‘Apartment 7A’ Writers Skylar James and Christian White On Crafting Their Take On A Horror Classic
Paramount’s new film Apartment 7A is a shocking prequel to a cinema great, Rosemary’s Baby. Directed by Natalie Erika James and co-written by James, Christian White, and Skylar James, this new take on the world of rich Satanists delves into a more empowering narrative where a young woman refuses to let anyone have control over her body. Despite its 1960s setting, the story feels more prescient than ever, especially as governments are revoking our rights to bodily autonomy.
In the film:
An ambitious young dancer Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner, Ozark) dreams of fame and fortune in New York City, but after suffering a devastating injury, an older, wealthy couple (Dianne Wiest, I Care a Lot, and Kevin McNally, Pirates of the Caribbean film series) welcomes her into their home in the luxury apartment building the Bramford. When fellow resident and influential Broadway producer (Jim Sturgess, Across the Universe) offers her another chance at fame, it seems that all her dreams are finally coming true. However, after an evening she can’t fully remember, disturbing circumstances soon have her second-guessing the sacrifices she’s willing to make for her career as she realizes that something evil is living not only in Apartment 7A, but in the Bramford itself.
We spoke with Skylar James and Christian White at Fantastic Fest 2024 about tackling a prequel for a cinematic classic, the dancing skills of Julia Garner, and the price of achieving your dreams.
Dread Central: So you made a comment in your intro about pitching Apartment 7A to John Krasinski. Can you tell me more about where this all started?
Skylar James: Yeah, so basically I had an idea for this movie, which is the movie Rosemary’s Baby had always been so influential on me and I was obsessed with it. And it was sort of this loose thread of Terry was just kind of left hanging and I had this itch to pull at it. So I had written out this whole treatment, like a 12-page treatment for one buyer in Hollywood for a legacy property, which is so not an advisable way to go about trying to sell a story, but you lead with your heart.
So I was at my friend’s house for dinner and my friend had double booked and just so happens is also friends with John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. I had met them before, but we got to talking and my friend was basically saying, “Skylar’s written this other script, called 29 Moll Street that had been on the Blood List and the Hit List and things like that and was saying, “You really got to read it. It’s really great.” And John was like, “Cool, but what do you want to do next?”
I had this idea, I didn’t have a clean elevator pitch for it or anything. I wasn’t ready to talk about it, so I’m sure blabbered on and just led heart first. And as it would happen, John had also really loved Rosemary’s Baby and it was influential for him as a filmmaker. So we had this instant connection about this seminal work that changed both of our lives in some way. And we just linked in and he said, “Have you told anybody else about this idea?” And I said, “I told my mom and she really thinks it’s something.” [Laughs]
And so dinner’s over, I think I’m never going to hear anything. I wake up the next day, John texts me, “Can you come in and meet with Brad and Drew, the producers at Platinum Domes?” And I went in that day while John was on a plane and brought in this 12-page treatment that I had written, and we were off from there. The stars aligned and the forces were right. And I had already poured so much love and blood and sweat and tears into this that it was thankfully in a pretty good place. And I think that’s one thing that unites our whole team, too. We all are passionate about these characters and this story. So it felt like a no-brainer once we all linked up. A weird twist of fate.
DC: Then, Christian, when did you get involved?
Christian White: So it would’ve been, I guess years after that faithful backyard meeting. Natalie Erika James, she and I did Relic together and so we had done that film and I thought, “OK, we’ll do a studio film next.” Nat took a meeting about it and then I think she called me and said, “Hey, do you want to come aboard a Rosemary’s Baby prequel?” Excuse me, what do you mean? [Laughs]
I mean I was thrilled. I was never ever going to say no, but I did think I was scared because that property was, like for Skylar, so dear to so many people and it’s nerve-wracking to go and then write what will be canon in that world. It’s a lot of pressure.
Skylar had done a script by then and I read it, it was this beautiful passionate story infused with musical elements. In that script, there were so many feelings and details that I connected to in so many ways. And then Nat and I had this luxury of building on that foundation and going back and forth. And somewhere along the way, I think early on for me, I switched off from it being that pressure, that loud voice saying, “Hey, you got to get this right or you’re going to disappoint a lot of people.”
