Leigh Whannell Saw III Interview

EXCLUSIVE by Paul Fischer in Los Angeles.

WHANNELL WRITES ONE MORE SAW.

Aussie actor and writer Leigh Whannell was an unknown when we first met at the Toronto Film, Festival on the eve of the premiere of Saw, which he co-wrote with university buddy James Wan. Little did he know that this Saw universe which he helped to create would evolve into a successful franchise and cultural phenomenon. Leigh Whannell, who is currently acting in Wans next film, is sitting in a Los Angeles hotel room, recounting why it is he ended up involved in what is likely to be the last Saw - at least for the time being. He spoke to Paul Fischer

Paul Fischer: How reticent were you to do another Saw?

Leigh Whannell: Its an interesting question. What happened with Saw III and why I got involved with it is really an example of how sometimes life makes decisions for you. A couple of things happened, I wasnt sure whether I was going to do Saw III, and youre right, I was umming and ahhing, I thought Id maybe been there, but then a couple of things happened. The first thing that happened is that Greg Hoffman, one of the producers, passed away, like it was really tragic, it was really sudden, it was in December last year, it was so out of the blue and so sudden and shocking that it just threw us all for six. That really helped me come to the decision that I wanted to be involved, it was like our tribute to Greg. So it was like lets do one more for Greg, and dedicate it to him. The film is dedicated to him, so there was that. Then on top of that I was talking with my agent about, whether I should get involved and I remember thinking, that trilogies are respectable these days. I think Peter Jackson has gone a long way towards making the trilogy respectable…Its almost like if you go past that number three then youre getting into sort of gratuitous sequel territory. I remember saying Id love to have my name on the box set as they inevitably will with all three films in a little box and then after that see where the franchise goes - meaning that Im not sure if Ill be involved in IV or any other future sequels...


Paul Fischer: Which apparently could be a prequel is what theyre saying.

Leigh Whannell: It could be. The good thing about the Saw universe is that its so non-linear. You know, we wrote the Saw film, it was this fractured narrative that bended in and around itself, which means that you have the freedom to go back and forth in time. So if somebody were to ask me well where do you go from here after Saw III my answer would be anywhere; you could go back in time, we could go forward in time. I mean its... theres just this myriad of choices to make so...


Paul Fischer: Now when I met you guys in Toronto, you had no idea this was going to be the big film that it ended up being. I mean these two guys from Australia got together and made a film. How surprised are you by whats happened and how important is it for you now to say, okay, weve done the Saw thing it really is time to move on and show we can do other things?

Leigh Whannell: Were really surprised by it. Its hard...Human nature means that you dont always count your blessings; I think a lot of human beings have a habit of looking up the ladder rather than down the ladder to see how far theyve come. But every now and again I have this wave, this realization of how far weve come and what weve done. Essentially James and I are living our dreams. A lot of people in the world have dreams but hardly anyone gets to live them out and in most cases surpass them. Weve surpassed a lot of the things we wanted to do and intended, so when those realizations happen its an amazing experience. Having said that, though, we realize that now that weve had the good fortune to wedge our foot into this door, the door of this exclusive club that you call Hollywood, whatever you want to call t, the film industry in L.A., we know that its just as hard to keep your foot in the door as it is to wedge it in there. To keep our foot in the door I think we are going to have some different turns. I think if we keep repeating ourselves and just flog a dead horse to death creatively well start drying up because well just be painting with the same brushes, but also in the eyes of the industry well just be seen as one-trick ponies, and thats something James and I are determined not to be. Were determined not to be the Saw guys. I mean that wouldnt be such a bad thing. If it all ended tomorrow and I went back to Australia and opened a fish and chips shop I would be fine with that being my epitaph, the Saw guy. I mean how many people get to create a film that becomes this franchise and sort of becomes this sort of cultural phenomenon. But having said that, I want to keep my foot in that door and Im starting to think about other avenues. Im working on a childrens fantasy at the moment, much more of a sort of Tim Burtonesque kids film. James is doing a film right now which Im acting in, which is why Ive got the shaved head, called Death Sentence.


Paul Fischer: Who do you play in that?

Leigh Whannell: Im one of the gang members being... Spink. Its a revenge movie done in a very sort of 70s French Connection / Death Wish type way. Its still a genre film but its very far removed from Saw. Its an action film.


Paul Fischer: Youve got a mainstream lead actor too...

Leigh Whannell: Yeah, youve got Kevin Bacon. So James is really spreading his wings, and its been great watching him direct Death Sentence because it is so different from Saw. And the scripts that Im working on right now are so different from Saw.


Paul Fischer: Are you two collaborating as writers on something as well?

Leigh Whannell: We are going to in the future. I didnt write Death Sentence, the film hes working on right now, but I know that we want to work together. I think we always will. I think what will happen with us is that well go off and do our own separate things occasionally but then well always come back together. Weve been talking about a film, you know, an idea that wed actually love to go back and do in a low-budget way. We were saying, you know, itd be great to go back and do another Saw, real low-budget balls to the wall film that you could go and get financed by a small company and just do it and have the creative freedom to really do what you want.


Paul Fischer: Do you want to work in Australia?

Leigh Whannell: Yeah. I mean Id love to. I feel like Im in command of this huge ship; thats not how I feel at all. If anything I feel like Im on my own in a rowboat at night in the middle of this storm trying to navigate my way. Not to go overboard with the metaphors, but I guess what I mean with them is that Ill go where the work is. Im not steering this ship. If somebody called me tomorrow and said, listen, we want you to come back to Australia, weve got this great script and we want you to work on it with us and act in it, I would be there in a heartbeat. Its just that hasnt happened. Im just sort of going where the current takes me at the moment, and at the moment the current is here in L.A.


Paul Fischer: Are you also pursuing acting, an acting career?

Leigh Whannell: Yeah, I want to. The thing is, if acting and writing were like two children, writing has been spoiled over the last couple of years and acting has been locked in the basement and fed dog food. Ive really neglected that side of me. An interesting thing happened after Saw, I became a writer. All of sudden there was this demand - at least from some people - for me to go and work on horror films, and I spent a couple of years working on scripts and I wasnt really auditioning. I wasnt even in L.A. The best time for me to be out there pursuing my acting career would have been immediately after Saw came out, but the whole year after Saw came out I spent back in Australia. So I wouldnt say I really capitalized on the acting thing, but now Im really starting to. Like, as I said, Im playing like a small role in James film, but its enough... its like a few drops of water on a parched mans tongue. I feel like Ive gotten this taste of acting again and Ive realized how much I love it and I really want to pursue it next year.