Saw

Background:

“ It truly did come out of us wanting to make a really cheap film. After years of trying to get a film off the ground, we realized no one was give us any money to make a film with. So we decided to sit down, write our own script, and see if we could fund it ourselves. And seriously, it was the idea, Saw, really came out of that frustration.” James Wan

James Wan is a Malaysian born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese descent. He is famous as the director of “Saw” (2004), which he co-created with screenwriter and actor Leigh Whannel. Wan picked up a Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film Award, a Gérardmer Film Festival Award, two San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival Awards and a Fantasporto nomination for his work on the film. Wan went on to serve as executive producer on the installments “Saw III” (2006, also a story contributor), “Saw IV” (2007), “ Saw V” (2008), “ Saw VI” (2009) and “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” ( 2010). Wan also directed “Dead Silence” (2007), “Death Sentence” (2007) and “Insidious” (2010).

Wan is a member of the unofficial Splat Pack, a term mintaged by film historian Alan Jones in Total Film magazine for the modern wave of directors making brutally violent horror films. Other members of Splat Pack are Darren Lynn Bousman, Neil Marshall, Alexandre Aja, Greg Mclean, Eli Roth, Leigh Whannell, and Rob Zombie.

RMIT Graduate

Childhood and Family:

James Wan was born on February 27, 1977, in Kuching, Malaysia. He was raised in Perth, Western Australia from a young age. His father died when he was 14 years old. James attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, which was the highly reputable film and media school in Australia. There he met fellow collaborator and friend Leigh Whannel. James is of Chinese heritage.

Insidious

Career:

In 2000, James Wan collaborated with Shannon Young to make the horror film “Stygian,” starring Ryan Gibson and Lorna Pettifer as Jamie and Melinda, respectively. The film won Best Use of the Guerilla Aesthetic at the 2000 Melbourne Underground Film Festival.

While studying at RMIT, Wan met future business partner Leigh Whannell. After graduating, they decided to write a film and fund it themselves. They eventually came to the idea about two men chained in a room with no windows. However, they found hard times to get the script produced in Australia. After the suggestion of literary agent Ken Greenbla, they then travel to Los Angeles to try more opportunities. In order to help attract producers they shot a low budget short film from a scene out of the script. This proved successful in 2003 when producers from Evolution Entertainment (who later formed Twisted Pictures) were quickly attached. The film was given a small budget and shot on a short schedule of 18 days.

“Saw” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2004,with Wan directing and Whannell scripting. Lionsgate picked up the rights and released the film in the United States and Canada later in October that same year. The film received mixed reviews from critics. However, it was considered a success at the box office. With a budget of $700,000, “Saw” grossed over $103 million worldwide and at became one of the highest grossing horror films at the time since 1996's “Scream.” The film won Wan the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2004 San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, Special Jury Prize and Youth Jury Grand Prize at the 2005 Gérardmer Film Festival, Pegasus Audience Award at the 2005 Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film and an International Fantasy Film nomination for Best Film at the 2005 Fantasporto.

The success of the film quickly led to a sequel, “Saw II,” which was released on October 28, 2005. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by himself and Whannell, the film was a commercial success despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. It made over $147 million against a budget of $4 million. Wan earned a credit as executive producer on the film as well as on the following installments “Saw III” (2006), for which he also contributed story, “Saw IV” (2007), “ Saw V” (2008), “ Saw VI” (2009) and “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” ( 2010).

In 2007, Wan returned to the director's chair to helm Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg and Bob Gunton in the horror film “Dead Silence.” The film, which was written by Whannell, earned mostly negative reviews from critics and did not perform so well at the box office. The same year, he also directed the crime/thriller film “Death Sentence,” which is loosely based on the 1975 novel by Brian Garfield. Starring Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Aisha Tyler and John Goodman, the film made $16,964,307 at the box office.

In 2008, Wan co-created (with Whannell) and directed the video short comedy “Doggie Heaven,” starring Aracelis Hechavarria, Tina Ivlev and Megahn Perry.

Wan's recent film, “Insidious,” premiered at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival and began its theatrical release on April 1, 2011. Starred Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, the supernatural horror film has grossed over $91 million at the box office.

Awards:

• Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film: Pegasus Audience Award, “Saw,” 2005

• Gérardmer Film Festival: Special Jury Prize, “Saw,” 2005

• Gérardmer Film Festival: Youth Jury Grand Prize, “Saw,” 2005

• San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Feature, “Saw,” 2004