Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is now in Theaters For 3 Days. For more detail, click on Fathomevents.com
1. What is your favorite horror movie growing up?
Well, I don't know if it's my favorite, per se, but the horror movie that had the most impact on me was AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. It came out in 1981, but I ended up watching it years later in the mid-80s when my parents saw it at home and didn't realize I was behind them watching from down the hallway at WAY too young an age. It was around the same time Michael Jackson's THRILLER was having a pop culture moment, so werewolves were seemingly everywhere. And they scared the hell out of me.
2. What was your writing schedule when you wrote Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?
It started out with Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the director, and me brainstorming what could possibly be fun to have in the film, based on his ideas, my ideas, and then countless fan surveys and comments they'd collected in the aftermath of releasing the first film. It was immediately clear to me that Rhys really wanted to make something fans would love, and I really respected that. And my job was to take those ideas and formulate them all into something compelling from a story perspective. That development process took a month or so. We built out a roughly 20-page outline that was essentially every scene in the film. Once that was signed off on by everyone, I got to work writing.
When I start writing, I always have a complete outline like that, so the first draft flies. I'll typically have a rough draft within a week or week-and-a-half. Then I'll do a polish pass over the next week so it's a rough draft that reads decently well. I shared that with Rhys and did a notes pass that probably took another couple weeks. So I suppose all in, we had a solid draft about a month after finishing our outline.
And then I continued tweaking the script with Rhys all the way through the shoot as the realities of prep and production hit. Sometimes a location just flies in the face of something you intended to shoot there so you have to adjust things. It happens a ton. Even in post things changed. Sometimes Rhys would just make a tweak, other times he'd reach out to me and brainstorm solutions to a problem. It was a fun, collaborative process that I think turned out super well. Especially when you learn what the budget was. What Rhys, his producing partner Scott Chambers (who also stars as Christopher Robin), and their crew pulled off is mind-blowing to me. Because this script was ambitious.
3. What is your favorite line from Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?
(SPOILERS AHEAD) Well, it's a bit longer than a line, but it's something Cavendish says to Christopher Robin in one of the movie's pivotal scenes. Cavendish is played by the immeasurably talented Simon Callow -- when I found out he was playing that part, I was blown away because I knew his delivery of this dialogue was gonna be so good. Anyway, one of the plot points in the film is this idea that when Christopher Robin was a child, his twin brother Billy and some of their other friends were kidnapped from a sleepover party. The kids were never found, nor was the perpetrator of that crime. It's been a cloud over the town of Ashdown, but it's been a hurricane-like storm hanging over Christopher's life. He blames himself, wishes he could uncover what happened, etc. Anyway, he eventually -- through hypnotherapy -- remembers the face of the man who committed that crime (because he actually witnessed it), and then confronts the man (played by Callow). In that conversation, Callow's character, Cavendish, explains to Christopher what happened. He kidnapped the kids for this local scientist, Dr. Gallup, in exchange for paying off Cavendish's gambling debts. But Gallup was experimenting on those kids and when things started to go sideways with those experiments, Gallup killed them and buried them. But the bodies didn't stay buried. Christopher asks what he means -- like, did someone dig them up? But Cavendish shakes his head, looking quite haunted, and says:
CAVENDISH
When a body's dug up, the dirt's all displaced.
It's a mess. That's not what this was. The earth
was peeled back like. Away from the hole, as if
the earth itself was relinquishing its grip on the
horror rising up from beneath. Nah, them kids
pulled themselves out.
Sorry, I know that's a lot but you need that context for this dialogue to mean anything. Ha...
4. In one word how would you sum up Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?
"Fun." That was really the goal -- to make something that fans of the horror genre would love. Every decision we made was aimed at that eventuality. Like I said, Rhys had mined countless horror sites, looking at comments, releasing polls and taking criticism and suggestions, etc., all with an eye toward making the sequel a much stronger film. People don't realize, the first film had a budget of like $40k and no one knew it was gonna get all that global attention. This time around, they knew they had to (and wanted to) put more money and time into crafting something special.
5. Could you express how you came to write the sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2”?
Yeah, I got a call from the composer of the first film, Andrew Scott Bell (Andy). Super talented guy who I'd been talking to about being my composer on another film I was set to direct. Anyway, Andy rang me up and mentioned Rhys and Scott were looking for a writer on the sequel. As a horror fan, I'd heard of the first one but sort of reacted the way many people did, which is just to sort of shrug it off as some kinda IP grab. But I try to meet as many people as I can because you never know where things can lead in this business, so I agreed to at least have a chat with Rhys.
When I did, I learned much more about the first film -- how their budget was $40k, how they wrote the script in a matter of days, shot it in like a week, had no clue it was gonna explode the way it did, etc. I discussed this all in a recent twitter thread (link here), but through that chat with Rhys, I really took to his attitude about making a film people will love and giving it everything he's got to make that happen. He doesn't make films to get rich, he does it because he loves it. You don't make as many low budget films as he has if you're just in it for a buck. Trust me. This sequel had the biggest budget they've ever worked with, and it's lower than any film I've ever been a part of by far, and that includes our indie film, SUMMER OF 84.
