Though known for his creative freedoms, Jason Blum reveals why he produced The Black Phone without understanding its story. The horror film, based on Joe Hill's short story of the same name, marked a reunion between Blum and writing/directing team Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill after they paired with Blumhouse for their 2012 hit horror film Sinister. Derrickson and Cargill also reunited with star Ethan Hawke for The Black Phone, with the Sinister actor starring as its main antagonist The Grabber, a serial child abductor terrorizing a Denver suburb in the late 1970s.
Alongside Hawke, the cast for The Black Phone includes Mason Thames as Finney, The Grabber's latest abductee who can communicate with his prior victims to try and escape, Madeleine McGraw as his sister experiencing psychic dreams about her brother, Jeremy Davies as their alcoholic father and James Ransone as the unwitting brother of The Grabber. Hitting theaters this past June, the horror film proved to be a critical and commercial hit, grossing over $148 million against its reported $16 million budget and garnering acclaim for its faithfulness to Hill's story and the performances of its cast, namely Hawke in one of his only villainous roles. Despite having a past with the team behind the film, The Black Phone might not have been made if put in the hands of another producer.
While speaking with Variety for a career-encompassing feature, Jason Blum opened up about his production banner's ability to take more risks by keeping budgets low. Blum noted The Black Phone as a prime example, revealing he didn't full understand the script but trusted Scott Derrickson to deliver a hit. See what Blum said below:
“I thought: ‘O.K, so they talk on the phone in the basement.’ In Hollywood, everything is about ego, so most companies will say ‘no’ if they are so-so on the script. We don’t do that, because our movies are not expensive. When the budgets are so big, the people in charge need to think the script is amazing and perfect before they say ‘yes’. But I would rather trust the director than an executive over what’s amazing and perfect.”
Given the seemingly simple premise presented in the film's script, it's understandable that Blum might have had difficulties determining the main hook for The Black Phone. Despite his not getting the script, it's clear Blum's past with Derrickson and Cargill instilled the trust in the Blumhouse CEO to forge on ahead with the project, especially given Sinister grossed over $82 million against its $3 million production budget. Additionally, with Blumhouse well-known for keeping their budgets to bare minimums, as he notes above, it allows the studio to still generally turn a profit on risky projects that don't fare well with critics as much as those that do.
Thankfully for all involved, including audiences, The Black Phone proved to be a critical and commercial hit, grossing nearly 10 times its production budget in just over a month after hitting theaters. The film's success has left the door open for another reunion between Derrickson, Cargill and Blumhouse for a potential The Black Phone 2, with the director confirming working on ideas for a sequel to the horror hit. In the meantime, audiences can revisit The Black Phone when it hits digital platforms on August 12 followed by shelves on Blu-ray and DVD on August 16.
Source: Variety