Nicole Turner

Del Harvey

Script Analysis for Cinema

10 March 2020

Producer’s View: Jennifer’s Body 1. How would you expand the story world of Jennifer’s Body to a franchise of three feature films? a. The original Jennifer’s Body screenplay, despite its problems, does have certain aspects that I’d want to reuse in my reboot. The relationship between Jennifer and Needy, for example is something that really works in the screenplay. The idea of these two girls who love each other, despite of their blatant manipulation of each other, is the most interesting part of the story. I also feel that it is the most relatable part of the script, which is why I think my biggest change in the screenplay would be to dial the supernatural elements back a tad, to allow for the story to be about the two girls and their relationship to one another. I also would choose to keep the dynamic between Needy and Jennifer relatively similar because I think the theme of the original screenplay is the oppression of Needy leading to a break in her personality. The elements that I would not use in my reboot would be Diablo Cody’s dialogue. While obviously the dialogue would not be the same due to the hiring of a different writer, the essence that the dialogue had in the original screenplay would be something I would take out entirely. I think that the cheesiness of the dialogue took away from the true message of the film itself. Another aspect of the screenplay that I would take out would be the illusions to 9/11. While I think it was a part of Cody’s screenplays message, I think it is both a confusing addition and not a current reference that would land as heavily with an audience today. While the original Jennifer’s Body screenplay seems to be genre-bending, with comedy, drama and supernatural horror elements, the direction I would take the movie into would be the current new age horror thriller. The horror genre itself has begun to see some changes in the last few years with filmmakers like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, and John Krasinski's A Quiet Place. Horror has seen a gradual transition into thrillers. The original had a lot of elements that leave stuck in the 2000s. I believe that changing the genre to this new kind of thriller could modernize it, while also allow the movie to take itself more seriously. One problem with the original screenplay is its confusion on whether the movie should be taken seriously, I believe this genre change could possibly take care of those problems. b. My plan for the three films would be to have the first film be the reboot of the original Jennifer’s Body. This would be based on the original screenplay but a darker more serious take, focusing primarily on the relationship between Needy and Jennifer. The second film would be the immediate sequel. It would continue the feel of the first film, but this time follow Needy as she searches for the band members to seek revenge. Now more in control of her powers, Needy would find a group of girls, equally oppressed and angry, and bite them in order to share her powers with them. Together they would corner the band in a large mansion/hotel and torment them as revenge. The third and final film would be a prequel to the two before it. In the second film, I would add a scene of the band members sharing their story with a man in a bar. The man would act in a way that leads you to believe that he doesn’t believe the band, but the prequel would be his story of his own sacrifice-went-wrong, ending with the boys from the band getting their idea from his actions. 2. Write a logline for each of the three movies. Jennifer’s Body #1: Two best friends, Jennifer and Needy, comes to cathartic end to their relationship when Jennifer becomes a succubus and begins to kill high school boys in their small hometown. Jennifer’s Body #2: Needy, desperate for revenge, sets outs to find and kill Low Shoulder, with the help of some friends she makes along the way. Jennifer’s Body #3: Struggling 26-year-old artist, Jackson, takes matters into his own hands and sacrifices a virgin for fame and success, little does he know that his sacrifice is coming back to haunt him. 3. What do you see as the significant challenges to overcome in producing a viable franchise from this material? I think that the most difficult thing that would need to be overcome in order to produce a viable franchise is the previous Jennifer’s Body film. Most reboots are of previously successful films; however, Jennifer’s Body did not do great at the box office. The things that usually bring people to reboots of films, nostalgia and love of the story, aren’t going to be as prominent a factor. The biggest obstacle is going to be convincing people to come to a film that they feel they already hate. 4. Identify who would you attach to this project and why in one to three paragraphs. a. When imagining this film, I thought that an interesting way to reboot was to make the screen play more modern. This included changing the genre to less horror and more thriller. With those ideas in mind, I think a perfect screenwriter would be Marti Noxon. Her most recent writer credit is for the limited series Sharp Objects. She is