John Gray and his Passion for Suspense Thrillers

Recently Ecuador Times had the opportunity to interview John Gray (White Irish Drinkers, The Ghost Whisperer) about his recent film Hide. Gray sat in the director’s chair for the TNT mystery movie night to film the adaptation of Lisa Gardner novel Hide. Here is what he shared with us.

ET: Did you find an inspiration in the Lisa Gardner Novel?

Hide poster

The truth is I chose to be the only one on the movie who didn’t read the novel. I felt it was important for at least one of us to be able to judge the script on its own merits, without being able to fill in any blanks with knowledge from the book. Now that the movie’s over I’m looking forward to reading it!

ET: Was Lisa Gardner in the set to share some ideas with you? Did you had any contact with her?

Yes, Lisa came to the set for several days and she was just delightful. She loves the process of filmmaking and was very appreciative of everyone’s contribution. We missed her when she had to leave!

ET: What caught your attention to make Hide into a movie?

I really wanted to make a stylish, modern thriller. My last movie was a gritty period piece, and with this film I saw an opportunity to do something very different. When I read the opening scene in the script, where the young boy falls into an underground chamber that turns out to be full of dead bodies, I knew I was going to make it.

ET: Would you say this film is a ‘character movie’?

Hide cast

Yes. The characters in Lisa Gardner’s novels are very strong, very memorable, and the writer of the movie, Janet Brownell, did a great job in preserving that strength in the script. And of course we had a wonderful cast who really brought those characters to life.

ET: Do you feel more like working just on suspense thrillers?

Well I would definitely like to do more. It’s a great genre because it can be so rich with atmosphere and great characters and violence and mystery… all things most directors would love!

ET: Care to share any details during the filmmaking of Hide?

We made the movie in New Orleans last summer, which is a very hot time of year to shoot, so that made it a bit challenging. We shot it in only 18 days, and although the novels are set in Boston, we chose to make it an unidentified city. New Orleans is a great place to shoot; many interesting looks, wonder pool of local talent. We shot it in HD with the Arri Alexa cameras, which were great.

ET: Was it difficult to adapt the book into a movie script?

That’s a question for the writer, Janet Brownell, who I thought did a great job in a very short period of time. She had to combine elements of two of the novels in the series, plus contend with an incredibly complex plot. I didn’t envy her!

ET: Are you involve in any more titles for the TNT Mystery Movie Night?

Yes, I just finished writing a script for TNT based on a true crime book, I’m hoping to shoot it early next years.

ET: Are you working on any new projects?

Melissa Jo Peltier, my producing partner and wife, are raising money for another independent feature which we hope to shoot in the middle of next year. I’m also writing a script for the great producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan which I’ll direct as well. And Melissa and I are always working on various television projects, pilots, series ideas, etc. It’s a busy time! (AV)