scenes, and so her sensitivity and her empathy and her vulnerability, underneath of Taylor's veneer, reads as like this depth of pain. That's how you receive it. So instead of it just being like, oh, you know, she's kind of a bitchy teenager, you're like, oh, this is the girl who's hurting, this is the girl who's like trying to move through this major transition in her life. You know a move a new stepmom. You know all these major, you know life transitions, and she does it with this degree of vulnerability that you might not give with another performer.
Speaker 5:I would describe Taylor. I mean she's a 16 year old girl, she's sarcastic, we find her to place where she's pretty unhappy with the situation that she's in and she cares a lot about her younger sister, Alice, but she does not care too much about her stepmom Jess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really fun to work with younger actors because they're in the first steps of their career. Having said that, both of them have been regulars on television shows and have a lot of experience at a young age and I was really impressed with how professional they are and not in a structured way, not in a way of like, this is how I have to behave. They just understand the job and turn up and do it and there's nothing outside of that which I really enjoy. You know, sometimes I have trouble with adult actors who like there's lots of extra stuff and it's not just about doing the job. And actually it's not just about doing the job.
Speaker 2:We had a really fun time and they're able to switch between the seriousness of the job and acting but then also have a good time and be a real person in the world. So that was really fun and just fun to see. There's a moment in the movie where Tagan is really upset and I comfort her and just to see the skill of how she just turned it on and it's not fake, you know she was chatting to me one moment and then, in this really emotional moment, the next.
Speaker 7:Tagan brings the perfect mixture of youth and adolescence, balanced with mature life experience that allows her to effortlessly navigate the complexities for Taylor's character.
Speaker 1:Now coming up. We have another finally creepy crafted scene for you. In this particular scene, in this particular scene, Tagan shuts the door into like a bedroom it's pretty bare and it's dimly lit and there's all these writings on the wall and she turns around. She sees a bear just sitting there idly, no big deal, and she's like well, we got to go, Alice, we got to go Because she sees an outline of a young girl against the wall. She gets closer and then you see, when Alice speaks, her eyes are ghost white. It's obviously a possession going on here or whatever. And then you hear her say something about Chauncey and again, I love that name, whatever it is, it's both creepy but cool Chauncey, and that's the main kind of entity, if you will. That little girl runs to the other side of the room and she puts her hand by a switch and then she flips it on and then she's gone and all these lights are spinning around the room. Again, this is me. It's a poor description, but how they crafted is pretty well done. Check it out.
Speaker 4:NEXT MOVIE ok.
Speaker 5:ALICE.
Speaker 1:Now coming up. Next we're going to hear from the director talking a little bit more about working with Tagan, but then we're going to have some of the actors talk about the director. First we're going to hear from Tagan Burns, tom Payne, piper Braun, betty Buckley and Jason Blum.
Speaker 8:Tagan is fantastic in the film. She brings the perfect mixture of sort of youthfulness and adolescence to the role, but also maturity and knowledge of life and experience. It's a hard line to walk. A lot of actresses we looked at for the role. They seemed just too mature, they seemed too much. You didn't buy them in this sort of adolescent phase still. But then we looked at some other actresses who read as teenagers but they just didn't have the experience. You didn't see that they were carrying any sense of trauma right that ultimately Taylor has to bring to the movie.
Speaker 8:And watching DeWanda work with Tagan has been fantastic too. I didn't speak about their dynamic yet but it's been interesting to watch. Whereas DeWanda is really focused in on Piper and having that sort of real kind of mentor connection with Piper, almost parental, with Tagan she's really developed a friendship and they seem like buddies, which at first you think it's kind of weird, to you. It's 15, how is that possible? But DeWanda has created this bond with her that really translates to the screen. Because ultimately that is the central relationship in the movie is the relationship between Taylor and Jessica.
Speaker 5:He's really great at creating an environment where we're all trying to support each other and reach that performance. That is the best we can do and I think at the beginning we had some great just talking through the character and her arc and Taylor and just really developing her and it was super helpful. And he's great on set and just directing us and he's really great.
Speaker 2:Jeff is a movie fan and a big fan of entertainment and entertaining audiences and wants to bring that. That's what comes off of him when you're working with him, and I'm of the mind that we are there to entertain the audience, give them a good time, especially with a movie like this, and anything that adds to that is encouraged on Jeff's set, and also it's a very egalitarian set, so best idea wins. Anyone who comes in and wants to make something better, then it will be listened to, and I also like that. He's not dictatorial in his directing. He's very warm and approachable and, yeah, you just feel like he's doing it for the right reasons, basically.
