Guest: Leigh Whannell is best known for the Saw and Insidious horror franchises. Now he's written and directed the new monster film, The Invisible Man, starring Elisabeth Moss.
Leigh chats with me about strengthening your horror protagonist by making your antagonist as vicious as possible, keeping your antagonist mysterious to create suspense, and how Elisabeth Moss helped him write less dialogue and less exposition. We also discuss the difference between creating scares and suspense and why he likes to procrastinate when it comes to writing.
Host: Shanee Edwards graduated from UCLA Film School with an MFA in Screenwriting. She recently won the Next MacGyver television writing competition to create a TV show about a female engineer. Her pilot, Ada and the Machine, is currently in development with America Ferrera’s Take Fountain Productions. You can follow her on Twitter: @ShaneeEdwards
The Script Lab: For all the latest from The Script Lab, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
And become a member of TSL 360 to enjoy the LARGEST screenwriting education content library, featuring masterclasses, deep-dive interviews, and lectures from Academy Award-winning screenwriters, TV show-runners, producers, literary managers, agents, studio executives, and leading educators – all in one place.
Dawn Luebbe and Jocelyn DeBoer — Writers/Directors/Stars of GREENER GRASS
Max Eggers — Co-Writer of THE LIGHTHOUSE
Tim Greenberg — Showrunner for Netflix's LIVING WITH YOURSELF & Two-Time Emmy-Winner for THE DAILY SHOW
Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon — Directors of THE ADDAMS FAMILY and SAUSAGE PARTY
Kevin Smith — Writer/Director of JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT
Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi — Writers of LUCY IN THE SKY
Robyn Paris — Writer/Director of the Award-winning Web Series THE ROOM ACTORS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods — Writers of HAUNT and A QUIET PLACE
Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage — Writers/Directors of THEM THAT FOLLOW starring Walton Goggins and Olivia Colman
Hannah Pearl Utt and Jen Tullock — Writers/Director of BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, developed in the 2019 Sundance Filmmaker Labs
Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky — Writers of GOOD BOYS (2019) and THE OFFICE (US) for Five Seasons
Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz — Writers/Directors of THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (2019)
Jennifer Kent — Writer/Director/Producer of THE NIGHTINGALE, Known for THE BABADOOK
Andrea Berloff — Writer/Director of THE KITCHEN (2019) and Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter of STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (2015)
Casey Affleck — Oscar-Winning Actor and Writer/Director/Star of LIGHT OF MY LIFE (2019)
Lynn Shelton — Writer-Director of SWORD OF TRUST (2019)
Weiko Lin — Author of Crazy Screenwriting Secrets: How to Capture a Global Audience
John August — Highland 2.5 Software, ALADDIN and His Upcoming GREASE Prequel
James Vanderbilt — Screenwriter of MURDER MYSTERY starring Jennifer Aniston & Adam Sandler
Jeff Chan & Andrew Rhymer — Writers/Directors of PLUS ONE
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