James Wan briefly looked like he could be a one-hit wonder after his phenomenal franchise-launching success with “Saw.” His directorial follow-ups to the horror sensation failed to connect like his first big hit had…but then he went and made “Insidious.” Now with two big hits on his resume, the future looks a heck of a lot brighter for Wan, with 2013 set to see the release of two more anticipated horror flicks in the form of “Insidious Chapter 2” (which has the original cast returning and picks up where the first movie left off) and “The Conjuring” (also starring Patrick Wilson, this time accompanied by Vera Farmiga).
He’s also now a big enough name in the genre that he can start presenting films in the same way that Eli Roth does, and Maria Bello and Frank Grillo have both signed up to star in an as yet untitled "James Wan Presents" thriller. Will Canon (“Brotherhood”) will direct, while Wan will produce, and the film is also based on a story Wan came up with about a policeman and psychologist who interrogate the lone survivor of a ghost-hunt that led to the death of five people.
It’s yet another interesting project on Grillo’s slate, with the actor benefiting from a slew of roles that have followed since impressing in “The Grey” – the most high-profile of which is undoubtedly the villainous role of Crossbones, which he’ll take on in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Bello, meanwhile, we fear has reached the age where Hollywood stops offering her the wealth of interesting roles that an actress of her talent deserves – she’s slummed it in two “Grown Ups” movies and “Abduction,” for goodness sake. Hopefully this will be a genre pic deserving of their talents, and that Wan has this time come up with a story that doesn’t lose all its tension once the evil force at the middle of it has been unveiled. [Variety]