After our chat, I was still hesitant because, as I also mentioned in that twitter thread, just because Rhys and his team ASPIRED to make something special, doesn't mean they'd be able to pull it off. His ideas were ambitious and pulling them off at a microbudget would be insanely difficult. It came down to taking a leap of faith. And I'm glad I did because this film is a lot of fun. Yeah, it's innately ridiculous -- Winnie the Pooh is killing people. But if you can accept that premise, the film takes you on a rollercoaster ride you'll definitely enjoy. It's a massive leap forward in terms of every single aspect of filmmaking.
6. How was your experience working with director Rhys Frake-Waterfield?
It was an enjoyable collaboration from start to finish. He respected my opinion and sought it out often, which was great for me because so often, directors don't seem to care what the writer thinks -- a massive mistake almost always, by the way. Just a very bizarre paradigm in the business. So yeah, because Rhys cared so much about making sure the story was strong and fun and engaging, we got on great throughout.
7. Are you willing to adapt a novel/novella/short story into a screenplay? If so, what type of story would you be interested in doing?
Yeah, I'd love to do that. Anything horror or sci-fi or something with a genre bent to it would be fun. I'm not the biggest straight drama guy -- I feel like high concept hooks are important. Something that'll keep my mind engaged for a couple years as the project goes from book to script to film.
8. Without giving out any spoilers, were there alternate endings you considered for “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2”?
Yeah, there were a number of versions we kicked around, but that's always the case as you're formulating your story. As various aspects of the story shift and change, the ending ideas do as well. It's always the goal to create an ending that --as Aristotle famously said -- feels surprising yet inevitable. I feel like we achieved that here, but we'll see what fans say.
9. Without any spoilers, what was your favorite scene to write?
My favorite scene to write was definitely the scene I mentioned earlier between Christopher Robin and Cavendish. It was the moment the film had been building to on an emotional level, so allowing it to blossom on the page was a lot of fun. It's funny because I know horror and slasher fans are gonna love this film for the gore and kills and whatnot, but what I love about it is the quiet scenes where emotions run high and character is revealed. This film has some beautifully-acted dramatic scenes that, to me, stand out in a really wonderful way.
10. Did you ever get writer’s block when writing “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2”? What do you do to get back on track?
No, not really. I always had a sounding board with Rhys, and that sort of riffing always frees me up from any temporary creative blocks. I'm someone who thrives on collaboration. Being able to bounce ideas back and forth ignites my imagination.
11. Could you give a sneak peek on your next film project?
Yeah, well I'm pitching a variety of open writing assignments and developing a few other projects with my writing partner, Stephen J. Smith. We've been cooking up an idea for a potential sequel to our film SUMMER OF 84 as well, so we'll see where that leads. We think it could be a fun addition and conclusion to the relationship between our protagonist and antagonist in that story, so fingers crossed we can get it made.
12. Between working in Ride Along, Straight Outta Compton, and Beyond the Lights, which project experience stood out or was the most memorable for you and why?
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON was by far the most educational experience I ever had on a film. I worked a lot on that script during pre-production and production with our producers and director F. Gary Gray, and did so under tremendous pressure. So I learned a lot about myself, about that process in the studio world, and about my abilities. I'll never forget it and I couldn't be more proud of that film.
13. If you had your own talk show, who would your first 3 guests be (dead or alive)?
Oh boy, these questions always get me because it's not something I've ever thought about, but off the top of my head, I'd say:
1) Stanley Kubrick -- he's such an enigma to me, but clearly one of the most talented filmmakers ever. So I'd like to try to ask him some questions that would unearth that brilliance.
2) Franklin Delano Roosevelt and/or Winston Churchill -- WWII was an absolutely insane time in the world. From where we stand, it's easy to look back with confidence because we know how things shook out, but from their perspective at that time, it must've been horrifying. I'd love to ask them about what that was like and learn how they seemingly had such determination, perseverance and self-assuredness.
3) Michael Jordan -- perhaps cliche, I've found him one of the most inspiring figures. He overcame tremendous obstacles and had what seems like an unflappable confidence in himself, as well as a competitive spirit that is legend. I'd have a million questions for him.
14. If author A.A.Milne was still alive, would you tell him about reimagining his tale into a slasher film? What would you hope he will take away from this sequel?
Oh boy. Well, AA Milne lived a pretty fascinating life. One of his teachers was HG Wells, he didn't seem to be particularly religious, and he served in both world wars, so he saw a lot. That makes me think he'd likely have been pretty open-minded. On the other hand, much of his writings revolved around themes of friendship, adventure, and the innocence of childhood, so this film falls into the category of, like, the antithesis of that, though friendship is still at the core of WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD & HONEY 2. All in, I suspect he likely wouldn't have been a fan. Is he rolling over in his grave? Perhaps. But all I can speak to is my own motivations, and it was purely about telling a story people would enjoy. That, I'm sure, AA Milne and I have in common.
15. Which other classic story do you think could be reimagined into a compelling, excellent, slasher film?
Honestly, that's a question for Rhys and Scott. They've just announced today the Poohniverse (link here) where they're expanding on their public domain IP-based cinematic universe. While this one has been fun, I definitely want to focus on creating original stories based on my own ideas and concepts.
16. Last question, (fill in the blank) If I wasn’t afraid, I would___________?
Ha -- well I suppose "Jump out of a plane." To be clear, I'm not going to because I AM afraid, but that's something I've always wished I had the bravery to do. Maybe in my next life...