56-485: Leigh Whannell ( / ˈ l i ˈ w ɑː n ɛ l / ; born 17 January 1977) is an Australian filmmaker and actor. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan , including Saw (2004), Dead Silence (2007), Insidious (2010), and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). Whannell made his directorial debut with Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and has since directed two more films, Upgrade (2018) and The Invisible Man (2020). Whannell and Wan are
112-458: A Gargoyles live-action reboot with Wan and Michael Clear, joining the executive producing ranks. In 2009, a Whannell–Wan collaborative project, called X Ray, was announced and was described as a new "film noir/action project," with producer Robbie Brenner also attached to the project, however as of December 2012, no further developments were reported. It was also announced that an adaptation of Scott O. Brown 's graphic novel Nightfall
168-442: A reporter and film critic for several Australian television shows, including ABC's Recovery , a Saturday morning youth-oriented program that was hosted by Dylan Lewis . Whannell has described the show in a 2011 blog post: The result was that instead of following the usual MTV ideal of what teenagers want in a TV show—"Hey kids, coming up next we’ve got some seriously WICKED windsurfing moves!!”— Recovery managed to tap into
224-488: A Bachelor of Arts in Media in 1999. Prior to 2003, Wan and his friend, fellow filmmaker Leigh Whannell , had begun writing a script for a horror film, citing their dreams and fears as inspiration for its plot. Upon completing the script, Wan and Whannell had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known as Saw and film it to pitch their film to studios. With the help of Charlie Clouser , who had composed
280-715: A Plane . He is perhaps most known for his role as backpacker Ben Mitchell in the 2005 hit horror film Wolf Creek . After the success of this film, Phillips moved to Los Angeles , where he was based for several years. Although tipped for big things in Hollywood after the success of Wolf Creek , Phillips chose to go travelling for long periods of time, rather than focus on his career as an actor. Phillips' career has, to date, consisted mostly of roles in low budget films and television work, such as his role as Tom Wills , Australia's first significant cricketer and father of Australian rules football . In 2020, Phillips appeared in
336-519: A budget of $ 5 million. Wan later admitted that he wasn't as involved in the sequel, adding "it would be good to shepherd it and keep it more in track to the version I had when I made the first film so that it doesn't detour too far" since he never intended to make a sequel initially. In early 2013, Wan entered into negotiations with Universal Pictures to direct the seventh installment to Fast & Furious action franchise after Justin Lin , who directed
392-418: A committee really afforded me the luxury to make a film with lots of creepy, bizarre moments that a studio might not 'get.'" Wan later revealed that he wanted to "experiment in other genres, or make films in other genres because I love, Leigh and I have, we're not just horror fans. We're film fans. I love action films. I want to do action films. I want to do romantic comedies. I love all this stuff. So, if I find
448-451: A deal to direct The Conjuring 2 as part of a significant long-term deal with New Line Cinema. Head of New Line, Toby Emmerich, explained that Wan is the sole director that the studio signed a deal with, as New Line considers Wan to be "a class of one". The film was released on June 10, 2016, to high critical acclaim and commercial success. That same month, Wan launched his own production company, Atomic Monster , at New Line Cinema . With
504-402: A featured cameo, reprising his role as Adam. Saw III grossed $ 33,610,391 on its opening weekend, making around $ 129,927,001 worldwide (after 38 days in cinemas) and is currently the most successful Saw film to date. Whannell's writing partner, Wan, was chosen to direct the film Death Sentence , the first feature film with their participation that they did not write themselves. Whannell has
560-496: A film adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Tommyknockers and shopping the package to studios. Deadline later reported that Universal had won the bidding war and acquired the feature film package. Wan will produce the film adaptation under his Atomic Monster label, with an eye to direct. In March 2020, Wan was announced to be working with Universal Pictures to produce a modern remake of Frankenstein . Wan
616-493: A production budget of $ 20 million. Similar to Wan's previous film, it received negative reviews. Author Garfield later stated, "I think that, except for its ludicrous violence toward the end, the Death Sentence movie does depict its character's decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism," adding, "As a story it made the point I wanted it to make." Having worked on his previous three films continuously, Wan told