Speaker 4:Jeff was amazing to work with. He really does love his job and it's really fun to work with him because he's just great and he really does do an amazing job. He doesn't really change your character. He lets you choose your character and that really helps me. I don't know if it helps anyone else, but it really helps me. Just get into Alice.
Speaker 6:Jeff and I met on Zoom and I just found him utterly charming. I mean, the guy's super handsome and just super enthusiastic. He's just so much fun and so again, I just felt like this such joy being in his presence. And he goes I want you to play Gloria. I mean, it's the easiest. You know what do you have out there? I have this. Do you want to do it? And I'm like yeah, and so I was very excited, but they hadn't scheduled it yet. And he handles the horror movie genre, like your tense and your nervous at the right moment as you go through the spooky hallway. You know he can make just the simplest shots, carry the suspense and the fear factor, and I like that when the a master of horror movie. Stylistically, horror movies are also fun, you know, and there's a wit to it. I believe in my director and his incredible imagination, so I think it'll be great.
Speaker 7:This will be the third movie we do with Jeff Wadlow. We previously worked with him on Truth or Dare and Blumhouses Fantasy Island. I have a lot of trust in his ability, so when he came to us with this idea, we were excited to explore the world. Jeff brings a unique vision and storytelling expertise to every project he's involved in, and his passion for the horror genre shines through in imaginary. He has a strong understanding of what makes horror films resonate with audiences, and his creative approach to blending psychological horror with childhood themes is what made us so excited about this project. His ability to craft compelling characters and build tension is exceptional.
Speaker 1:Earlier in the show you heard me mention James Wan and how now he's part of the whole universe of Blumhouse. In this next interview you can hear the director and he's in, talk about Chauncey and some of the creatures and how that developed and how his, how his conversation with James Wan Really enhanced where this movie went. And again, I just love hearing about how things develop. And then we're gonna have several interviews from Jason Blum and he just talks about the creative team, the process, so many things here that I felt were just too important where I'm not gonna I'm not gonna interrupt them at all. I'm so left these interviews role because I just I love hearing the behind-the-scenes of somebody at that level Talking about a project, and then we're gonna hear from the director talking about what he hopes we take away from this film imaginary.
Speaker 8:So the way you make something wonderful, like a stuffed animal, creepy is Is you just kind of make it off by like five percent. So you look at Chauncey, his eyes are Asymmetrical as his ears are out of whack. And that's something that I really learned from James Wan, that he talked a lot about when he looked at the script, because he's a part of Blumhouse now and and we really leaned into that idea and also Implying that there's something else going on, like something childlike and wonderful, is fine when it's in the foreground, but what's going on in the background? What if there's something else, something a little more sinister? And that's where this idea of the entity came from to, as it was a note from James Wan as well. This, this notion that that the evil is not just the bear but it's actually something else, that's manipulating the bear, projecting the bear For our characters to see.
Speaker 7:The spectral motion team have extensive experience and immense talent when it comes to creating the best horror movie creatures. Robert bingin puppeteered Chauncey with insightful creativity in bringing Chauncey to life. Dane Delegro wore the Chauncey beast suit and tapped into his athletic basketball background To bring the beast to life with the whole team of puppeteers. The entertainment value of horror is centered around fear, and the more a Filmmaker can create a realistic fear, the more the audience will be immersed in the story and in the horror. There are instances where CGI can hit the mark, but audiences gravitate towards practical over computer generated effects for a more authentic experience. We found that having the actors and puppeteers work together to bring the film's creatures to life elicits the most genuine response. The film's aesthetics are carefully crafted to immerse the audience in a world that blurs the lines between reality and Nightmare. The checkered walls of the never-ever symbolize the distorted and surreal nature of the imaginary world and how the familiar Can become menacing. The stark contrast between the bright, childlike patterns and the increasingly sinister events that unfold within these Walls create a sense of dissidence that heightens tension and unease. It's dimly lit, cramped and labyrinthian design taps into common fears of confinement and vulnerability. The audiences. Fear of the unknown is Amplified as characters venture into this unsettling space, not knowing what horrors might lurk in the shadows. Taking a common childhood experience and cranking up the fear factor is all about tapping into something relatable and then Twisting it in a way that unsettles viewers. We start with the familiarity of that innocent memory and gradually introduce elements that make it eerie or disturbing. The goal is to create a sense of unease and make the audience question something they once considered safe, turning it into a source of fear and suspense. It adds layers of complexity to the story, making the characters more relatable and the tension more palpable. It also shakes up the typical horror movie formula and gets the audience thinking, which keeps everything interesting and full of surprises. Plus, it taps into deep emotions, making the horror experience more engaging and more thought-provoking.
