MILLER STILL CARES ABOUT JUDE LAW

Filmmaker James Wan admits he was ‘nervous’ about the sequel, as The Conjuring, ‘set the bar quite high’

Malaysian-born Australian filmmaker James Wan (above) has directed some big ticket Hollywood projects including the seventh film of Fast and Furious franchise, Furious 7. He’s also helming the superhero film based on Aquaman. So, it’s a matter of pride when a talented person like him appreciates Indian cinema. In a telephonic chat with HT, Wan confesses being a Bollywood fan. “When I was a kid, my grandfather used to watch Bollywood films. There’s a lot of colour and vibrancy to the Indian films. I’ve grown up watching Bollywood films,” said the 39-year-old. Director of 2013 horror flick, The Conjuring, Wan is ready to send chills down his fans’ spines with The Conjuring 2. Here, he shares his fears while making the sequel.

The Conjuring was a huge success. Were you worried about its sequel making the same noise?

Yes, I was. The Conjuring was a massive success and set the bar quite high. I was nervous about making the sequel and unsure if it will still have the same impact as the first one did. But that’s what moved me to make the sequel (laughs).

So it was all about getting challenged then?

I had to make sure I wasn’t repeating myself and that was a big challenge. There are expectations with sequels and people want them to be bigger and better than the prequel. For Conjuring, I think people liked the characters more than the story. I thought if I could work anything around the same characters, people would still like it.

Is that the reason why you never directed the sequels to Saw (2004)?

I never thought I’d be able to do something different from what I’ve done. When I make a sequel, it needs to be different from what you have already seen. Yet, it needs to maintain a certain discipline, so people associate it with the prequel.

What do you mean when you say you don’t want to repeat yourself in a sequel?

It means I will never make any movie, if I feel that a similar story has been shown already. Be it sequels or stand-alone films, I need to know that I have a story that has not been told before. If it’s the same story, it wouldn’t have any impact what so ever.

I was nervous about making the sequel and unsure if it will still have the same impact as the first one did JAMES WAN, FILMMAKER

PHOTO: PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES PHOTO: JUAN NAHARRO GIMENEZ/GETTY IMAGES Actors Jude Law and Sienna Miller met in 2004