Jason Blum Talks Upcoming Projects and More at the Paranormal Activity Holiday Party
If you think your office holiday party is scary, wait until you see what Blumhouse Productions put together in Hollywood a few nights ago! Dread Central was on the “nice” list, so we got to see for ourselves at the private cocktail reception and otherworldly haunted house experience.
Mega-producer Jason Blum himself led the way as I, and three others, entered the void! First of all, we found ourselves in a little girl’s room, which was filled with evil spirits and a bed that bounced off the floor. Quickly, we followed our fearless leader though the clothes closet and into a netherworld of blind corners, creepy creatures, demonic undead, and of course… paranormal activity.
Afterwards, Blum sat down to chat one-to-one and told me about some of his upcoming projects. “Our two big movies upcoming at the moment are the third Purge movie, which comes out on July 4th, and we just finished shooting that. I am very happy with how it came out. And we have the second Ouija movie, which is by Mike Flanagan, a great director. Those are our two big movies next year, and of course some others. We are releasing two movies ourselves – one in May and another in September that hasn’t been announced yet. I’m psyched about that.”
I asked him if he ever feels that having to host so many events takes him away from his true love: making movies. “As much as I like making movies, I equally enjoy all this [fanfare] too. I love seeing people get scared, and I love dressing up. I had a fancy Halloween costume, and I’m enjoying all the costume props here tonight, too. I love all the stuff around the movies that we make. We are continuing to make a lot of movies and I am happy about that but I also like the live-event stuff we always have going on. And there’s more. We have a book imprint; we’re publishing scary stories. We have several books coming out next year.”
He really did enjoy leading us through the haunted maze, so I asked him to elaborate on it a little more. “We had a live-event company that did the Blumhouse of Horrors. We did Insidious Live, which was a blast, and so our little company did this Paranormal Activity event, which is a smaller version of the other ones we’ve done; but here [tonight] it’s a really cool rebuild of the sets from the movie. People get to go into the Ghost Dimension, which looks like the actual set. And we’re trying to scare them to death! One of the things I’m most proud of is we have a [remote] scare-cam. When you hit the button, a [ghost] jumps out and scares people, and you can watch them jump. I love that!”
One thing that’s been super-trendy is horror movies set in the Christmas holidays. Of course Krampus is out now, and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is on digital HD as we speak and it takes place in December, so I asked Jason what it is about holidays and horror that goes hand-in-hand so well. “Horror and the holidays go together. We recently did a holiday anthology; it’s short films all themed to stuff like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, and of course Christmas. I think any holiday can be scary!”
Next I got to pick the brains of my favorite folks from the franchise – the “marked ones”: Gabrielle Walsh, Jorge Diaz, and Andrew Jacobs. I shot them the same question, “Why do the holidays and horror movies go so well together?”
Jorge took a crack at it, “I think winter has a lot to do with that. Things are dying, the leaves all turn brown, and it gets dark earlier. So the nights are longer. There have always been scary movies set during the fall and the winter. At the same time it’s the season for joy, and families are together, stories are being told –even in my family, we talk about paranormal things. There’s a lot to pull from.”
Since the party was in celebration of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension being newly released for the folks at home, I asked each of the stars of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones what they liked about the final installment. Gabrielle said, “I thought it was great! I hated the ending, though, because [I’m sad] it’s the end of the franchise. But you never know… I guess they thought it was going to be over after the fourth one, and we popped up, so…”
Andrew added, “I loved it, too. I liked the different direction they took with it, you know – being able to see all the activity that was happening. I had a blast watching it. But if it really is the end, then it’s time to let it go – it was a great ride, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Jorge said, “The last 30 minutes of the movie are super-intense. I loved that. And the fact that you now get to see Toby. A lot of fans have been waiting to see that, so it was a lot of fun.”
As far as what’s coming up for the young actors, it’s a mixed bag. Andrew said, “Nothing is set yet. I am a Hispanic with tattoos, but I like to do the unexpected. So I’m waiting to find the right thing.”
Gabrielle is “doing a web series right now, and I just shot a couple of episodes of ‘Shameless’ that are airing in the next season. And pilot season is coming up – I’m hoping for some opportunities out there.”
And Jorge is going in a completely opposite direction from found-footage horror. “I’m working on a lot of animations lately, which I have always wanted to do, so I’m just really excited about those. I did one for Disney, two for Amazon,” he said. “As far as live action, I just wrapped a couple of episodes of ‘Jane the Virgin.’ I can hold a tune, but I’m no singer by any means. Only in the shower, or maybe drunken karaoke!”
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension Release Info:
“Packed with jump scares” (Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly) and “mile-a-minute frights and chills” (Steve Barton, Dread Central), the latest installment of the groundbreaking horror sensation, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION (review), is now available in the original theatrical version or an even more terrifying unrated version on Digital HD and On Demand from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The film arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, and DVD January 12, 2016.
When a new family moves into Katie and Kristi’s former house, they discover a mysterious video camera that reveals the presence of an ancient evil that begins to terrorize their lives. Now, with their young daughter’s soul in danger, they must fight back against this demonic threat before becoming its next victims.
The PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Combo Packs include three versions of the film: the original theatrical release, the unrated cut, plus an unrated cut with an alternate ending not seen in theaters. The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack also includes the original theatrical release and a deleted scene in 3D.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD in the Combo Pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The Combo Pack includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film, as well as the following:
Blu-ray Special Features:
- Unrated version of feature film in high definition
- Unrated version of feature film with alternate ending in high definition
- Theatrical version of feature film in high definition
- Lost Footage
DVD Special Features:
- Theatrical version of feature film in standard definition
The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack includes all of the above, as well as a Blu-ray 3D disc with the theatrical version of the film and a deleted scene in 3D and high definition.
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