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#1732794496478672-424: A proud father. And that is why it is the end of an era." Whannell also added that he doesn't rule out collaborating with Wan again, but he felt like he needs to direct a film for the first time. Whannell was writer-director of the science fiction body horror film Upgrade , which was released by Blumhouse Tilt and OTL Releasing in 2018 to positive reception. Whannell next wrote, directed, and co-executive produced
728-415: A retooling of H. G. Wells ' book The Invisible Man . The film starred Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen , and was released in 2020 to universal critical acclaim; it grossed $ 145 million on a $ 7 million budget. In July 2020, it was announced that he is working on a sequel to The Invisible Man . Whannell is currently working on a reboot of Escape from New York . He is also producing and directing
784-459: A sequel series to Upgrade . In June 2022, he was in talks to direct a reboot film based on the Green Hornet titled The Green Hornet and Kato from Amasia Entertainment and Universal Pictures The success of The Invisible Man led Universal Pictures to team with him again on Wolf Man , which he co-wrote with his wife, Corbett Tuck. The film stars Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner and
840-592: A small role as Spink in Death Sentence . In 2008, Whannell took off his "writing hat" to perform alongside Nathan Phillips in Dying Breed , a low-budget Australian horror film about a team of zoologists exploring the Tasmanian wilderness to locate a creature thought extinct, the thylacine , or Tasmanian tiger. Instead, they wander into the domain of cannibals who retain their ancestor Alexander Pearce 's taste for human flesh, and become prey. Before and during
896-559: Is also attached to a television series based on the Italian horror comics series Dylan Dog , which was announced in October 2019. In December 2022, he stated that the series was still in development, and that he was also working with the publishing house to find investors. Wan will produce the horror film Border Patrol with Screen Gems , with Johannes Roberts directing the movie. In February 2023, A24 , who successfully bid on
952-729: Is an Australian actor. His professional acting career began in 1999, with a role on the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours . His television career was later followed by roles in Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story , Blue Heelers , Something in the Air and The Saddle Club . In 2002, he made his feature film debut with a role in Warriors of Virtue: The Return to Tao (also starring Kevin Smith , Shedrack Anderson III and Nina Liu ). His next role,
1008-601: Is set to be released in January 2025. Executive producer only James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring Universe . The lattermost is the highest-grossing horror franchise at over $ 2 billion. Wan is also the founder of film and television production company Atomic Monster . Beginning his career with
1064-609: The Backrooms film, announced that work had begun on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons ' videos, with Parsons directing. Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, while Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster , Shawn Levy , Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine from 21 Laps Entertainment , Peter Chernin from Chernin Entertainment are set to produce. In October 2023, Disney Branded Television announced
1120-643: The DC Extended Universe superhero film Aquaman . The film grossed over $ 1.148 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing DCEU film as well as the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character, internationally, surpassing The Dark Knight Rises . In 2019, Wan developed a television series based on the character Swamp Thing , for the DC Universe streaming service. On 7 August 2015, Wan signed-on to produce New Line Cinema 's 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot. Four years later,
1176-533: The RMITV production Under Melbourne Tonight presents What's Goin' On There? on 10 June 1998. In 2003, Whannell appeared in a minor role in The Matrix Reloaded , as well as in the video game Enter The Matrix as the character "Axel". While in film school, Whannell met James Wan . Together, the two wrote a script for what would become Saw . After making a short film in 2003 to showcase
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#17327944964781232-569: The Saw franchise, Wan made his feature directorial debut with his first film in 2004. The franchise became commercially successful and grossed more than $ 1 billion globally. Following a period of setbacks, Wan found new success with the Insidious series, in which he directed the first film in 2010 and its 2013 sequel . The same year as the second Insidious , Wan directed the first Conjuring film to critical and commercial success. He served as
