Heres what he had to say.
The divide between rich and poor, Americas relationship with guns, and lots of other things.
Were those what interested you in getting it made?
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Yeah.
I wanted to make it because I loved the concept.
But I equally loved the politics.
I was really psyched about it, yeah.
Its received very differently in Europe than in the US, the politics.
[Laughs] Which is upsetting, but interesting.
Much more overt, yeah.
This ones far more political, exactly.
Do you think thats something that would be more difficult to get done at another studio?
Thats a good question.
I think another studio might have been scared of it, definitely.
Yeah, you could take more risk because the movies are cheap.
But its realistic for us.
Its a great model for trying new stuff.
Given that the budget was at the level it was, how precisely did you have to plan everything?
WhatThe Purge: Anarchyachieves is quite ambitious for the money.
But still, by Hollywood standards, its pretty low-budget for a sequel.
Yeah, we had to plan it really carefully the biggest challenge on the movie was definitely the budget.
[The shoot] was 27 days, which was really short.
Youve had some great actors in your films.
Frank Grillos in this one.
Ethan Hawke was in the last one.
So how do you get that kind of talent?
Well, we have an easier time attracting people now because we have a cycle of movies.
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne made very good money from bothInsidiousmovies.
We shoot all our movies in LA, which means they get to stay at home.
Thats a huge bonus, especially if they have kids.
Thats a big deal youd be shocked at what a big deal that is.
Youve clearly found a niche with the budget level youre working at, and the films youre making.
Are you slightly more that there arent more production companies like yours in Hollywood?
Our company, its, uh, really un-sexy.
And I think most people get into Hollywood to be showy.
We first of all make horror movies, which people turn their noses up at.
And more, more, more.
So Im not surprised that more people dont do it.
Our offices are in Korea Town a part of town where no one else is.
And we kind of do our own thing.
I think those are factors.
I think its unusual to have success and want to stay small.
I was lucky enough to have made a tonne of mistakes and be kind of frustrated.
But I think, like I say, its not sexy.
So it doesnt surprise me that more people dont do it thats the long answer to your question!
It didnt cost enough.
Do you think that still pervades, that kind of mentality?
And I think there are a few movies a certain section that require $100m plus.
Movies would be a lot better if they were made for less money.
Everyone says, Whats the secret to your success?
And the movies are successful because we have great writer-directors.
One of the big things we add is discipline, and lowering the budgets.
I really do think that makes the movies better.
I think it makes the directors focus on characters and story and performance.
They dont waste time with things like special effects.
All the things that are fun for a director are not necessarily good for movies.
Those are fun, I get that, I love to talk about that.
But good movies dont come from that stuff.
That stuff, woven into a good movie?
But if you dont have a good movie, none of that matters.
If you take all that stuff away, you have nothing left to focus on but that story!
[Laughs]
So how did you get started in filmmaking?
I studied filmmaking and economics in college.
My dad was an art dealer he represented artists, so I spent a lot of time around artists.
But I had no desire to be a director, and no desire to be a writer.
I think that makes me a much better producer, that Im not a frustrated filmmaker.
Id be terrible at it, and I dont want to do it.
You are very hands on with your filmmakers.
That must be important as a producer.
Im not film literate, like Quentin Tarantino or James DeMonaco.
I dont have films on the tip of my tongue like that.
So what direction do you see horror movies going in?
I think its going to swing back.
Were still in supernatural ghost land, but I think…
I dont know if were there yet, but its going to happen.
There have been a couple of really interesting, independent neo-noir thrillers this year.
Blue Ruin, earlier this year…
Oh right, that was good.
And then over here, just coming out, we haveCold In July.
I didnt see that.
Yeah, its great.
I really likedOut Of The Furnace.
Did you see that?
I thought that was quite good.
I liked the way it was shot.
Reminiscent ofThe Deer Hunter.
Yeah, it was interesting.
Id love to do a noir thriller.
We have a western with Ti West, we had another movie in Cannes calledWhiplash, which was cool.
We hadThe Normal Heart,which Ryan Murphy directed, with Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo.
My feeling about it generally is, Im not making horror movies to make other movies.
Our main focus is horror movies, and I want to continue that, because I love doing it.
I love being the underdog.
I was just at lunch with someone, and they were like, Urgh!
[Laughs]
I think thats the biggest reason that I do it.
Its such a stupid, so short sighted.
Especially when some of the filmmakers weve worked with are so amazing.
Hitchcock was one of the greatest film directors who ever lived, and he did horror.
Well, in the 70s and 80s, amazing directors were doing horror.
So its strange that the stigma has persisted.
Its still in the ghetto, yeah.
But I like being the underdog like that.
So of course I will do that.
It does to you?
And its a thriller, action satire, yeah.
Its got that John Carpenter feel to it, and he often blended genres.
Thats who James DeMonaco really thought about.
Him and [Walter Hills]The Warriors.
I spoke to James DeMonaco a couple of weeks ago…
Isnt he awesome?
So much enthusiasm and knowledge.
Hes got a great film brain.
He was going from Fellini to Peter Greenaway.
He can quote everybody!
He said you were the modern Roger Corman and he meant that as a compliment.
I love Roger Corman.
Do you think of yourself as a Hollywood rebel?
I love Roger Corman, and I love William Castle.
I definitely think of myself that way in terms of Hollywood both an outsider and an insider.
I think Im on both sides of it, which is fun.
I think in Hollywood, people think Im crazy but I love that.
The only difference between Roger Corman and what we do is that we almost never work with first-time directors.
Thats slightly different from what Roger Corman does, but the end results are the same.
What can we expect fromParanormal Activity 5, because thats been pushed back a bit, hasnt it?
We start shooting that in September.
So does that mean its the last one?
Well, who knows?
But were going to go for it.
Jason Blum, thank you very much.
The Purge: Anarchy is out in UK cinemas on the 25th July.
you could read our interviews with actorFrank Grillo here, anddirector James DeMonaco here.
