Interview (Part 2): Lori Evans Taylor

In July, Lori Evans Taylor sold the spec script “Bed Rest” to MGM. Deadline reported it this way:

Spec is a Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of Rear Window and What Lies Beneath, centering on a pregnant woman who is isolated and confined to bed rest.

I reached out to friend of the blog Chris Sparling, whose screenwriting credits include Buried, ATM, The Sea of Trees, and The Atticus Institute which he also directed. Chris is adding the role of producer to his credits with “Bed Rest”. He got me in touch with Lori and we ended up having a great one-hour conversation.

Today in Part 2, Lori talks about the genesis of “Bed Rest” and the challenges of writing a contained thriller:

Scott: Looking at your IMDB credits, you’ve got just a ton of credits as a TV producer on the non-scripted side of things. How did you evolve into that?

Lori: When you’re first starting out as a writer you usually need a survival job. I started doing transcription jobs to make a little money and I ended up stumbling upon a wonderful production company called Cheri Sundae Productions. I came onboard and started working my way up the producer ladder. They were so generous, because they kept hiring me over and over and over. It gave me the opportunity to make a living and grow my expertise in another side of the business, while still writing my own scripts.

For the last three years I’ve been working on a show called “Lucky Dog”, which is a sweet little dog training show that airs on CBS Saturday mornings. It’s a great show and it feeds my soul.

Scott: I’m gathering you didn’t have any formal training in screenwriting. How did you go about learning the craft?

Lori: I am a proud graduate of Video Store University! When I was in college I worked at a local video store, and having access to all kinds of movies, anytime I wanted, really helped cement my foundation in film and TV.

Then when I moved to LA, I started reading scripts. As many scripts as I could get my hands on, honestly. Whether they were great scripts, bad scripts or classics.

To be honest, I feel like the bad scripts teach you more, because you have to dig in and figure out why didn’t I respond to this? Was it something from a plot point of view? Was it something from a character standpoint? Was there something structurally that wasn’t working?

I found that that was very helpful. And being part of a writer’s group was also immensely helpful. It let’s you see how other writers’ minds work.

Scott: Let’s talk about your spec script, “Bed Rest” which recently sold to MGM. Here’s how it’s described in the press:

“Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of ‘Rear Window’ and ‘What Lies Beneath,’ centering on a pregnant woman who is isolated and confined to bed rest.”

We know that you’ve had at least two children. Have there been any more than that, or just the two?

Lori: Two children.

Scott: I’m suspecting that part of the inspiration for “Bed Rest” came from that. Do you remember how the original idea for this developed in your mind?

Lori: Oh, yeah. Well, I was never on bed rest, although I have had friends and acquaintances on bed rest for one reason or another. Some in the hospital, some at home.

The idea came to me right after the birth of my daughter. In the first few weeks after giving birth, as a mother, you’re at home, you’re with the child, you’re breastfeeding. And well, being stuck in the house, I started getting a little cabin fever.

Suddenly my mind went to bed rest and what women on bed rest must feel. At least I could get up and move around my house, imagine not being able to move at all? That must be so psychologically challenging.

Of course, my twisted mind went straight to, “Ooh. This is a great setting for a thriller.” I just logged it away in the back of my mind. Then from there I started playing around with execution.

At first I considered a Misery approach. Maybe it was about a woman who was being taken care of by a doula, who had nefarious intentions toward her. I also considered a home invasion movie, ala’ Panic Room. But neither felt right.

Then, one day I thought, “OK, well, what if we try a supernatural approach? What if it’s a woman on bed rest in a haunted house?” That just sparked the idea. It was so simple and so clean. I talked to my managers about it. They said, “Yeah. That sounds good. Let’s go for it.” So, I went off and wrote it.

Scott: Were there any movies in particular that inspired you or helped shape the way you took the story?

Lori: Growing up a horror fan, I was exposed to a lot of different kinds of horror movies. But I feel like the horror movies that really speak to me are the movies that are a bit more elevated, something like The Others, something like The Exorcist or The Orphanage or The Sixth Sense.

Obviously, Hitchcock was an influence. That sort of Rear Window, Rebecca kind of approach.

But I also I knew I didn’t want it to be entirely psychological. I wanted to make sure there was a satisfying physical ending.

Something like The Shining is very psychological and very atmospheric, but it also packs a punch in that last 20, 30 minutes. I knew that whatever I did, I wanted to have the psychological slow burn, but also a physical payoff.

Scott: You mention Rear Window and this idea of bed rest. It has a contained thriller kind of a feel. What advantages did you find, working with the contained thriller type of approach?

Lori: Interesting. It’s fun when your heroine can’t get up. It makes you get creative about how she accomplishes things and how she hears and sees things going on around her.

By limiting yourself, you’re also opening up a new world of possibilities. I got to have a lot of fun with devices like Roombas and baby cams. So many fun ways to embrace the claustrophobic feel but get creative in the process.

Tomorrow in Part 3, we dig into some of the key narrative elements in “Bed Rest”.

For Part 1 of the interview, go here.

Lori is repped by ICM Partners and Kaplan/Perrone.