Juliet Snowden and Stiles White were recently out promoting their latest scripted effort THE POSSESSION and they had time to discuss their upcoming directorial effort OUIJA. OUIJA is based on the popular Hasbro toy used for communicating with the dead. Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, Blumhouse Productions, and Hasbro are producing the low-budget film. Talking to Shock Till You Drop Snowden said:
It was originally a $100 million movie, now it’s a $5 million movie with us. Jason [Blum], Michael [Bay] and the Platinum Dunes guys, Universal and Hasbro – that’s a lot to answer to.
Back when the film was rumoured to have a budget of $100 million, there was talk of a heavy adventure aspect to the film. White was asked if the action elements were still in place.
For us, there was that version, but we’ve got Blum on board now, it’s going to be a smaller budget, a more contained idea. We just love the idea, when Juliet was growing up, her older sister had a Ouija board, my grandparents had a Ouija board up on the shelf in the closet, so I remember one – I’m not sure if I ever played with one, I had a healthy sense of caution with it. I love the idea it’s a game, but not really a game. It’s sold as a game because where else can you put it in the store? The idea that the board spells out messages – as a psychological horror film, we just felt there was a lot to play with there. We pitched our ideas, we’re currently writing the script right now, the process is moving quickly. Once you get into the writing of it, you’re visualizing it from the get-go when you’re signed on to direct.
Snowden went on to mention how quickly the whole project was moving along:
Contact spirits with something you find on the shelf at Walmart or Target? That’s where we’re coming from with the story, it’s not just about one board, it’s any board and that’s what makes it scary.The timeline is fast, we’re moving fast. We have a release date, next October…
I can’t see how this film will differ too much from PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, but I appreciate the smaller budget. This will fore White and Snowden to be creative when coming up with scares.
Source: Shock Till You Drop