also known for television shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I think that her understanding of both the current dark thriller genre and supernatural aspects of Jennifer’s Body could really give the film the dark and mysterious feeling that I’m imagining. Also, her credits are mostly from television which would make her much more accessible than other writers. b. When it comes to actors, I know that I must find someone who can create their character themselves, not from the previous iteration. For Needy, I think that Kaitlyn Dever is an interesting choice. I know she can play a shy, quiet girl from her previous role as Amy Antsler from Booksmart. However, I know that she can also have the quiet angry intensity that I in vision for Needy, from her role as Marie Adler from the Netflix show Unbelievable. Another reason I chose Kaitlyn Dever is because of her recent success both in film and in television. I think she is someone who could easily blow up in the next five years, which would be a big draw. When it comes to Jennifer, I think Odeya Rush from the movie Lady Bird would be a perfect choice. In Lady Bird she plays Jenna, a rich girl who befriends Lady Bird. In her performance there, I felt a certain deep darkness/sadness which I think is vital to Jennifer. While Jennifer comes off rude and bitchy, I think the underlying feeling is sadness, which I know Odeya Rush could play well. When it comes to Chip, the most important element that is needed is the perfect balance between cute but dorky. I would say that Austin Abrams is that perfect balance. His roles in the television show Euphoria and movies like Paper Towns all showcase his ability to play Chip. Other characters that would be important would be Low Shoulder. For Nikolai, the very clear leader of the band, I think Alex Wolff would be a great choice. Alex Wolff has both musical talent and experience in a recent new age horror film, Hereditary, so he could balance the charismatic front man persona and the more sinister satanic worshipper sides of the character. I would then cast Dylan Minnette as the bassist of the band, Dirk. From just the small role that Dirk plays in the original film, you see that he is almost fed up with his fellow band members but also seems to parallel Needy. Dylan Minnette is the lead singer and guitarist in an increasingly popular band, Wallows, which would be a big draw. His previous role as Clay Jensen in 13 Reasons Why is also telling about his ability to play this character. 5. When thinking about directors for this film, I focused on female directors. While I don’t think it’s a necessity for the director to be a woman, I do think it would help to fulling flesh out the relationship between Needy and Jennifer. I also wanted a director who could read past the supernatural horror in the story to get to the more important toxic friendship that truly drives the plot. However, most importantly I want a director who understands the thriller drama genre that the new screenplay would be sure to follow. For me, Cathy Yan is the perfect director. Her most recent film, Birds of Prey showcase her ability to display multi-dimensional characters within the context of a complex story without taking away from either aspect. Cathy Yan’s other feature film Dead Pigs from 2018, also show an understanding of the dark thriller genre that my reboot of Jennifer’s Body would showcase. While she is an upcoming director whose last budget was $95 million, she has also worked on multiple low budget films. I believe she would be the perfect director. 6. If I could get Marti Noxon attached to the project, I think the biggest thing that she would contribute would be a darker and gritter version of the original screenplay. This would obviously fulfill my vision, but it would also give the story and film itself more authority. One of the big problems with the 2008 screenplay is that at most parts, it can read as almost a joke of itself. A writer like Marti Noxon would really solidify what the film wants to say about itself. Someone like Cathy Yan, would really help to draw out the toxic relationship between Needy and Jennifer. One thing I truly enjoyed about her work on Birds of Prey was Yan’s ability to allow the relationship between characters sit there, while not being the focal point for certain scenes. Something that really stood out to me about Jennifer’s Body is that, while Jennifer’s transition into the demon succubus is one of the main focal points, there is always the underlying complicated relationship between the two best friends. One of the reasons I chose Cathy Yan is because I have seen her ability to keep to plotlines separate while also constantly intertwined. I also believe that her experience as a horror/thriller writer and director would be substantial when making my version of this film. When it comes to the actors that I’ve chosen, I know that they will without a doubt bring the motivations and abilities that would be needed to make this franchise work. When choosing each actor, my main goal was to choose someone who had previous experience playing the specific character I was looking for. I have confidence in my choices, not because they are mine, but because they have already played some version of the character before. Not only that but I also chose actors who I believe to be people that I, myself would pay to go see in a theater. 