<ul class="summary-list"><li>Warning: Spoilers ahead for "<keyword id="11142847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shadow-and-bone">Shadow and Bone</keyword>" season one. </li><li>Insider spoke with author <keyword id="11182818" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="leigh-bardugo">Leigh Bardugo</keyword>, who wrote the "Shadow and Bone" trilogy and other books.</li><li>Her series is now a popular <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> <keyword id="6355065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TV">TV</keyword> show which premiered last month. </li></ul><p>Author Leigh Bardugo knows the perils of book-to-TV adaptations - particularly within the Young Adult (YA) genre of her Grishaverse book series.</p><p>Though she and <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/shadow-and-bone">"Shadow and Bone"</a> showrunner <keyword id="2181606" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Eric-Heisserer">Eric Heisserer</keyword> didn't have a clear roadmap for the adaptation process from the start, Bardugo says one of their first conversations was about how involved she'd be in the TV show's development.</p><p>"I sat down with Eric very early on and I said, 'Look, there is a pattern where authors get locked out of their adaptations,'" Bardugo told Insider in an <keyword id="28970" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="interview">interview</keyword> over Zoom last month. "It is particularly common with women authors, and it is doubly common with women authors of YA. I said, 'Please, please don't let this happen.'"</p><p>The author continued: "He made me a promise that day. He said, 'At the end of all of this, we are going to be friends.' And he was right. To his credit, he may be the only honest person in Hollywood, but he made me that vow and he stuck with it."</p><p>Insider spoke with Bardugo about how she worked with Heisserer and the writers' room in the early days of the show's production, what it was like filming her <a href="https://www.insider.com/doctor-strange-cameo-wandavision-finale-white-guy-save-day-marvel-2021-5">cameo</a> in the show, and her favorite Easter-egg detail that book-fans might have missed.</p><h2>Bardugo explains how the 'Shadow and Bone' team avoided the perils of adapting YA work for a TV show</h2><div type="image" title="Alina and Genya Shadow and Bone season one Netflix 3" height="976" width="1301" msid="82466537" hostid="261"></div><p>While Bardugo didn't want to name names and "bring a firestorm" down on her head, she was clear in her understanding of the way <a href="https://www.insider.com/book-adaptations-tv-shows-movies-2020">adaptations</a> of YA works by women authors have often been treated with "disdain" by the TV and movie churn in Hollywood.</p><p>"I don't think there's any question that we've seen what happens when a work is adapted in the spirit of contempt," Bardugo said. "We see this discourse around YA - when the work is well received, people say that it was elevated from the source material. When the show or the film is badly received, it is discussed as something that was limited by the source material."</p><p>Bardugo says she gets a sense that some people in Hollywood think there's, by default, something "broken" in YA books that needs to be "fixed" for an <a href="https://www.insider.com/bad-book-to-movie-adaptations-2020-10">on-screen adaptation</a>.</p><p>"I was very grateful that from moment one, Eric and our partners at Netflix and 21 Laps [Productions] never approached the material that way," she said. "They did not have this disdain for me or the books, and they did not have that disdain for YA readers. And I think that that spirit of enthusiasm, of genuine warmth towards this material, comes through on the show."</p><div type="image" title="KIT YOUNG as JESPER FAHEY and FREDDY CARTER as KAZ BREKKER in SHADOW AND BONE Cr. DAVID APPLEBY:NETFLIX " height="1025" width="1366" msid="82466539" hostid="261"></div><p>Early on in the production process, Bardugo would visit the writers' room "every week or every other week," where the show's writers would pitch her their stories for each episode and she'd give feedback.</p><p>"We would talk about problems - things I thought might create trouble down the road, things that concerned me," she said. "But also sometimes I would just gasp and clap in delight. It's a wonderful thing to be surprised by your own stories that are being told to you in a completely different way."</p><p>From there, Bardugo's direct involvement waned. She wasn't in the "first tier" of auditions, but did get included in the later stages of casting. Then she read scripts and revisions, and visited the set a couple of times.</p><p>"I started to step back because I was also trying to write books at the time," Bardugo said before laughing. "I'm still trying to write books."</p><p>The whole process of helping get a TV show off the ground was new territory for Bardugo, well outside her "comfort zone."</p><p>"The work of writing a book is very solitary, and the work of an adaptation of a TV show is so collaborative," Bardugo said. "There's a tremendous joy to that, but it is certainly not the method I'm used to."</p><h2>Bardugo makes a cameo appearance in the scene where Alina is first presented to the King</h2><div type="image" title="Leigh Bardugo cameo Shadow and Bone Netflix TV show 2" height="891" width="1188" msid="82466541" hostid="261"></div><p>Going to the set of <a href="https://www.insider.com/tv-series-that-are-similar-to-shadow-and-bone">"Shadow and Bone"</a> was a particularly overwhelming experience for Bardugo, who first began writing the first Grishaverse book in 2010 when she was <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN-mBOyFqul/">"digging [herself] out of a years-long battle with depression."</a> She says she didn't understand what the scope of the production would be before visiting the sprawling Netflix set in Budapest.</p><p>"In my mind, a TV set was like, 'Oh, there's one room, there's some lights, there's some cameras,'" Bardugo said. "I didn't grasp that I was going to walk the streets of Ketterdam, to walk in the First Army camp, to go to [show costume designer] Wendy Partridge's costume warehouse and see row upon row of kefta, so carefully labeled each one embroidered."</p><p>She continued: "It was extraordinary and genuinely overwhelming and a little intimidating because you suddenly understand how many people and how much money is being poured into this thing that began really at my dining room table 10 years ago. That was quite shocking."</p><p>But Bardugo wasn't just there to hang around behind the scenes - she got her own costume fitting and appeared as an extra in episode three, in the scene where Alina is first brought before the King of Ravka.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COA30ObF4SA" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Leigh Bardugo (@lbardugo)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>"That was very profound, too," Bardugo said. "When I was writing 'Shadow and Bone,' I was in such a terrible place in my life, and my only goal was to finish a book. I was 35, I had never managed to write a novel, and I'd wanted to be a writer since I was a kid."</p><p>"And I remember writing that scene - describing the colors and figuring out the choreography of how the Grisha were going to enter the palace," she continued. "Then to be in that moment [in the show] was ... it was a very profound take on the <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-it-started-vs-how-its-going">'how it started vs. how it's going'</a> meme."</p><p>Bardugo couldn't contain her excitement during filming.</p><p>"I have such a goofy grin on my face the entire time," she said. "There's no acting happening. It's just me. Also, I have a disability and it's very hard for me to wear anything other than Crocs. So I had my Crocs on, and I was just basically levitating with joy through the entire scene."</p><h2>Bardugo took home the prop-book copy of 'Shadow and Bone' that appears in her favorite Easter-egg moment of the show </h2><div type="image" title="Jesper Shadow and Bone book Ravkan hardcover Netflix Macmillan " height="900" width="1200" msid="82466549" hostid="261"></div><p>Netflix's "Shadow and Bone" is peppered with smaller details and references that only close-readers of Bardugo's books likely picked up on. When asked what her favorite of these moments is, Bardugo had a quick answer - and it's not a scene that she wrote herself.</p><p>In the sixth episode, a character named Jesper spooks another character, David, out of his carriage. In a desperate move of self-defense, David chucks a book at Jesper's head. </p><p>"That book is actually a Ravkan copy of 'Shadow and Bone,'" Bardugo said. "I love it so much. And I have it! I requested it. I said, 'Can I pleeeease have it?' Then the last day I was on set, they came and brought it to me and it's on my bookshelf now. It's one of my most treasured possessions."</p><p>Ravkan is the fictional language invented by Bardugo in the books, and then brought to life by <a href="https://www.insider.com/game-of-thrones-fans-hiring-high-valyrian-language-tutors-for-53-an-hour-2019-3">language creator David J. Peterson</a> (who also created Dothraki in "Game of Thrones" and has done work with "The Mandalorian").</p><p>For this scene, a Ravkan translation of "Shadow and Bone" was designed for the book, making direct reference to one of the original covers of Bardugo's novel.</p><p>"Shadow and Bone" season one is now streaming on Netflix. </p>

