Exclusive Interview: Sam Raimi Talks About Producing 50 STATES OF FRIGHT
Known for such classics as The Evil Dead (and its sequels), Darkman, the entire Toby Maguire-era of Spider-Man, and Drag Me To Hell, filmmaker Sam Raimi is a busy man. When he’s not directing films himself (his next project is the now confirmed to be Doctor Stranger in the Multiverse of Madness), producing films under his Ghost House Pictures company or putting Bruce Campbell through hell, he’s helping steward new projects on TV as well. Along with a slew of other creators and filmmakers, Raimi is now bringing horror fans the groundbreaking new Quibi series, 50 States of Fright. An anthology show built around Quibi’s 5-10 minutes a segment approach, Raimi and Co. have helped filmmakers write and direct stories how they want, offering micro-sized horror with an emphasis on quality. With each story revolving around a different state and a urban legend/folklore tale specific to that state, 50 States of Fright is a fun ride, offering fans something fresh and exciting.
We were lucky enough to briefly chat with Raimi and 50 States of Fright… and here’s what he had to say!
Dread Central: How’s it going Sam?
Sam Raimi: I’m doing good, thanks, how are you doing?
DC: Hanging in there, I think we’re all just trying to hang in there.
SR: Good!
DC: I love the idea of 50 States of Fright. We’ve all grown up in places filled with either urban legends or historical events/folklore surrounding the areas near us. It’s a genius idea to turn that into an anthology. What made you want to help develop it and take it on?
SR: Well, when the producers brought the idea to myself and Debbie Liebling, my TV partner, we just realized what a great idea they had come up with. We didn’t even know Quibi existed at the time (laughs). We had no idea that it was a company developing ideas, we thought it was going to be a Television show, an anthology show, if we were successful in selling it. The first person we went to was Jeffrey Katzenberg (former CEO of DreamWorks, creator of Quibi), who was very appreciative of the possibilities of it. He’s such a great visionary producer, his work speaks for itself. He said, “This is exactly what I want, it’s going to be on Quibi” at the first meeting and I was really impressed by that. There was no hemming and hawing, it was simple. It was very much a “this is my company, I like that product and I think a lot of other people will… it’s on the air.” Not since the days of Dino DeLaurentis and working with him, have I met an individual who has the power to say, “I like this, I’m going to back it with my own money and it’s on the air!” It’s crazy and it doesn’t really happen anymore, because the way Hollywood is made, there are so many executives. I found that very thrilling.
DC: Did you find the format challenging at all?
SR: For our program, it was actually quite wonderful. I assumed we would be making something like 24-minute episodes of horror stories and I didn’t know if they’d have commercial breaks or not. Jeffrey said his “Quibi’s” were going to be in between 5-10 minutes long and we could make a 25-minute show if we wanted and we would determine where they would break, we could do it after 5 minutes or 7 minutes or whatever we would decide on. Based on the story and what the drama wanted, we had the privilege of breaking whenever or where we wanted, so it was really empowering actually, it helped the storytelling. With network TV, I’m sure they have very specific timelines regarding when they have to go to commercial break, it must difficult for those writers to have to write around that.
DC: It hinders storytelling at times.
SR: Yeah! Sometimes, the drama does WANT to peak right before the commercial break, but they have to make it peak. With the Quibi format, it’s very conducive to telling short stories, great horror stories.
50 States of Fright is now available on the Quibi app, which allows you to have a free 90-day trial to see if you like the interesting format they’re presenting. Having watched a decent amount of the show myself, I’d highly recommend it, it’s quite unique and full of micro-sized horror!
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