1288-472: The Saw franchise; however, in a November 2013 post on his personal blog, Whannell described a new chapter beyond his partnership with Wan, as the director had finally reached his goal of making epic-style blockbuster productions. Whannel explained: "Now, he's off making the films he's always wanted to make – the big ones. I have no doubt that his name will be added to that special club of film directors that he's always admired very soon. I'm so happy for him, like
1344-646: The South Australian Government 's budget included a huge boost to the South Australian Film Corporation , with the Mortal Kombat reboot, as the largest film production in the state's history, set to be a key recipient. In February 2018, Wan was confirmed to executive produce the animated adaptation of Stan Sakai 's Usagi Yojimbo comic book series. The animated series premiered on Netflix in 2022 and
1400-401: The 13th films by a margin of $ 10 million. Wan directed Saw (2004) and co-wrote Saw III (2006). Meanwhile, he and Whannell have predominantly served as executive producers to the sequels Saw II , Saw III , Saw IV , Saw V , Saw VI , Saw 3D , Jigsaw , Spiral and Saw X . In 2007, Wan directed two featured films. The first was the horror film Dead Silence , which
1456-606: The 1980s television series MacGyver film never materialised and he pulled out from directing due to scheduling conflicts. Instead, a reboot television series titled MacGyver premiered in September 2016. Wan executive produced the series and directed the pilot episode. Wan was also at one point attached to the director role for a live action Robotech film for Sony, but was replaced by Andy Muschietti in July 2017. A "horror-tinged" spin-off of Aquaman called The Trench
1512-497: The IGN Theater, and the audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive. At that stage, Wan had several more weeks before the film was completed. The film was released in July 2013 and was a critical and commercial success, grossing $ 319.5 million. After work on The Conjuring was complete, Wan directed a sequel to 2010's Insidious . The film was once again written by Wan's longtime collaborator and close friend, Whannell, and
1568-406: The box office, with an estimated US$ 13.5 million in ticket sales. Starring Patrick Wilson , Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey , the film was made independently, as Wan sought complete creative control and also wanted to make a film that was markedly different from the gore that he had become synonymous with due to Saw . Wan stated in an interview, "the fact that Insidious was not being run by
1624-514: The cast of the original film returned. Filming for the sequel commenced in January 2013 and the film was released on 13 September 2013. The budget for the film had been described as "shoestring" by one media outlet. Oren Peli, the creator of the Paranormal Activity franchise, returned as an executive producer. Film District distributed Insidious: Chapter 2 . It received mixed reviews but grossed over $ 161 million worldwide against
1680-408: The company, he develops and produces budget films in the science fiction, horror, and comedy genres. Films produced by the label included The Conjuring 2 and Lights Out . Wan later produced Demonic , a Dimension Films horror movie that was scheduled for a December 2014 release, alongside Lee Clay. Wan conceived the idea for the film, which was directed by Will Canon and features Maria Bello in
1736-505: The creators of the Saw franchise . Whannell wrote the first installment, co-wrote the second and third installments, was producer or executive producer for all the films, and appeared as the Adam Stanheight character in three of the installments. He was also the writer of the Saw video game (2009), and co-writer of the 2014 film Cooties . Whannell was born 17 January 1977. A writer since childhood, Whannell worked as
Leigh Whannell - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-516: The director of the second installment in 2016 and produced subsequent films in the franchise. Outside of horror, Wan directed Furious 7 (2015), the seventh installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, and the DC Extended Universe superhero films Aquaman (2018) and its sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). Both Furious 7 and Aquaman grossed over $ 1 billion, making Wan
1848-680: The eighth director with two films to reach the milestone. He is the 16th highest-grossing director of all time as of 2021, with his films having grossed over $ 3.7 billion worldwide. James Wan was born on 26 February 1977 in Kuching , Sarawak , Malaysia to Chinese-Malaysian parents. Wan and his family moved to Perth , Western Australia when he was seven. He attended Lake Tuggeranong College in Canberra before returning to Perth as an adult. Wan relocated from Perth to Melbourne , where he attended RMIT University , he graduated from RMIT with
1904-399: The film as "a creepy doll movie. It's in the spirit of those old Twilight Zone episodes or Hammer Horror Films. Very old-school." The film grossed over $ 22 million against a production budget of $ 20 million. It received negative reviews from critics. Wan's second directorial film of 2007 was the vigilante action drama film Death Sentence , a film adapted from the 1975 novel of