How 'Shadow and Bone' author Leigh Bardugo made sure she didn't get 'locked out' of the Netflix adaptation process - and what it was like to film her cameo

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="11142847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shadow-and-bone">Shadow and Bone</keyword>" showrunner <keyword id="2181606" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Eric-Heisserer">Eric Heisserer</keyword> once said he had a "three-season plan" for the series.</li><li>But he tells Insider that's not fixed - he has ideas for up to even four seasons. </li><li><keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> hasn't greenlit season two, though, because it depends on how many people watch season one.</li></ul><p>Netflix's newest <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-fantasy-movies-netflix-stream-watch">fantasy</a> drama is "Shadow and Bone," the first season of which is adapted from author Leigh Bardugo's "Grishaverse" series. Ahead of the April 23 premiere, Insider spoke with showrunner Eric Heisserer about how the show could span across multiple seasons - all depending on how big of an audience the first batch of episodes reaches. </p><p>"I have lots of ideas," Heisserer said when asked about his future season plans. "Oh boy, I've got a season two plan. I've got a season three plan. I have my eyes on season four. There are definitely lots of plans, but right now it's a lot of wishful thinking because who knows where the show's going to land with the public."</p><p>When <a href="https://collider.com/shadow-and-bone-netflix-interview-eric-heisserer/">speaking to Collider</a> from the set of "Shadow and Bone" in 2019, Heisserer initially said he had pitched a three-season plan. But Heisserer now tells Insider that the number isn't that fixed and he might have misspoke.</p><p>"I gotta be honest with you, I don't remember why or where I came up with that number," he said through laughter. "Maybe I'd been up for 30 hours straight."</p><p>"I could say, I hope that I get three seasons," Heisserer continued. "That would be lovely, but you know Netflix hasn't even called me to say if I get a second one yet."</p><h2>Future seasons of 'Shadow and Bone' depend on how many people watch the first season </h2><div type="image" title="shadow and bone netflix" height="900" width="1200" msid="82206927" hostid="261"></div><p>Heisserer said he knows that there's "a recipe" Netflix has for deciding if a series goes to season two (or beyond). </p><p>"I know there are metrics," he said. "There are benchmarks to hit, some milestone that let them know that season two is worth the investment. I know whatever those numbers are, it exceeds the book fandom by a few times over. So we have to get far more non-readers engaged in the show than readers."</p><p>The "Shadow and Bone" showrunner said this is a "daunting task," but noted that they'll have the global reach of <a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-may-2021-new-releases-and-whats-leaving-movies-tv-shows">Netflix</a> behind the series. Heisserer equated the streaming company's strategy with a character named Kaz Brekker in the "Shadow and Bone" series (who appeared in Bardugo's "Six of Crows" duology): a cunning gang leader who <a href="https://grishaverse.com/world/#characters">"leaves nothing to chance."</a></p><p>"They've been playing their cards close to the vest - they've been Kaz Brekker-ing me," Heisserer said. "So they haven't shared with me what any of that info is. They're just like, 'We'll let you know when the numbers come in, we'll give you a call.' So who knows where that's going to land."</p><div type="image" title="shadow and bone" height="1273" width="1698" msid="82206928" hostid="261"></div><p>Heisserer said that the uncertainty of "Shadow and Bone's" <keyword id="6355065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TV">TV</keyword> audience may have affected how big of a budget he had to work with. </p><p>"They were very cautious about the budget of this show," he said. "We did not get as much as say other notable Netflix <keyword id="34077" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="fantasy">fantasy</keyword> shows. Maybe in part because we were in the YA department. But I did everything I could to be sure that every Kruge you saw was spent on screen. Now it's just to see if the show works for the audience."</p><p><em>[Editor's note: "Kruge" is one of the currencies within the Grishaverse.]</em></p><p>Insider also spoke with Shawn Levy, one of the executive producers of <a href="https://www.insider.com/book-adaptation-shows-movies-netflix-in-2020">"Shadow and Bone"</a> and founder of 21 Laps <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword>, who has an overall deal at Netflix. </p><p>"I am definitely very privy to Eric's ideas and aspirations for the future seasons of 'Shadow and Bone,'" Levy told Insider. "They're really cool ideas. I really want to keep watching this show. And as a producer, I really want to keep making this show."</p><p>He continued: "And - or but - I don't know which is better, the reality is that season two and beyond on 'Shadow and Bone,' and the vast majority of shows on Netflix and most other networks, are viewership-dependent. So we're in this 'wait and see' period. But the ideas that Eric has cooking up are really compelling. I think if audiences find and embrace 'Shadow and Bone,' they're in for a real treat in future seasons."</p><p>The first season of "Shadow and Bone" premieres on Friday, April 23.</p>

