Like the film that has made him Hollywood's auteur du jour, Oren Peli would rather leave some things to the imagination.
Including his thoughts about a sequel to Paranormal Activity, the handheld horror thriller he wrote and directed for $15,000 that has so far grossed $65 million.
"I don't think I should comment on that," Peli says with a chuckle when asked whether he would be involved in a follow-up or even if he considers it a wise idea. (Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, anyone? Anyone?)
Fair enough. So would he prefer to discuss the project he's shooting right now, Area 51? No, actually.
Instead, he explains, he'd rather have the audience discover it for themselves. But then this is Peli's dilemma -- no matter what he does (or how little he divulges), he can only come out of nowhere once.
In his case, nowhere was four years ago when he was so unsure about Paranormal's prospects that he didn't tell family or friends he was even making it.
"I told just the few people involved," he says. "But it wasn't that much money and even if nothing came of it, I thought it would still be a fun experience."
He certainly never suspected that little more than a year after production wrapped, Paranormal -- about a young couple terrorized by spirits in their suburban home -- would create a stir at the Slamdance film festival in January 2008. Or that DreamWorks and Paramount would snap up the rights for $300,000 with the intention of remaking it.
