WGTC: Ben was definitely one of the characters who seemed like just another one of the guys…
Karyn Kusama: Totally. Jay is one of those people who doesn’t consider themselves an actor first. He’s a stand-up comedian, but his jokes are very much about storytelling and hanging out with the audience. He’s so good at it, he did such a great job.
WGTC: Is it freeing to revisit the mentality of indie filmmaking, after doing a few big-budget films?
Karyn Kusama: It’s freeing to be able to consistently make creative decisions and ask creative questions of the team without feeling like, “Does this make me vulnerable to getting canned?” That’s a big part of being in a studio – they can always fire you. It’s not that you can’t get fired on an indie, but this was such a family affair, it’d be like my husband was firing me.
It’s a really freeing experience, but it’s a hard experience, too. I made a couple of studio movies and really saw why people want to do it. You get incredible resources, you work with some of the best crafts people in the world, and this was a different situation. I didn’t have the resources, and it was more of a struggle – but I’m a collaborative and very controlling person. I got to be that person, and it actually served me. We needed someone to be making a lot of decisions in a short amount of time, and that’s what indie filmmaking is. That was fantastic.
WGTC: Your films always show a strong female lead in some capacity, and as a female filmmaker, do you feel like you have to give your female characters strength because that doesn’t always seem to be the case in Hollywood?
Karyn Kusama: As a feminist, and a humanist, I want to pay attention to all the characters and make sure they aren’t expendable puppet figures. For me, the challenge of The Invitation was we had to feel like every person was distinct in that room, and real. No matter what you felt about them, it had to be significant. That’s what’s been missing from a lot of the conventional action/horror thrillers. That’s what this movie is working in opposition to.
WGTC: Was it a dream to get involved with a project like XX?
Karyn Kusama: Oh, I’m super excited about it! I wish I had more money to do it, but I’ll work within the confines to whip up something really cool. Imagine a really sad number, and that would be the budget [Laughs]
WGTC: What’s the catch of your anthology? Will the stories be connected at all, or are they completely singular?
Karyn Kusama: They’re not tied together, but what’s interesting is that I think they’re all connected by similar themes that you wouldn’t find in The ABCs Of Death or V/H/S – you just wouldn’t. It’s interesting that there’s an overlap thematically, but they’re not explicitly tied together. I’m really psyched, it’s going to be cool!
WGTC: Sticking with horror, if we look back to last year’s crop, we’re seeing more female filmmakers getting the recognition they deserve. The Babadook, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night – do you think we’ve turned a page in horror culture that will lead to more female filmmakers shortening the gender gap?
Karyn Kusama: I think we have our finger on the page – we’re getting there. We just have a long way to go with getting more qualified female directors being a go-to choice, a natural choice – not just a discussion and a lot of internally hand-wringing. More like, “Oh get her, that’d be great!” A lot of female directors are still trying to get to that place where someone in a conference room just repeats that phrase with ease. That’s where I want things to be soon.
WGTC: Are you going to stick with horror after The Invitation, or are there ambitions brewing to branch out?
Karyn Kusama: I love horror. It’s funny, because The Invitation never struck me as horror, but it’s definitely that type of thriller. The best horror walks a line that’s completely on a psychological level, not needing the typical tropes of traditional horror filmmaking, then also having to tease out those elements in a way that makes the audience feel like they know what they’re in.
WGTC: I always love to end on this question when talking to the actual filmmakers, so here it is – if you could remake any movie and give it your own spin, what would it be?
Karyn Kusama: There is a movie from the 60s that starred Deborah Kerr called The Innocents, which was a really cool movie about a British governess who goes to take care of two children who’ve been left parent-less. There’s just something really wrong with these kids, and with the house – it’s basically an adaptation of The Turn Of The Screw, the Henry James story. There’s something about that, and I’ve always wanted to tackle it, but I know it’s with a different studio. I’ve always seen a way into that one, and it’s not so “British governess,” and more about a twenty-something-year-old girl just trying to figure out her way, being thankful she doesn’t have kids, but then she gets attached to them. I relate to that, so that’d be something I’d try to remake/reboot if I could.
That concludes our interview, but I’d like to thank Karyn Kusama for taking time out of her South by Southwest to chat. Be sure to look out for The Invitation when its release is announced!