'Shadow and Bone' showrunner says his plans for future seasons are 'wishful thinking' - for now

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Leigh Bardugo said that she felt like a "monster" on the set of "Shadow and Bone" season two. </li><li>The author said that, without giving spoilers, there was a very convincing child actor crying on set.</li></ul><p>"Shadow and Bone" author Leigh Bardugo said that she felt like a "monster" after she had to listen to a child actor cry during a scene in the show's second season. </p><p>Bardugo appeared on Saturday at a New York Comic Con panel about her popular young adult series and its Netflix adaptation, "Shadow and Bone." Alongside series actors Ben Barnes (The Darkling), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), and Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), she teased the show's second season without divulging any major spoilers. </p><p>"When I was on set for season two, and I cannot give this away, but there was a scene they were shooting, and there was a small child crying in the scene, and he's a very good actor," Bardugo said during the panel. "And I was like, 'Oh God, I am a monster.'" </p><p>Bardugo is the architect of the Grishaverse, a magical universe that encapsulates her fantasy trilogy beginning with the novel "Shadow and Bone" as well as the "Six of Crows" duology set. The <a href="https://www.insider.com/shadow-and-bone-differences-between-book-and-show">Netflix series adaptation primarily tells the story contained within "Shadow and Bone,"</a> while also incorporating characters from "Six of Crows" to flesh out the universe. </p><p>Bardugo <a href="https://www.insider.com/shadow-and-bone-author-leigh-bardugo-interview-2021-4">told Insider near the time of the series premiere</a> that she made clear to showrunner Eric Heisserer early on in that she didn't want to get "locked out" of the series. In addition to <a href="https://www.insider.com/shadow-and-bone-creator-explain-darkling-kirigin-fold-backstory-scene-2021-4">giving her input during the development process for the show</a>, she also had a cameo in its first season. </p><p>Despite her anecdote about the child crying on set, Bardugo said that she doesn't consider her stories to be "tragedies," despite the prices her characters sometimes must pay. </p><p>"Mostly, I try to tell stories honestly. I'm not interested in telling the stories where there are no casualties but there's a war. That doesn't happen," Bardugo said.</p>

'Shadow and Bone' author Leigh Bardugo said she felt like a 'monster' when she heard a child actor cry on the show's set for season two

