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.