Speaker 7:Imaginary is an exciting addition to the legacy of Blumhouse horror films and contributes to the ever-evolving roster of iconic characters within our library. While each Blumhouse film has its unique elements, imaginary stands out by introducing Chauncey as a memorable and distinctive character whose limits are only defined by those of your imagination. Iconic characters like Megan and the animatronics of Five Nights at Freddy's have left a lasting impact on the horror genre and on pulp culture. Chauncey's sinister wit and ability to change appearances offers the potential to join their ranks. I Love that. Horror has this unique ability to elicit intense emotional reaction from audiences and there are endless creative possibilities to explore.
Speaker 8:I hope audiences take away from this film that imaginary friends might not be imaginary and that they can be a lot of different things to different people. They can be Wonderful companions, they can be terrifying Monsters and they can also be vengeful spirits who will not let go. We want them to watch the movie and we want them to think about their own families and their own childhood and their own Imagination and think about whether or not they had an imaginary friend and how they feel about that and Realize that while that can be a beautiful thing, it also can be a really scary thing. You can also suggest that maybe that imaginary friend you had when you were a kid, maybe it wasn't as imaginary as you thought. And then that becomes a way to explore bigger ideas, bigger Emotions, bigger themes, and I think, just as the actors have found different themes and just my collaborators have found different ideas to latch on to, I think the audience will find their own when they watch the film.
Speaker 1:So what do you guys think? Are you gonna see imaginary? Does it sound good to you? Did I present this in a good way? I would love your feedback. Feel free to reach out cinema judge at hotmailcom, or, if you want to go to Instagram, tick tock, youtube, all those places. I love it when you comment on YouTube. I just want to make one thing, a brief comment.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, when you listen to it on YouTube or watch it on to YouTube, you're not. You sometimes not all time, but sometimes Certain clips sometimes aren't allowed. I'm not. I don't know if that happened on this one yet or not, because I haven't put it there yet. It just sometimes happens that way. So if you want to complete show without any alterations, just in a spears form, always listen to the podcast on whatever platform you have, because you will always hear everything that I originally do there or here. But sometimes on YouTube things get cut out because of copyright issues and I love hearing how you listen to this show. Some of you guys listen to it when you're driving to work, sitting at home, whatever you're doing. It just blows my mind Everybody all over the world taking time out of their lives to listen to this show just to learn about a movie, because that's what our goal here is to send my judges this.
Speaker 1:I Give you the evidence and you make up your own mind. I'm never gonna tell you not to see a movie, because any movie is somebody's favorite movie. Who might have tell you not to see some? Or even to see something? I just want this to be a movie oasis, a quiet place. You could come and listen about a project and not have anybody yelling in your ear. Leave that to the professionals. There's enough noise out there, guys. I'm not here to add to it. This is just movies, tv or whatever it is we're talking about. That's the show in a nutshell Us talking movies without the noise. But now, this is one of my favorite parts of the show.
Speaker 1:This is where I give you a shout out to those who listen to the last episode of the podcast. Again, this isn't for the YouTube people, because that's I've no way to see who that is or where that is, anything like that. So if you want a shout out on this show, you have to listen to the podcast version, because that way I just Ramble off some of the cities and states. I see your countries. So to all of you, wherever, whenever or whatever you're doing. This is for you. All my listeners from the United States, germany, you guys, thanks so much Germany. Honestly, you guys must be sharing or listening, whatever you're doing. Thanks so much, germany. And same thing with the Netherlands and Australia St Paul, minnesota, kraffield, north North Ryan was fall, yeah, savage.
Speaker 1:Minnesota, murkirk, old trek, egan, minnesota, marion, pennsylvania, frankfurt am Main. Hesse, you're always there. Thank you, frankfurt. Howley, minnesota, wichita Falls, texas, merritt Island, florida, perth, western Australia, new Orleans, louisiana, richmond, virginia, phoenix, arizona, minneapolis, minnesota, las Vegas, nevada Thanks a lot. Thanks so much Las Vegas. That's just a name a few.
Speaker 1:But to every solitary one of you who take time on your life listening to show, it simply blows my mind. Every time I see a city, country, show up, I do do a happy dance. Don't think for one second. I don't. I don't take reading these cities off just for granted. Not for one second. It constantly blows me away. So to all of you who take time and listen to the show, cheers. In today's bourbon Shoutout goes out to Ear, nose and throat specialty care people. You guys have been so helpful, insightful, to all my little, silly, little needs. I am so grateful for everything you do so. Thank you so very much, cheers.