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword>'s "<keyword id="11142847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shadow-and-bone">Shadow and Bone</keyword>" is an adaption of stories in author Leigh Bardugo's "Grishaverse."</li><li>Insider spoke with Bardugo and showrunner Eric Heisserer about a backstory scene added for the show.</li><li>Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Shadow and Bone" episode seven. </li></ul><p>Netflix's new fantasy series "Shadow and Bone" pulls its story from author Leigh Bardugo's "Grishaverse" books, though it makes some tweaks to the narrative. Insider spoke with Bardugo and series showrunner Eric Heisserer about one key scene added for the <keyword id="6355065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TV">TV</keyword> show: The events that led up to the creation of the Fold.</p><p><em>Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Shadow and Bone" season one. </em></p><h2>Episode seven, 'The Unsea,' brings a key backstory to life </h2><p><em><div type="image" title=" BEN BARNES as THE DARKLING : GENERAL KIRIGAN in SHADOW AND BONE Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX " height="1333" width="1778" msid="82225662" hostid="261"></div></em></p><p>In the cold open for episode seven, "The Unsea," the audience finally learns more about General Kirigan (also referred to as "the Darkling").</p><p>The show flashes back hundreds of years and shows how General Aleksander Kirigan was once in love with a healer named Luda. The king at the time was rounding up Grisha - people capable of manipulating elements of the world around them. The Grisha call it "small science," while those who fear their power think of it more like unnatural witchcraft.</p><p>As they move to capture Kirigan, the soldiers kill Luda. Overcome with grief and rage over the attack on Grisha by the king, Kirigan turned to a more ancient form of magic called "merzost."</p><p>By invoking "merzost," Kirigan created the Fold - a gigantic shadowy rift. All of the king's soldiers who had been trying to capture him were transformed into beastly creatures called Volcra and doomed to live inside the Fold. </p><h2>Kirigan's backstory was originally going to show him as a child, pulling from a short story called 'Demon in the Wood'</h2><div type="image" title=" BEN BARNES as THE DARKLING : GENERAL KIRIGAN in SHADOW AND BONE Cr. DAVID APPLEBY:NETFLIX " height="1110" width="1480" msid="82225664" hostid="261"></div><p>As Eric Heisserer, the "Shadow and Bone" showrunner, told Insider, this cold open was originally going to be from the prequel story Bardugo wrote called <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627796620">"Demon in the Wood."</a></p><p>"That was still a flashback to Kirigan, where we get to see Baghra as a young mother and a 10-year-old Darkling," Heisserer said. "But we had a number of problems that we encountered early on, one of which was trying to find the right child actors for these moments. Then the added trouble of putting a child in freezing water and making sure that it's safe and also that it doesn't blow our budget out."</p><p>But Heisserer says the biggest reason for the switch was actor Ben Barnes, who plays the seemingly ageless Kirigan in the show. "The more you had been Ben Barnes on the screen, the better you felt," Heisserer said.</p><p>Instead, the Fold flashback story was created by Heisserer with input from Bardugo. </p><p>"We wanted to show a side of this character that at least you can empathize, if not root for," Heisserer said. "Just so you give him a more well-rounded character. If he's going to go off and sever the head of a woodland creature later on in this episode, let's make you first kinda root for him and like him before we do something so villainous."</p><p>Later on in the episode, back in the "present day," Kirigan kills a powerful animal called Morozova's Stag in order to make himself more powerful. </p><h2><strong>Both creators wanted to avoid 'fridging' in Kirigan's backstory</strong></h2><div type="image" title="BEN BARNES as THE DARKLING : GENERAL KIRIGAN and JESSIE MEI LI as ALINA STARKOV in SHADOW AND BONE Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX " height="1333" width="1778" msid="82225666" hostid="261"></div><p>Heisserer also told Insider that he and Bardugo spoke about the kind of relationship they wanted to establish between Kirigan and Luda in that opening scene. </p><p>"We didn't want to delve fully into a big romance between the two of them, in large part because neither Leigh or I are fans of fridging," Heisserer said.</p><p>"Fridging" is a term that <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/5/24/17384064/deadpool-vanessa-fridging-women-refrigerators-comics-trope">originated with critiques of comic book stories</a>. It's a catchall phrase for when the girlfriend or wife of the story's male protagonist dies in order to propel his story forward. </p><p>"That's not the direction we wanted to go," Heisserer said. "But we wanted you to know that this was a person still very important to his life and gave him the hope that if he ever found somebody who could live as long as he that maybe he can allow himself to love."</p><p>Bardugo told Insider that the easiest way to guess if a character will "end up as a casualty" in her books is by looking for the "straight white dude."</p><p>"It really is a map for who's about to bite it in the Grishaverse," she said. "But yeah, we both feel pretty strongly that [fridging] is a trope we don't want to see play out again and again, and it doesn't really belong in the Grishaverse."</p><h2>Bardugo explained that the TV show's scene doesn't follow the same canon as her books</h2><div type="image" title="shadow and bone" height="1137" width="1516" msid="82225669" hostid="261"></div><p>"I will candidly say that this is not the way I conceived of the invention of the Fold," Bardugo told Insider. "And it is certainly not what I considered canon in my head, but I also was really pleased with where we ended up. The thing that was important to me was figuring out how the scene was going to work, making sure that it felt authentic to these characters, but also that it didn't break the magical system that we'd already established."</p><p>She continued: "And I think it really shows the sick sense of humor that fate has in the Grishaverse. If you mess with merzost - really the only thing that is described as magic in this world, as opposed to science - the results will not only be bad, but they will be bad in a very personal way. The universe really wants to let you know you screwed up."</p><p>To learn more about how the story plays out in Bardugo's book, <a href="https://grishaverse.com/">you can read about the Grishaverse here.</a></p><p>"Shadow and Bone" is streaming now on Netflix. </p>

'Shadow and Bone' creators explain how they came up with a key backstory for one of the main characters

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5813a974362ca44a018b5a1f-1067/arrival jan thijs paramount final.jpg" alt="Arrival Jan Thijs Paramount final" data-mce-source="Jan Thijs/Paramount" /><p class="source"><span>Jan Thijs/Paramount</span></p><p class="caption">"Arrival."</p></div><p></p></div></div>"Arrival" is an emotionally charged sci-fi drama that critics <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arrival-review-amy-adams-sci-fi-movie-2016-9">instantly fell for</a> when it began playing the award-bait film festivals - Venice, Telluride, and Toronto - in September. And that critic love has only continued.</p><p>With a current <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/arrival_2016" target="_blank">96% rating</a> on Rotten Tomatoes, things are looking good for "Arrival," which opens on Friday. If general audiences react to it as strongly as the critics have, this could be a strong last few months of the year for its studio, Paramount.</p><p>Amy Adams stars in the film as a linguist who is chosen by the military to assist in communicating with aliens who have just landed on earth. Based on the short story by Ted Chiang, the screenplay Eric Heisserer adapted and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arrival-movie-screenwriter-eric-heisserer-2016-10">then shopped for a decade</a> until it got into the capable hands of director Denis Villeneuve ("Prisoners," "Sicario") is not just a thrilling aliens-come-to-earth story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also a devastatingly touching exploration of love and family that will have you tearing up by the end.</p><p><strong>But don't take our word for it. Here are what the top critics are saying:</strong></p>

Why critics are in love with 'Arrival,' the most acclaimed sci-fi movie of the year