1960-465: The good material, I'll do it. Wan's next film, The Conjuring (2013), centered on the real life exploits of husband and wife Ed and Lorraine Warren , a married couple that investigated paranormal events. The film focused on the couple's most famous case second to the Amityville haunting , in which they investigated a witch's curse on a Rhode Island family farm. In his second collaboration with
2016-462: The intensity of the Saw script, the feature film version, directed by Wan, was made in 2004 and became a low-budget sleeper hit . Whannell played Adam in the film, one of the main characters. The popularity of Saw led to a sequel, Saw II , which was directed and co-written by Darren Lynn Bousman , and on which Whannell co-wrote and revised Bousman's original script, titled The Desperate . Whannell also served as an executive producer . Around
2072-676: The lead in Australian Rules , earned him a nomination for the Film Critics Circle of Australia's Best Actor award, alongside David Gulpilil , Guy Pearce and Vince Colosimo . Phillips's film career has seen him star in both Australian productions, such as Take Away (with Rose Byrne ), One Perfect Day (with Abbie Cornish ) and Under the Radar , and Hollywood productions such as Chernobyl Diaries , Redline and Surfer, Dude and most notably Snakes on
2128-649: The lead role. Max La Bella penned the script. The film was eventually released on VOD in August 2017. He then produced Annabelle , a spin-off of The Conjuring that served as a prequel to the 2013 film. The spin-off was profitable, made on a budget of $ 6.5 million and grossing over $ 256 million As part of the franchise, he also produced the prequel film Annabelle: Creation ( 2017), another Conjuring spin-off horror film, The Nun (2018), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). Wan co-wrote The Nun and Annabelle Comes Home with Gary Dauberman . In 2018, Wan directed
2184-492: The male lifestyle website CraveOnline that he was ready for "a bit of time off just to chill... but at the same time I'm using this opportunity to write again." In 2008, Wan directed a trailer for the survival horror video game Dead Space . During this time, Wan and Tobe Hooper were in talks to revive the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series with a trilogy of films, with both planning to direct although
2240-562: The pair, Patrick Wilson starred in the film, with him and Vera Farmiga playing the husband and wife respectively. Filming commenced in North Carolina , United States, in late February 2012 and New Line Cinema , together with Warner Bros. Pictures , had initially slated the film for a release on 25 January 2013. A test screening of the film occurred in October 2012 at the New York Comic Con event, where it screened in
2296-458: The past seven years, so I think they need some time off. Media reports were published in mid-2013 in regard to Cooties , a film project that Whannell is an executive producer, actor and screenwriter for. The film's plot concerns an extreme virus that infects an isolated elementary school. Whannell made his directing debut on the sequel Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), which he also wrote. In 2014, Whannell expressed possible interest in returning to
Leigh Whannell - Misplaced Pages Continue
2352-556: The previous four sequels, confirmed that he would not continue as director in January 2013. Wan was part of a directorial shortlist alongside Jeff Wadlow , Baltasar Kormákur and Harald Zwart . A final confirmation that Wan would direct was revealed in April 2013, with Lin approving. The film, Furious 7 , was released in April 2015. It became the most commercially successful film in the franchise, grossing over $ 1.516 billion globally and received positive reviews. Wan later completed
2408-449: The production of Saw , Whannell sought medical treatment. "I was going through a bit of a tough time healthwise and suffering anxiety," says Whannell. "The anxiety manifested itself in physical ways. I was suffering headaches everyday for nearly a year. It was serious stuff and really started affecting my life." Spending time in a hospital inspired him to endow the lead antagonist of the Saw series, John Kramer / Jigsaw , with cancer. "It
2464-474: The same name by Brian Garfield that was written as the sequel to Death Wish . The film's protagonist ( Kevin Bacon ) was a father seeking revenge for his murdered son, who was killed by a local gang. Whannell played a minor character as one of the gang members. Wan described the film as "a raw and gritty, 70s styled revenge thriller ... It's my arthouse movie with guns." The films grossed $ 17 million against
2520-429: The same time, Whannell returned to collaborate with Wan; they wrote a film called Dead Silence , which Wan directed. It was originally slated for a 2006 release, but small problems with the title pushed the release date back to March 2007. In 2006, the duo composed the story for Saw III ; Whannell wrote the screenplay for the third time. It was again directed by Bousman and was released on 27 October 2006. Whannell has