Speaker 1:Now, if you guys are interested in watching the TV version of this that becomes this, you can watch it on demand whenever you want, 24 hours a day, and usually they're there for several months. Go to BIT dot Ly slash cinema judge. Bit dot Ly slash cinema judge. And, as I just said, this is always a TV show first and then I turn that into a podcast. So what I was listening to when I was making a TV version of this, I'm just cranking to his tunes, guys, that's my happy place movies, music and I smashed them together like a glorious sandwich and it's, it's just heaven to me. So when I was listening, when I was making this particular episode, I first threw down the essential Leonard Cohen, and that man, the pipes, the songs, the lyrics are Just wonderful. So if you never listen to Leonard Cohen, check out the essential Leonard Cohen Just mind-blowing.
Speaker 1:And then I went back a little bit more maybe to the 80s era. I haven't sat down and listened to a Christopher album in quite some time, so I listened to the getaway and best moves. The guy is so underappreciated and I know he's bigger overseas in other countries, but if you haven't listened to Christopher again and again he has some stellar tunes like the lady in red, don't pay the ferry man and so on. Give him, give him a go. But that's the two albums I listened to. It was the getaway and best moves.
Speaker 1:And then I moved on to another great 80s hair band, deaf Flappard. I did the the story so far by deaf Flappard, the best of, and then I also had scattered a few more other songs in that I wanted to hear in particular that weren't on there. So that's, I also threw down that. And then I threw on the latest from the guess who. It's called plain de more. Plain de more, I think that's what's called.
Speaker 1:But here's the deal with this album. You know the guess who? From no sugar tonight, american woman, and they have just tons of tunes. But this album pretty much doesn't sound anything like that. This is how I sum them up and the only reason I really found out about them because on tiktok there's this great lady that does stuff with the 80s music in 70s, 80s, 60s. Her name is Heather the vinyl chick. I love what she does, she does some. She does that music just speaks to me. But somebody sent center that album. But this is what I see it as, this new guess who album Combine sticks, queen, a little bit of Beatles and there's one track that sounds like Crosby steals a Nash, but it's done in a great way. You can hear almost like almost a Brian May type guitar in some of the songs and in the orchestration a little bit of a Beatles Ask. But I thought take away from everything they did because the album is just really good, but I don't know if it's to get a lot of play out there in the world. So if you can check out whatever platform you have, again that's the guess who and it's plain, the more as PLEIN and it's D you know common thing, amo, you are Truly give it a shot as all those bands kind of smashed together to make an album and I really dug it in.
Speaker 1:Just one more thing about Blumhouse this would be the ultimate dream. I mean, I always grew up thinking somebody who's like Clint Eastwood, who's a director and producer, I'm like that's just great. But then he had Robert Rodriguez. Not only did he direct, produce, right and edit, you're like I was thinking, whoa, that guy, that what a company to be part of. Just the guy has every Tool in the tool chest to make movies and I remember thinking when he first came out of my now that's, that would be the dream gig. And in the same way, that's how I look at Blumhouse with Jason Blum. He has just grass roots, like he. He brings in new directors, he has all these people working for him and everybody works together. It's not like all the other other companies out there. It's it's very hands-on and I can you imagine being part of that world.
Speaker 1:Most of us would kill to do that, and let me just put that out here for all of us movie geeks, nerds, fanatics, we would even we, all of us, we'd work for free. We do, though what was that? What's that gig called? Were you internship? That's what I'm looking at. You know how many millions of us we do it for free. We decide every NDA in the world just to have it gets gathered, like every so often on Skype, and say, okay, here's the projects we're working on. They have just us complete. Nobody's out there.
Speaker 1:Picture ideas, share, just learn about it. Getting that behind the scenes, oomph of what you're creating. I know everybody says that, but my goodness, that would be the ultimate. So give it a, give it a go, mr Blum, create a thing for all of us people out there where you just be an intern dude for free and we just Throw our own ideas out there, cuz that's what it feels like. It seems like your company Takes ideas. You don't stone, think, okay, this is how it is, it's all set in stone. You're open to all these kind of ideas.
Speaker 1:But that was just my little rant I had to talk about because I remember when I was making this show, I'm like that'd be so cool just to get behind the scenes of how this works and be able to pitch your own ideas. That's what it seems like. That's what the environment it feels like. Eh, it's worth a shot. It could happen one day and if you're one of those lucky people that happens to, good luck and enjoy the ride. Well, that's it. My glass awaits. I'm thirsty. So cheers to you and to the movies. And, like the movies, keep an eye on yourself, make sure you pay attention to you because, for selfish reasons, always want you back, so always make sure you just take care of yourself. So until next time, be well, be good, and I'm gone. I'm Jeff. Thanks for listening to the Cinema. Judge you.