<p class="drop-cap">HBO's massive hit "<keyword id="6433339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Game-of-Thrones">Game of Thrones</keyword>" was very likely the last show of its kind.</p><p>The series dominated the global news cycle for months each year and drew tens of millions of concurrent viewers. In the nearly two years since the finale aired on May 27, 2019, <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">entertainment</keyword> reporters, audience analysts, and fans have all wondered whether the "next 'Game of Thrones'" is around the corner.</p><p>But it's clearer than ever that the void left by the series finale of "Game of Thrones" might never be filled.</p><p>Insider spoke with several <keyword id="6355065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TV">TV</keyword> creators at <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> - HBO's competitor and the streaming service responsible for the new normal of "binge watching" whole seasons of a show at a time - to gauge whether its formula was capable of creating a similar fervor to the near-constant hype surrounding "Game of Thrones."</p><p>People like producer and director Shawn Levy, screenwriter and showrunner Carlton Cuse, and others we interviewed concluded that the unique set of circumstances which led to the wild success of "Game of Thrones" is unlikely to ever happen again, though perhaps it's not impossible.</p><hr /><p class="drop-cap">The landscape of how TV is made and watched has changed drastically since "Game of Thrones" premiered. You can chart the shift into "prestige TV" and "peak TV" over the past 20 years by looking at a few key shows.</p><p>HBO's "The Sopranos" premiered in 1999, with "The Wire" on its heels in 2002. ABC's "Lost" first aired in 2004, leading to one of the first examples of a fervent, detail-obsessed TV fandom online. Then AMC's "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" came in 2007 and 2008, respectively, setting new standards for period TV and anti-hero dramas. </p><div type="image" title="Lost series finale" height="1998" width="2664" msid="82222951" hostid="261"></div><p>"Game of Thrones" premiered in 2011, and as the other shows were closing out their series' runs, the landscape of TV was changed when Netflix launched its binge-season format with "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black" in 2013 (which happened to be the same year the famous "Red Wedding" episode of "Game of Thrones" catapulted the fantasy-drama into new heights of popularity).</p><p>By the time its sixth season was premiering in 2016, "Game of Thrones" was the last of these critically lauded, fan-obsessed dramas still commanding an audience of millions with a weekly episode format. Thanks to the unprecedented nature of the adaptation overtaking the books and spoiler culture, "Game of Thrones" was like having the Super Bowl air every Sunday for two months straight: If you didn't watch it live, you'd wake up and immediately know the score.</p><p>"Game of Thrones" became essential appointment viewing for fans.</p><div type="image" title="Jon Snow" height="846" width="1128" msid="82222954" hostid="261"></div><hr /><p class="drop-cap">From the premiere of the "Game of Thrones" pilot to its series finale, the way people watch TV dramatically evolved. Gone are the days when weekly releases were the norm, and now binge-watching reigns supreme.</p><p>"It's something we have definitely talked about," Levy, who has worked on "Stranger Things" and "Shadow and Bone," <a href="https://www.insider.com/shawn-levy-i-am-not-okay-with-this-producer-interview-2020-2">told Insider in February 2020</a>. "I think, with the exception of sporting events and political cataclysms, it is an increasingly rare thing for everybody to share the same viewing at the same time. I do think that that is a dying experience."</p><p>But binge culture has a cost. Weekly releases help build engaged fandoms, which are a key part of the TV-watching experience. Fandoms not only help networks and streaming companies better understand their audience (which, in turn, helps those companies' bottom lines) but also create a sense of community - something people have been particularly craving during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>When <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-netflix-tips-and-tricks">Netflix</a> introduced the binge format in 2013, it dominated pop-culture conversations as people delighted in the ability to marathon a brand-new TV season in a single weekend (or even a day or two for adventurous watchers). But seven years later, the novelty of binge-watching has worn off. It can still make for a great individual experience, but that <a href="https://www.insider.com/binge-format-shows-are-bad-for-fans-2020-10">format can make it harder to develop hyperengaged TV show fandoms</a>.</p><p>"As a writer, I prefer to be working in the streaming world," Meredith Averill, a cocreator of Netflix's "Haunting of Hill House" and "Locke and Key," told Insider in an interview last year. "As a viewer, I enjoy having shows that I have to wait every week to watch."</p><p>She added: "For me, I think it's exciting that there are so many different platforms now, but I hope that these week-to-week episodes never really goes away and it does leave room for there to be a 'Game of Thrones'-like series."</p><blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">As a writer, I prefer to be working in the streaming world. As a viewer, I enjoy having shows that I have to wait every week to watch.</q><cite class="pullquote-source">Meredith Averill</cite></blockquote><p>Averill's cocreator on "Locke and Key," Cuse, was also the cocreator of ABC's indelible mystery-drama series "Lost." </p><p>"I think there is still something special about the week-to-week experience that I hope doesn't completely go away in the evolving television landscape," Cuse said. </p><p>"It's great to have so many choices and so many amazing shows out there," Cuse added. "But that ability to watch a show and have a conversation about it because everybody watched the episode the previous night - it's hard to do when people are watching things with different paces."</p><div type="image" title="KIT YOUNG as JESPER FAHEY and FREDDY CARTER as KAZ BREKKER in SHADOW AND BONE Cr. DAVID APPLEBY:NETFLIX " height="1333" width="1778" msid="82222957" hostid="261"></div><p>Eric Heisserer, the showrunner of Netflix's new fantasy series <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/shadow-and-bone">"Shadow and Bone,"</a> sees pros and cons in both formats of TV shows, especially ones that aren't based on books and therefore don't have a clear road map for fans to predict.