That was a big change for me as soon as I switched that off and thought, “No, we all need to work together to make this the best film and the best version and the best story even outside of the Rosemary’s Baby universe.” And I do think it can be watched as a standalone movie. You don’t need to bring all that stuff to it, but it helps if you’ve seen it.
DC: I wanted to hear more about the thought process behind the assault scene, if you’re okay talking about that, and why you wanted to frame it in that particular way of tapping into both her dreams and her nightmares at the same.
SJ: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that’s sort of a brilliant way to say it in that it’s this cross-section where her dreams meet her nightmares. What makes Terry so different is she is ambitious, she does have agency.
She’s this badass chick who will stop at nothing to realize these dreams. And so I think putting her in a position where she is so driven that it in some way makes her vulnerable is really interesting. And it speaks to a bigger issue, which is grooming and foundational trauma and how people can pick at that scab that’s covering over childhood trauma and other wounds and use that as an opportunity to inflict this sort of greater trauma. We’re viewing it through the lens of this woman who is so sure of herself and so sure of what she wants and how people will exploit that. For me that was an opportunity to add something new to the conversation where she’s making her own choices, her choices are her own, and that’s empowering. But it also brings with it this whole other mantle of responsibility and terror.
DC: So in creating the world and in creating Terry and her musical ambitions and her dancing ambitions, there’s The Pale Crook. Is that a real musical?
CW: Anyone should Google it, you’ll go down a rabbit hole. It’s amazing. It’s actually called The Black Crook.
But we changed the name because that just felt like not a great thing to call it. We changed it to the Pale Crook. There’s a deleted scene in the opening, which you can see when the movie is on digital, where we drew it from the original musical and then we wrote a few things and made it more in line with what happens throughout the film. Just looking at the imagery is so creepy and the costumes and it’s really icky.
SJ: That was a cool thing to do because a lot of the terror is grounded in real life sort of stuff, whether it’s the history of that play or the idea of many and Roman as these, they’re either your kooky, wacky, upper West side neighbors or very dangerous, horrifying villain cult members. And even the Bramford versus the real Dakota in New York City and drawing those parallels and just this sort of whole idea of evil lying, these seemingly normal things and even walking amongst us is it gives you that chill up your spine. Yeah.
DC: How involved were you guys with the casting process?
SJ: In terms of Julia, I had had conversations with the producers very early on. I wrote toward her, she’s who we had always wanted. It seemed sort of pie in the sky at the time. She’s a three-time Emmy winner, brilliant and just turns in amazing performances. So it was a cool melding of what you seen in your mind’s eye with what’s actually the film, which is a real gift when you get it. But I think one thing that really blows you away when you watch Apartment 7A is the chemistry between Dianne and Julia. It’s just together they kind of create something magic.
DC: Well, especially with the haircutting scene! That leads to my next question actually. So we know what happens to Terry and we know what’s going on at the Bramford. So what was that like writing this and trying to give people something new and exciting? I mean, it’s such a challenge.
SJ: Yeah, it’s a challenge for sure. I mean, I think there’s two ways. The cool thing is people who haven’t seen the original film get to watch Apartment 7A. Actually it’s cool in Peak Screaming on Paramount Plus they’ve got the original Rosemary’s Baby too. So you can watch back-to-back, and it’s fun to see them kind of match up like that. But I think those who are fans of the original like we are and know where it’s going, the journey is the destination.
But it was a cool moment after the premiere yesterday, somebody came up to me and said they were rooting for her to do what she does at the end. It’s making her have empowered choices and seeing how she gets to that point and that look in her eye when she gets there, I think tells a story on its own.
CW: Yeah, it definitely a challenge though, wasn’t it? Because you had this, usually every other film you the last five minutes, you eye agonize it, okay, we can do this, we can do that. And that’s where everything has to come together. Whereas that’s done. We know what has to happen at the end. We just need to earn it. I’m so glad someone said that to you because that was a huge thing for me thinking we need to feel like it’s earned. And of course it’s a tragedy, of course it’s a tragic ending, but I was really wanted to stitch a little bit of hope or a little bit of empowerment in there, which is a weird thing when you are talking about this.
