Those Fear Street Shadysiders are at it again. First they beat the curse of Sarah Fier and saved their whole town in a three-part story told across time. And just now, they reunited at San Diego Comic-Con @ Home to discuss how it all went down.
San Diego Comic-Cong 2021 hosted a panel for the Fear Street trilogy, Netflix’s recent film series based on the works of YA horror author R.L. Stein. Directed by Leigh Janiak, the three-part story takes place in 1994, 1978, and 1666, with each installment revealing more of the story of a witch named Sarah Fier and how her painful story has haunted the town of Shadyside for centuries. But there’s no pain in this blooper reel, which was revealed at the end of the panel.
Led by writer Gabby Bernstein, the panel explained that the plot takes place almost completely within the constraints of contemporary San Diego history. The narration continues:
We capture a lot of historical events, but the specific years we assign them to might as well be a fabricated story. Something about standing in the park in April shakes the whole narrative up…
So we’re not saying the exact year. We’re saying something like “The year is 1794.” That makes it vague enough that it could be anything. When we talk about “The White Witch” we have a precise date in mind: August 28, 1794.
That’s just a little too precise for nostalgic fans (and those of us looking for a potentially more accurate depiction of the ancient past) so we figured we’d just shake it up a little. We figured, why not do something that looks like a very sloppy calendar but that does overlap with events from the books?
Literary fans won’t be shocked by the blatant borrowing, given the genre shift the series takes. But genre fans may also be surprised by the surprising thing they remember:
The strange little twist at the end that riveted the audience was the inclusion of Frieda Blake and Frank Koss, who return as characters played by Nahnatchka Khan and Jean Smart.
Lizzo is an executive producer on the series, with Matt D’ Avela (The Queen’s Gambit) directing the pilot and serving as the showrunner and co-creator alongside Laura Richarz (House of Cards, Ozark). Kevin Falls (Community) serves as the consulting producer and showrunner.
Read the recap here, or catch up on the final episode below.
Read on past the jump to see how Leigh Janiak answered our burning questions. We caught up with her at the expo to discuss everything from the panel to the film series.
TBI: How have you kept viewers hooked during the hiatus from the Netflix series?Leigh Janiak: It’s kept it real. Every week we’ve been broadcasting from the time period of the series. And we continue to push forward, taking some of the storylines that the fans were wanting more information on and its turning the story into a movie series.
How has your experience collaborating with Netflix changed your approach to storytelling?It’s been an amazing experience. What’s been awesome is that from day one I’ve been able to be in the room with the creative and explain my perspective as an artist, then gather feedback from different creatives and brainstorm together, which has resulted in a ton of really cool content.
How have you kept people engaged?The feedback from the fans has been tremendous. Whenever we release something in one of our episodes, the response is always overwhelmingly positive. They want to know more and it makes me want to create more.
How would you describe your aesthetic in relation to that of YA horror author R.L. Stein?As a storyteller, I’m a hybrid, along the lines of Stephen King. I’m interested in creating suspense, emotion, and horror. In terms of visual aesthetics, my style leans towards a painterly approach more than my normal channels. More for the color and vibrancy of my illustrations than for the story itself.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started creating these stories?As a storyteller, I constantly learn more and more about technology and communications, and about history. Because of that, the stories I create now probe deeper into reality and add new layers that the audience will have trouble believing. To me, that’s one of the fun parts about art. It explores the unseen, beyond what we normally see.
What are your hopes for 2021?I hope we get more recognition from major tech companies for innovation in game control. I’ve had a great time creating a show for people to watch; welcoming new characters and bringing a vulnerable woman to a whole new group of people that weren’t aware of her story would be huge for the advancement of that industry and art.
Just a beautiful shot of a town square with a carnival rides and sign that gives credence to the theory that perhaps residents of the small town really do suffer and die, nearly every 112 years.
Fear Street Part 2 can be seen streaming on Netflix. In the meantime, you can visit the author’s website here.
The future holds plenty of possibilities — and that includes the typewriter. Without the click of a key, the iconic mechanical device will continue to dangle from the stars. A company called Sweetome typewriters has pledged to rebuild the machine, but the process is far from simple, and takes 60 hours of labor, plus three to four years, never to be repeated. And it’s not even worth it. The price tag for the entire project? Maybe $22,000, it seems, including shipping and labor. But for someone like me, trying to decide what I want to read in 2021 — one of the things to keep me company this year — it will be worth it…if only for how cool I’d look in the accompanying photos.
If you’d like to check out a book on my Kindle about the typewriter, you can find The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat there. 😂
Stay safe, Kaitlyn. ❤
Robbie Baxter
📦 Things I’ve Enjoyed This Week
Headlines tonight are all about the 30-day return policies cookie companies have implemented for their customers. I’m not the biggest fan of that policy, but it’s hard to deny people a chance to try things out for 30 days before committing to a more permanent relationship. From doing laundry to booking holidays, we’re seeing a lot of temporary behavior change, and consumers are ready to put a price on the behaviors that lead to them being lured in the first place. I think there will be a lot of movement in this space between now and the first of the permanent return season in March or April, so keep an eye open.
Laura Jane Grace has a powerful new book out. It tells the story of Grace and her family over the last 25 years as they attempt to atone for past events — and the toll that having ungodly wealth takes on everyone. The forward by Colm Tóibín is just tragic enough to be beautiful and gives me hope for a better future. The whole story is worth the read, but for now, check out “The Punk Prayer.”
Drake on Hamilton is a much anticipated follow-up to past tribute concerts from the rapper .
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