</p><p>"I would say the disadvantage is when you're building out something that has a lot of mythology and a lot of extreme reveals, then that week between episodes gets filled with tons and tons of fan theories," Heisserer said. "If your fans wind up being more imaginative than the people working the show, it can sour some things and be a bit of a problem area for you."</p><p>Heisserer also said he believed that looking for the next "Game of Thrones" (or any show, for that matter) was a "disservice" to creators.</p><p>"In the earlier days, it was looking for the next 'Lost,' and then 'Game of Thrones' - anything that becomes a huge milestone for entertainment," Heisserer said. "I've been in countless meetings with network execs saying that they are looking for the next blah, blah, blah. But as a creator, I think it's a scary kind of disservice to yourself and to your art to try and rise to that occasion."</p><p>Heisserer said he preferred the approach of "I'm going to be my own unique thing," and then it either catches on (which is "great") or he's left knowing he was true to each project and himself.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.theringer.com/year-in-review/2019/12/19/21028443/hbo-game-of-thrones-future-casey-bloys">2019 feature on HBO's then-president of programming Casey Bloys</a> and the future of the network post-"Game of Thrones," Bloys told The Ringer that he's a "huge, huge proponent of week-to-week viewing" because of the conversations it drives.</p><p>"It's funny - when Netflix came out, I think the whole industry said, 'Oh my gosh, should we be doing this?'" Bloys, who is now the chief content officer of HBO, <a href="https://www.theringer.com/year-in-review/2019/12/19/21028443/hbo-game-of-thrones-future-casey-bloys">told The Ringer</a>. "But I've come out very firmly on the side of a weekly release pattern.</p><p>He continued: "You have an entire industry of people writing about TV and criticizing TV and obsessing about TV. To feed that once a week and to have people comment on it, and hate on it and love it is a lot … You want people talking about your shows. You want people debating your shows. You want people having an opinion of your shows."</p><hr /><p class="drop-cap">In 2019, <keyword id="7448675" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disney-plus">Disney Plus</keyword>' "The Mandalorian" came close to achieving the same success as "Game of Thrones."</p><p>Thanks in large part to Grogu, aka "Baby Yoda," the show's weekly episode releases turned into events, with memes galore and a fervor for merchandise and theory swapping. The buildup between episodes as people waited eagerly to see more of Baby Yoda was palpable. </p><p>Disney captured a similar energy with 2020's weekly drops of "WandaVision," the first of many Marvel series to launch on the streaming service.</p><p>To Heisserer's point, the gaps between episodes in "WandaVision" (like with "Game of Thrones" and other mystery-box shows like "Lost" before it) gave people plenty of time online to come up with their own <a href="https://www.insider.com/wandavision-how-quicksilver-back-theories-2021-2">intricate fan theories</a> about what was in store. The frenzy around theorizing <a href="https://www.insider.com/wandavision-finale-evan-peters-pietro-real-identity-explained-2021-3">led to disappointment</a> for some once the finale aired.</p><div type="image" title="wandavision" height="1227" width="1637" msid="82222958" hostid="261"></div><p>Disappointments aside, it's impossible to deny the audience-grabbing power the weekly release schedule of "WandaVision" had.</p><p>During another phone call earlier this month, almost one year after our first conversation, Levy said his 2020 prediction about "Game of Thrones" being a "dying experience" may have come too soon.</p><p>"I'm the first to declare that I may very well have been wrong," Levy said. "I don't know how you look at the Disney Plus model with 'WandaVision' and 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' and all their series and <em>not</em> question that appointment television may not be dead after all."</p><p>He added: "I can tell you firsthand that the suspense and excitement that I felt gearing up to every Sunday last year waiting for the next episode of 'The Last Dance' on ESPN. It reminded me that there is indeed a different form of delight in waiting. And we've very much seen this, I think, with 'WandaVision' - there is something enjoyable about a cultural conversation that exists in real time and simultaneous time.</p><blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">Appointment television may not be dead after all.</q><cite class="pullquote-source">Shawn Levy</cite></blockquote><p>"Whereas with binge television, there's no lack of clips and ink devoted to it, but the conversation tends to be a little bit more sprawling because we're not talking about one episode on one day and the same day," Levy added.</p><p>Ultimately, streaming services and traditional networks are still experimenting with release formats.</p><p>A recent <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/to-binge-or-not-binge-inside-streamers-scheduling-decisions">Hollywood Reporter feature</a> on various streamers' approaches to scheduling pointed out that Netflix has been experimenting with weekly releases for reality shows like "The Circle," while HBO Max did a "batch" release for some of its programming, like "The Flight Attendant."</p><p>"We are still in learning mode," Meredith Gertler, HBO Max's vice president of content strategy and planning, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/to-binge-or-not-binge-inside-streamers-scheduling-decisions">told the Hollywood Reporter.</a> "We are still experimenting with what works best for our subscribers. And we certainly don't believe the same rules apply necessarily across genre, so it is about taking more of a bespoke strategy that takes into account the creative and the nature of the programming."</p><p>Given Disney Plus' weekly release strategy, and the continued success of HBO's weekly lineup, will Netflix eventually start experimenting with its own weekly drop of its prestige scripted shows? </p><p>"I've certainly heard rumblings of conversation on that topic," Levy said. "I have a lot of shows with Netflix, and I can't predict with certainty how things will be dropped or launched in the future. All I know is this: Three or four years ago, Netflix was famous for not disclosing rankings or viewership numbers, and we've seen the rule book get rewritten in real time. So I wouldn't assume that any rule is unbreakable."</p>