DC: But I feel like especially with modern rape, revenge films, I know it’s not a rape revenge film per se, but there’s those elements of that in Apartment 7A, in terms of reclaiming her own body in a really fucked up way.
SJ: Well, and I think too, that was one of the things about making Terry a dancer, is that her body is her instrument. So losing control of that and having that stripped from her decimates her on every level as a person. So when she can finally claw that back in whatever way, and for whatever brief period of time that is, I think as women we all know, a huge win.
CW: The closer she gets to her goal, she just keeps having to sacrifice more and more and shed more of herself, which sadly, I think mirrors ambition in real life quite often. So yeah, that’s it, isn’t it, when at the end when she can bring it back and take a little bit back for herself. Hopefully it feels cathartic as well.
DC: It does, especially when she’s mocking everyone too, screaming “Hail Satan” and messing with these old people, which is great. And she smashed that dance.
CW: I believe they worked together, Julia and the choreographer. I think they worked together and there’s a lot going on in that scene that’s internal and then where she is and who she’s bing, especially Lord, I was like, oh my God. Yeah, it’s so fun to watch. I love a good dancing. So
DC: Was that your first time seeing it with an audience yesterday?
SJ: Yes! It was so surreal and so. The gasps in the theater are so gratifying. They got it.
CW: Yeah, usually you’re watching a screener, which is just you and this little screener on your computer screen. You’ve got your name watermarked over it. It’s a completely different experience. And I saw an early, early, early cut with Nat. It was just Nat, me and the editor, and that was on a big screen, which was great, but there’s no audience, so it’s just silence. So it was such a thrill to see it, especially at the Alamo Drafthouse, my God.
DC: Did y’all grow up with horror movies? Was that something that you guys loved?
SJ: Yeah, I did. It was funny. I think my love of movies and what made me want to make movies is the fact that my parents took me to anything and everything from a very young age. I love modern horror and I also love, obviously, Rosemary’s Baby, The Shining, all of those kind of old school slow boil that make you appreciate the artistry in that genre.
So yeah, I was exposed to it from a little kid and just have always been passionate about it. Plus it’s like growing up in New York and the world of Rosemary’s Baby and I would always walk by the Dakota. That felt really formative and super cool. I like to think I’ve got a little spooky in my DNA.
CW: I grew up on just watching every horror movie. I’m 43, so I’d go and get videos and you’d get five weeklies and they’d all be horror. And I mean, The Shining is still my all-time favorite film. There’s a weird thing about horror that I think horror fans get. There’s sort of a coziness to horror. I remember The Shining definitely has it because it’s scary, but it’s also, you’re in the snow and you’ve got the whole hotel to yourself. And I remember when I was a teenager, I remember watching The Blair Witch Project. I love that film so much. And I bought it when it came out on video, and I used to watch it when I went to bed. That sounds so weird.
DC: Oh, no, I did and still do that!
CW: Yeah, no, it’s true. There’s just something, obviously horror is terrifying, but I think why it’s so popular is that it comforts some part of you. And I dunno what that’s about, but I’ve always felt that. And see, I love working in Horrors. It’s the best.
SJ: And we’ve also got our community of horror people, too. Horror fans are the best fans. When you go into that theater and the lights come down and you’re with your people, it just feels good.
DC: Especially when everyone’s just excited to be here. Everyone just wants to watch a cool movie. They’re not there to be rude. They’re just here to appreciate, which is so nice.
CW: My father-in-law and my wife’s dad, sadly, he died a few years ago, but he was prolific. He was an American guy, moved to Australia in the 1960s, and he became this prolific screenwriter. He wrote all our best horror films.
DC: Wait what??
CW: He wrote, sorry, I don’t know if this will translate. They’re huge at home. Razorback, Patrick, Long Weekend, he wrote all of those. In Australia, he was such a horror God, people worship this guy. Sadly he died before I was a writer. I was trying to be a writer, but I would get so much advice from him.
Apartment 7A is streaming now exclusively on Paramount+.
Categorized:Interviews