2576-546: The score for the film, and a few stand-in actors, Wan and Whannell shot the film with a relatively low budget. Whannell also decided to star in the film as Adam Stanheight , one of the film's main protagonists. After the release of the full-length Saw , the film was met with overwhelming success in the box office both domestically and internationally. The film ended up grossing $ 55 million in America, and $ 48 million in other countries, totaling over US$ 103 million worldwide. This
2632-458: The so-called "alternative" movement that was in full swing at the time by giving teenagers what they actually want: genuine, unpolished anarchy. Whannell had originally auditioned for the host role, but was later employed as a reporter; Whannell's first interview was with Jackie Chan and he has stated that " Recovery is the best job I've ever had ...". Whannell appeared in Episode 4, Season 1 of
2688-447: The studio instead made 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D . Wan returned to the horror genre with the film Insidious , which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the "Midnight Madness" program and was sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide for a seven-figure sum within four hours of the premiere's conclusion. The film began its American theatrical release in the first weekend of April 2011 and achieved third place at
2744-447: Was announced that Wan's production company Atomic Monster was in talks to merge with Jason Blum 's Blumhouse Productions with the company having a shared first look deal with Universal Pictures . Both companies would continue to operate as separate labels, with each maintaining its own creative autonomy and brand identity. In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Wan and producers Roy Lee and Larry Sanitsky were developing
2800-413: Was directed by Wan and produced by Oren Peli . In relation to the Saw franchise, Whannell stated, also in 2011: It's hard to say definitively, because we don't own the copyright for it. The producers could make 10 more if they wanted to. But, if we're to take them at face value, they told us that they were definitely done with it. They're pretty exhausted. They've been making one a year every year for
2856-532: Was in development. Wan would have produced while Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald were signed on to write the script. It was cancelled in April 2021. On June 22, 2019, Wan became engaged to Romanian actress Ingrid Bisu , making the announcement on his Instagram account. They married on November 4, 2019. Critical, public and commercial reception to films James Wan has directed as of 16 September 2021: Atomic Monster Starlight Media Inc. My Entertainment Inc. Nathan Phillips (actor) Nathan Phillips
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#17327944964782912-513: Was over $ 100 million more than the production budget. This led the studio to green-light the sequel Saw II and later the rest of the Saw franchise . Since its inception, the Saw films have become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time worldwide in unadjusted dollars. In the United States alone, Saw is the second highest grossing horror franchise, behind only the Friday
2968-401: Was the result of advice from Wan and Whannell's agent at the time; Wan and Whannell have since stated that the film was a negative experience for them. Dead Silence featured Australian actor Ryan Kwanten and is based on the premise of a legend, whereby the ghost of a ventriloquist, Mary Shaw, removes the tongue of any person who screams in its presence. Rather than a gore movie, Wan described
3024-504: Was titled Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles . In 2021, Wan directed the horror film Malignant , starring Annabelle Wallis and co-produced the film adaptation of the slasher novel There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins , under his Atomic Monster label, alongside Shawn Levy 's 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix . Also in 2021, Wan executive produced the television adaptation of I Know What You Did Last Summer for Amazon Prime . On November 16, 2022, it
3080-444: Was to be Wan's next film after Death Sentence. The plot involves the events that take place after a criminal is sent to a Texas prison run by vampires. However, nothing materialised and Wan lost the rights to the film. In 2012, Disney was reported to be developing a remake of The Rocketeer and Wan was in talks about directing the film. However, no film ever came to fruition. Similarly, Wan's negotiations to direct an adaption of
3136-420: Was weird to be 25 and sitting in a neurological ward and I'm surrounded by people who actually had brain tumors. It was very scary and it was my first proper look at mortality. I really wanted to get my health back and it really hammered home how important good health is. If you've got that, you've got everything". Whannell wrote the script for and acted in the 2011 paranormal thriller film, Insidious , which
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