We may never see another TV show like 'Game of Thrones' because of Netflix

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57c84ae9b996eb5d128b596f-1024/arrival%20square%20paramount.jpg" alt="Arrival square Paramount" data-mce-source="Paramount"><p class="source"><span>Paramount</span></p><p class="caption">"Arrival."</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2104063/?ref_=tt_ov_wr" target="_blank">Eric Heisserer</a> was leaving a meeting with the production company 21 Laps in 2010 when&#xa0;he was asked one last question: "Is there anything you would want us to get the rights to?"<p>Heisserer turned and gave the pitch he'd been giving and which had been turned down for the last five years, but he thought, "Why not?"</p><p>He told 21 Laps producers Dan Cohen and Dan Levine about a short story he was obsessed with, "Story of Your Life." Written by sci-fi writer Ted Chiang, it follows a linguist named Louise who is recruited by the military to help understand the language of aliens who have just landed on earth.</p><p>To Heisserer's surprise, Cohen and Levine were interested, and suddenly the movie that would become known as "Arrival," the highly anticipated sci-fi drama starring Amy Adams in the Louise role, had life.</p><p>Though Heisserer, 46, is best known in Hollywood for his horror scripts - which include this year's surprise box-office hit "Lights Out" and 2010's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" reboot - he's always been looking to branch out into other genres. A script that he wrote on spec seems to be the one that's going to do it.</p><p>Around 2005, Heisserer read "Story of Your Life" and was completely taken by Chiang's touching story of life and loss.</p><p>"The end of the story just had me balling and I knew at that point I wanted to share that feeling with the world," Heisserer said to Business Insider. "And I didn't worry so much about the fact that it wasn't inherently cinematic in its original form."</p><p>That's the biggest reason why it took so long for Heisserer to find producers who were interested. He was told meeting after meeting that he either needed a star or a name director to move forward, and he had neither.</p><p>But with 21 Laps on his side after their meeting in 2010, he was a step closer. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stranger-things-producer-shawn-levy-profile-2016-9">The company</a>, founded by director Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum"), was beginning to come into its own and would soon get behind two unknown filmmakers with a project called "Stranger Things," which would go on to become one of Netflix's biggest hits.</p><p>When Heisserer teamed up with 21 Laps for a new round of pitches of his story idea, studios rejected it again. So&#xa0;Heisserer was content to put the project aside and move on.</p><p>Or he thought he was.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5813ab1f362ca486238b56fc-2400/eric%20heisserer%20matt%20winkelmeyer%20getty.jpg" alt="Eric Heisserer Matt Winkelmeyer Getty" data-mce-source="Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Eric Heisserer.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>"The next morning, I called the Dans and I said, 'It's too close to my heart. This is a story that's in my bones. I will write this on spec,'" he said.<p>Heisserer spent all of 2011 writing the script, which then got on the coveted Black List, an annual list of the best unproduced scripts in the business. That led to independent financiers FilmNation and LavaBear offering the money to finance the film in 2012 (Heisserer received the Writers Guild of America minimum fee, which at the time was <a href="http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/MBA11.pdf" target="_blank">around $100,000</a>).&#xa0;</p><p>Along with screenwriter credit, Heisserer also negotiated an executive producer credit on the film.</p><p>"It was an insurance policy to make sure I would have a seat at the table and help answer questions," Heisserer said of pushing for the EP credit. "Every page had a reason for being there. It was a script that was very purposely constructed and it's like a Jenga game. If anyone took something out it was important for me to be there and say, 'Hang on!'"</p><p>This systematic adaptation of Chiang's story started out with two simple elements: a cork board and magazines.</p><p>Heisserer used the board to separate the story into two sections. One column of the board was dedicated to the story's core structure while on the other side he posted images from magazines that evoked something from the story - like visuals for locations, dreams, even the cast.</p><p>"I find this so amazing, but the picture I put up on the board for the character of Louise was an Amy Adams photo," Heisserer said.</p><p>And as he suspected when he first read the story, Heisserer had to change a few elements from Chiang's story to make it more cinematic. A big shift was having the aliens come to earth.</p><p>In Chiang's story, the aliens communicate with Louise light years away via a video screen, and they never do come to the planet.</p><p>"It was the first major change from the original material," he said. "Have the aliens right there next to us."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5813ab7d362ca41c008b5aa4-1496/arrival%20youtube:paramount.png" alt="Arrival YouTube:Paramount" data-mce-source="YouTube/Paramount"><p class="source"><span>YouTube/Paramount</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>That then led to the idea of multiple alien ships landing across the globe, which then caused Heisserer to think up how the world would react to them landing. Turns out not well.<p>"The more I thought about how our population would react to this, the more I realized this is just going to get worse the longer the aliens stay around," Heisserer said. "The longer these are parked here and no real answers are forthcoming, the more our population is going to freak out."</p><p>But outside of the tricks a screenwriter uses to build drama and thrills in a movie, by the end, Heisserer wanted to stay true to Chiang's story.</p><p>"That emotional reaction to the ending when you realize Louise's journey, that's all Ted," Heisserer said. "I don't get to take credit for that, nor would I want to."</p><p>That pull at the heartstrings has led audiences at the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto film festivals to fall in love with - and generate Oscar buzz for - "Arrival," thanks greatly to the vision of director Denis Villeneuve ("Sicario"), who didn't take the job until he met with Heisserer (six meetings later he signed on to do it).</p><p>Looking back on the project, Heisserer said the best thing that happened to the movie was that a studio didn't nab it early on (it was eventually acquired by Paramount). Independent financing meant there was little interference in the making of it.</p><p>"This was like a breath of fresh air," said Heisserer, who is very familiar with top executives flexing their muscles for creative change.</p><p>Heisserer will likely go back to the horror/thriller genre, but there's one more takeaway from writing "Arrival."</p><p>"I couldn't need any bigger proof that it's important for me to write what I'm passionate about on spec," he said, as "Arrival" and "Lights Out" were both done on spec. "It has reaffirmed my commitment that no matter what is going on in my career I will write one spec a year regardless."&#xa0;</p><p><em>"Arrival" opens in theaters November 11.</em></p><p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tFMo3UJ4B4g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ll-cool-j-fitness-mistakes-gym-exercise-2016-10">LL COOL J: The biggest workout mistakes people make at the gym</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="tjcTJ5NjE6eOYGgdm_nKQF291fFOacPw" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'tjcTJ5NjE6eOYGgdm_nKQF291fFOacPw',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

How the writer of 'Arrival' spent a decade getting his sci-fi Oscar contender made