7. The primary audience for this movie would be females between the ages of 18-28 from the American Film Market. The demographic is an increasingly important demographic. In the context of Jennifer’s Body, I think this is the market audience because of the relationship between Jennifer and Needy. For me and many of my friends (members of the demographic), their relationship is something that is almost universal. Needy as a character, herself, is also an interesting draw. The idea of someone who spends most of her life as a side character to Jennifer is something that could easily appeal to American girls. Not only that, but at the end of her story, she finally stands up for herself. However, because of the rapidly changing horror genre, I believe that the film could easily reach a wider audience. 8. Five feature films similar to my version of Jennifer’s Body: a. Gone Girl b. A Quiet Place c. Get Out d. Hereditary e. Split I chose these five feature films because I associate them with the new age horror thriller that I envision for my reboot of Jennifer’s Body. The first film I chose, Gone Girl, was also written by Gillian Flynn and a big inspiration for me when choosing writers. Gone Girl has a similar mysterious vibe that I want for my reboot. The second film I chose, A Quiet Place, because I believe that it is an interesting catalyst for this horror transition. I really enjoyed the films focus on relationships within a bigger plot, which I envision my reboot sharing. The third film, Get Out, is another feature film that I see as similar to mine. Get Out has the dark, thrilling vibe that I want while also effectively uses plot devices to communicate the films theme in way that does not leave the audience confused. I think these aspects are incredibly important, especially to a complex movie like Jennifer’s Body. My fourth choice, Hereditary, is a film that I believe effectively balances the dark horror and supernatural aspects of its plot, as well as my fifth choice Split. I believe that Gone Girl and Hereditary are the most like my film. Gone Girl would be similar, not only because of the writing style, but also because of the dark and mysterious feel that Gone Girl has. Hereditary on the other hand, is similar because of its uses of both thriller and supernatural aspects of the story. The marketing and distribution strategies for both these films, also did an incredible job of understanding the essence of the films and focusing on that. Another problem with the original Jennifer’s Body was its disconnected marketing strategy. While Gone Girl and Hereditary both leaned into their stranger aspects; Jennifer’s Body seemed to turn away from them, leaving audiences confused and disappointed that they did not get what they were expecting. In my opinion, all five of these feature films that I’ve chosen were incredibly successful. In 2014, Gone Girl was made with a budget of $61 million dollars. According to Deadline.com, after payment to the director, writer, and Ben Affleck (star of the film), the studio was left with a hefty $129.99 million net profit. The same Deadline article also said that “the only better outcome here is if the film spawned a franchise”. If a film like Gone Girl, and written by the same writer, were to come out as a franchise, there is a very good chance that it would drag audiences to the theater. In 2018, A Quiet Place was made with only $17 million, a substantial amount less than budgeted for the film in my franchise. According to Box Office Mojo, the film raked in an impressive $188 million domestically alone. A Quiet Place not only did well at the box office but was also nominated for an Academy Award in Sound Editing. In 2017, Get Out, made with a small $4.5 million, was also nominated for four Academy Awards. In an article by Box Office Mojo, the films earnings are estimated at $176 million domestically. The same year as A Quiet Place, Hereditary made a splash with a $43 million net profit. In a Forbes article about the film, they mention that this is the second highest grossing film for studio A24 just behind Lady Bird’s $48 million. Finally, in 2016, Split, made with a simple $9 million budget earned $138 million domestically. All five of these films had a successful box office, but most importantly they all had a big effect on the horror genre themselves. 9. Personally, I would not sign on to produce these features. While I do believe that I successfully made the films more modern and chose the perfect team to attach, I still believe that the original film would hold too much power. The original film only came out about 12 years ago and did not do well at the box office, because of this, I think it would be much too difficult to rebrand the story. I think for the movie to ever be rebooted; you would need a longer amount of time in between the films. I also think that because of the original's failure at the box office, there is a slim chance that audiences would return for the nostalgia, as well.