Ep. 4: Why Get Out Is the Future of Genre Film
TIFF Long Take - A podcast by TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival)
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Get Out is arguably the most talked-about film of the year, as well as a massive financial and critical success. Rob and Geoff call up Jason Blum, the film's producer and founder of Blumhouse Productions, the company behind such hits as Split, Whiplash, Paranormal Activity, and The Purge. Jason talks about how he got into the industry (2:27), Blumhouse's low-budget, high-yield approach to producing successful (and high quality) films (5:42), why you don't need movie stars to make great genre pictures (9:02), and why he broke his first-time director rule to work with Jordan Peele (11:10). He also discusses his 10-year first-look deal with Universal (15:21), the importance of relationships based on trust (19:37), why genre films are so valuable for generating conversation about social issues (20:50), how he was first connected with Jordan Peele (23:28), the reality that genre is a small part of the business, while tentpole movies remain the biggest part (24:47), and offers his advice to aspiring filmmakers (26:01).