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57ced6e1b996ebf6088b6276-2400/shawn levy alberto e rodriguez getty.jpg" alt="Shawn Levy Alberto E Rodriguez Getty" data-mce-source="Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty" /><p class="source"><span>Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Shawn Levy.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Like most directors after they have a hit movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506613/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Shawn Levy</a> started his own production company following the global success of "Night at the Museum" in 2006.</p><p>The company, 21 Laps, wasn't just a status symbol proving Levy had made it in Hollywood. It also had a practical purpose - and would eventually lead to Netflix's biggest new hit of the year, "Stranger Things."</p><p>Several years ago as 21 Laps got off the ground and Levy came up with his next film, the Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy "Date Night," he had a home base to immediately make it a reality.</p><p>"I had the idea with my wife over dinner, then I had a company that allowed me to go into work the next day, work out the story, hire a writer, package it with actors, and make it," Levy recently told Business Insider.</p><p>Levy and 21 Laps have evolved since those early films to a point where Levy has transformed from a go-to director for all-audience family films into the head of a production company behind TV shows and movies that have found huge acclaim.</p><p>"Stranger Things" is 21 Laps' most prized effort yet.</p><p>Made by virtual unknowns Matt and Ross Duffer, "Stranger Things," in case you haven't watched it, is about a young boy's disappearance and the mother, friends, and police chief who try to find him with the help of a girl with telekinetic powers.</p><p>The project was piling up nos around the industry when it caught the attention of 21 Laps executives Dan Levine and Dan Cohen a few years back.</p><p>Though the company had modest success with the 2013 indie hit "The Spectacular Now," it was still known in the business as the company for Levy's own directing efforts.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57c987af09d293e60b8b5cb8-709/stranger-things-telekineti.jpg" alt="stranger things" data-mce-source="Netflix" /><p class="source"><span>Netflix</span></p><p class="caption">"Stranger Things."</p></div><p></p></div></div>But suddenly Levy needed a change. He had just released the comedies "This Is Where I Leave You" and "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" back-to-back in 2014 and wanted to take a break from the director's chair.</p><p>"I went into 2015 saying, I'm really operating at a slightly unhealthy pace and I want to force myself to have a little more patience," Levy said. "So I started turning down more movies and it allowed me to focus on 21 Laps and literally be in the office with Dan and Dan and our junior executives and just be in the bloodstream of my company in a more engaged way. Then 'Stranger Things' came in the door."</p><p>Levy saw how great the "Stranger Things" story was. He and the Duffer brothers built a strong relationship that culminated with Levy standing alongside the Duffers when they walked into Netflix to pitch the show.</p><p>But Levy's involvement didn't end when Netflix gave the green light. He took a hands-on producing role, which meant everything from getting on the phone and convincing Lucasfilm to let the series feature the Millennium Falcon in a scene to Levy coming on to direct two episodes at a crucial point in production.</p><p>"We only had a certain number of scripts, and it became clear that we did not have scripts ready for the second half of the season," Levy said. "So I went to the Duffers and I said, 'Guys, if you want, I'll buy you some time. I'll do [chapters] three and four, you go bury yourself in the writing.'"</p><p>Levy's involvement didn't just help the Duffers in finishing the writing of the season, but his visual style influenced how the Duffers shot the rest of the season.</p><p>"I wanted to do episodes in a way that felt consistent with their vision, but I definitely started moving the camera a lot more," Levy said. "[The Duffers] came to me after a week of me shooting and they were like, 'We're watching your dailies, we f---ing love all of this camera movement. So we're going to throw out our rule about static frames and we're going to start emulating that camera movement.' It's why chapters five through eight, you see the evolution of the series."</p><p>Now <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stranger-things-netflix-ratings-2016-8">one of the most-watched</a> shows on Netflix, which is getting a second season, has put 21 Laps in the crosshairs of filmmakers who want to make unique content. Levy admits submissions into the office are at an all-time high. But the company currently has a slew of other projects either finished or in production.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57c84ae9b996eb5d128b596f-1024/arrival square paramount.jpg" alt="Arrival square Paramount" data-mce-source="Paramount" /><p class="source"><span>Paramount</span></p><p class="caption">"Arrival."</p></div><p></p></div></div>One of those is the upcoming award-season contender "Arrival," starring Amy Adams as a linguist who is chosen by the military to assist in communicating with aliens who have just landed on earth.</p><p>Levy, along with Dan Levine and Dan Cohen, came across a collection of short stories by sci-fi writer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Chiang" target="_blank">Ted Chiang</a> three years ago and found that the story they liked most, "Story of Your Life," had never been optioned for a movie.</p><p>The 21 Laps machine went into motion, and hired screenwriter Eric Heisserer ("Lights Out") and director Denis Villeneuve ("Prisoners," "Sicario").</p><p>"Arrival" is now one of the most anticipated movies of the fall (playing this week at the Toronto International Film Festival and then opening in theaters on November 11) and Adams is an early favorite to receive an Oscar nomination.</p><p>Levy admits he never considered directing "Arrival," but he's working on getting back to his features. Though he's busy producing a pair of indies, "Kodachrome" and the sci-fi action movie "Kin," he's eyeing his own remake of the 1984 Jeff Bridges sci-fi romance movie "Starman" - or as Levy calls it, a "reimagined remake" (he agrees the term is as annoying as you likely think it is).</p><p>He's also got his eye on a biopic on legendary rock promoter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Graham_(promoter)" target="_blank">Bill Graham</a>. But Levy admits both are far off in the distance. Right now he's enjoying being a producer and expanding 21 Laps' portfolio.</p><p>"21 Laps in its first 10 years was largely about finding, developing, and producing the movies that I directed and I think in this next chapter we will spend equal energy producing the movies of other filmmakers," said Levy, who mentioned that he's currently developing <a href="http://deadline.com/2014/06/damien-chazelle-movie-20th-century-fox-21-laps-791372/" target="_blank">the next movie</a> from "Whiplash" and "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle.</p><p>"Maybe it's because I'm a little more confident as a director, but I think I know that I can be an effective and happy producer. I really love it and I really love making the thing, but I also really love seeing the outcome. It's a different relationship to the material, but it's one that I now know I really enjoy." </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/batman-cosplay-sets-guinness-world-record-most-gadgets-2016-8">This incredibly detailed Batman costume just set a Guinness World Record</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="IxdDNrNTE6hVyFv2pOMoRR8cPcf6T9V5" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'IxdDNrNTE6hVyFv2pOMoRR8cPcf6T9V5',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Eric Heisserer" and got 8 results

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