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Leigh Whannell

(1977) Actor

106 quotes in 342 categories

Seeing something truly in the frame can be the scariest part of a horror film. Whannell keeps his scripts tight and economical, focusing on what matters. He also notes that people lining up for movies like Saw surprised him, showing how fans love the genre.

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Leigh Whannell is an actor.

Quick Facts About Leigh Whannell

Born: January 17, 1977
Profession: Actor

About Leigh Whannell

His writing credits include Saw (2004), Dead Silence (2007), Insidious (2010) and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). He directed his first film, Insidious: Chapter 3, in 2015.

Quotes by Leigh Whannell

Upgrade' was a hard one to make.

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I really liked that documentary, 'Room 237.'

Documentary

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I grew up in Melbourne.

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I love watching audiences scream.

Audiences

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If I'm going to live in Sydney, I want to live on Bondi Beach.

Australia

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The most fun part of making a horror movie is watching it with an audience.

Audience

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I couldn't believe that people went to see 'Saw,' that people actually lined up.

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I think you can't help but write in your own voice.

Help

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Like everyone else, I use my phone a lot, and being a screenwriter, my laptop is my life.

Being

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Any movie that deals with an AI computer voice stands in the long, long shadow of '2001.'

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The thing I love the most about low budget films is the creative freedom.

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When I was a kid, 'Robocop' to me was just good guys and bad guys.

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The great thing about 'The Exorcist' is it's dead serious horror. No comedy, no self-reference, it's a documentary style.

Comedy

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You know you've have a good idea when you're lying awake at night going 'someone else is going to take it, I…

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James Wan is somebody who doesn't have any problem coming in and directing somebody else's script, he'll be the director for hire…

Cinema

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That's what I love about writing is you don't need anyone's permission to do it. You can just get up in the…

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I do feel like in filmmaking you are largely in control of the perception of you. If you want to be seen…

Control

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I will say that when it comes to the horror genre, for me, the scariest thing is when something is actually in…

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I was influenced by people like David Fincher and William Friedkin, and these directors who kinda paint their films with these dark…

Cinema

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You might not have the biggest budget or resources or cast, but if you have a great story, people will latch onto…

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I think I've had a lot of experience with watching other people shepherd my ideas with the 'Saw' films. They made four…

Experience

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When the whole 'Saw' thing died down, I feel like I had praise withdrawals. I had never been congratulated so much on…

Amazing

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Saw' was a film that James Wan and I came up with back in Australia and we were just hoping anyone, literally,…

Australia

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I think the way to create a lot of terror in a haunted house film is to have a bunch of people…

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I like pointing the camera at the actors and letting them fight. Don't let the camera do the fighting for you, and…

Adrenaline

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I feel like with the first 'Insidious' film we had a massive cache of stories and scares that we'd built up over…

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In chatting to directors over the years, including James Wan, they always tell you the war stories. No one ever says, 'Oh,…

Cinema

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Prior to 'Insidious Chapter 3,' I was happy to write movies for James Wan to direct as I felt very much that…

Bass player

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The problem with acting is that there's really no control. You're at the behest of others.

Acting

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I do try and keep my scripts quite economical.

Economical

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I'm still a big believer in movie theaters, and going to see movies in public.

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I don't think humor is something to be afraid of.

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Saw' definitely had an edge to it that wasn't American.

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You can't compare David Cronenberg's 'The Fly' to the older version.

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You never meet other screenwriters because it's such a lonely profession.

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I loved 'The Conjuring' so much. It's really scary.

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If you go back and watch 'Saw,' I was very young. I'd never really done anything before.

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The movies sort of tell you what they want to be as you're writing them.

Cinema

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I think horror is a genre that can be quite good to women.

Genre

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I don't know if I can see myself writing another 'Saw' film. It's such a special part of my life, and I…

Cinema

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Leigh Whannell by topic

Cinema (25) Film (23) Horror (20) Writing (15) Movie (12) People (10) Love (10)