James Wan is an Australian film director known for directing successful horror films like Saw and The Conjuring. He started his career with low budget films but found mainstream success with Saw in 2004, creating the iconic villain Billy the Puppet. Since then he has directed numerous popular horror sequels and films, establishing himself as a leader in the genre. He serves as an inspiration for being original while utilizing horror conventions effectively across different projects.

1. Inspirational Director
James Wan

3. Background
• James Wan is an Australian film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw and
creating Billy the Puppet.
• Before his success in the mainstream film industry, he made his first feature-length film, Stygian, with Shannon Young, which won
"Best Guerrilla Film" at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) in 2000. Since creating the franchise, Wan and Leigh
Whannell have served as executive producers to the sequels Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI and Saw 3D: The Final Chapter.
• In 2007, Wan directed two feature films. The first of which was the horror film Dead Silence and Death Sentence.
• Next, Wan directed the horror film Insidious, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the
"Midnight Madness" programme and was sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide for a seven-figure sum within four hours of the
premiere's conclusion. The film began its American theatrical release in the first weekend of April 2011 and achieved third place
at the box office, with an estimated USD13.5 million in ticket sales.
• In 2013, James Wan directed The Conjuring, which centred on the real life exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple that
investigated paranormal events.
• After work on The Conjuring was complete, Wan directed a sequel to 2010's Insidious. The film was once again written by Wan's long
time collaborator and close friend, Whannel, and the cast of the original film returned. Filming for the sequel commenced in
January 2013, and the film was released on 13 September 2013.
• In early 2013, Wan entered into negotiations with Universal Pictures to direct the seventh instalment of the Fast and Furious action
franchise after Justin Lin, who directed the previous four sequels, confirmed that he would not continue as director in January
2013.
• On 20 October 2014, the Gary Maddox of The Sydney Morning Herald announced that Wan had agreed to direct The Conjuring 2:
The Enfield Poltergeist sequel as part of a significant long-term deal with New Line Cinema.

5. SAW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCZp5v8V-94
‘ The “Saw” movies are one of the most well known and
popular horror films. James Wan is the creator of the
villain “Billy the Puppet”, that is deeply feared by the
audience. These films present something that hasn’t
been seen before in the horror genre and they show a
great sense of originality. Despite the fact that we have
previously seen evil dolls, Billy the Puppet reaches a
different level of scary. This doll can therefore be
considered the reason behind James Wan’s success.

6. The Conjuring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejMMn0t58Lc
Personally, “The Conjuring” is my favourite horror film.
This is due to the fact that the narrative is really well
presented and believable. This film has also received a
lot of positive feedback; Paul Asay, a film critic, said
“This James Wan scarefest is frighteningly effective and
surprisingly spiritual. But the images it offers will haunt
you long after you turn the lights back on.” When the
movie was released, in 2013, the audience was pleased
with the outcome and it is described as one of the best
films James Wan has directed.

7. Films directed by James Wan
●Year ●Film
●2004 ●Saw
●2007 ●Dead Silence
●2007 ●Death Sentence
●2010 ●Insidious
●2013 ●The Conjuring
●2013 ●Insidious Chapter 2
●2015 ●Fast and Furious 7
●2016 ●The Conjuring Chapter 2
●2018 ●Aquaman

8. Films produced by James Wan
●Year ●Film
●2005 ●Saw II
●2006 ●Saw III
●2007 ●Saw IV
●2008 ●Saw V
●2009 ●Saw VI
●2010 ●Saw 3D
●2014 ●Annabelle
●2015 ●Demonic
●2015 ●Insidious Chapter 3
●2016 ●Lights Out

9. Why is James wan an
inspiration?
• Most of the films he directed are part of the
horror genre, with some of them
belonging to the supernatural sub-genre.
Our film will also be part of this sub-genre,
therefore looking at a director who has
experience with this kind of films helps in
creating a successful media product.
• James Wan is very well known, meaning his
work is successful. We will be using some
of his work as inspiration for our film
trailer. For example, we will be looking at
films such as “The Conjuring” and
“Insidious” and follow the structure of the
trailers.
• He inspires us to be original when producing
media texts without forgetting to include
codes and conventions that are relevant
to horror films. Despite the fact that he
mostly directed horror films, he has been
involved with other genres which suggests
he is creative.

10. Why is James wan an
inspiration?
• Most of the films he directed are part of the
horror genre, with some of them
belonging to the supernatural sub-genre.
Our film will also be part of this sub-genre,
therefore looking at a director who has
experience with this kind of films helps in
creating a successful media product.
• James Wan is very well known, meaning his
work is successful. We will be using some
of his work as inspiration for our film
trailer. For example, we will be looking at
films such as “The Conjuring” and
“Insidious” and follow the structure of the
trailers.
• He inspires us to be original when producing
media texts without forgetting to include
codes and conventions that are relevant
to horror films. Despite the fact that he
mostly directed horror films, he has been
involved with other genres which suggests
he is creative.