Paul Feig Talks Subverting Fairy Tale Tropes In ‘The School For Good & Evil,’ His Love Of Horror & More [The Playlist Podcast]

Paul Feig is a household name in the genre of comedy. From creating series such as “Freaks and Geeks” to directing massive hit films like “Bridesmaids” and “Spy,” Feig has really become one of the best comedic directors of the past couple of decades. Well, he’s beginning to explore other genres such as fantasy with his new film, “The School for Good and Evil.” And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, I got a chance to sit down with Feig to talk about the difficulties of the fantasy genre, deconstructing fairy tales, and why a horror project he’s developing has turned into his passion project. 

For those unfamiliar with Feig’s work, he has been a filmmaker working in the comedy genre for decades now. He’s obviously been involved in a number of TV series, including “Freaks and Geeks,” as well as directing episodes of “Arrested Development,” “The Office,” and many more. In film, he’s worked as the director of features such as “Bridesmaids,” “Spy,” “The Heat,” and “A Simple Favor.” His latest film is the YA fantasy, “The School for Good and Evil.”

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“The School for Good and Evil” tells the story of, well, two fairy tale schools. One for good teens to learn how to be heroes, and another for evil teens who will learn how to be successful villains. The film stars Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington as the headmasters of the two schools with folks like Laurence Fishburne, Sophia Anne Caruso, and Sofia Wylie also starring in the film. 

In our discussion, we talk quite a bit about the fantasy genre and the trick to adapting quality fairy tales for the big screen, especially when it comes to subverting tropes. 

“That’s the thing that made me want to do the movie, when I read the script for the first time,” said Feig about deconstructing the fairy tale genre. “This strong female friendship. She doesn’t leave with the prince. It’s very much about the power of friendship. It’s just a theme in all of my movies.”

READ MORE: ‘The School For Good And Evil’ Review

He added, “It was easy to not fall into the trap because the book was kinda hard-wired for that anyway. For me, the big draw was to deconstruct the whole idea of fairy tales because I am not a fan of fairy tales. [Laughs] When I was a kid, I hated fairy tales. I hated them. They were either too scary or they were too moralistic. There was just something about them I didn’t like.”

Of course, with “The School for Good and Evil” arriving on Netflix, it’s time to look at what’s next. And for Feig, that includes a possible sequel to his hit thriller, “A Simple Favor,” which marks the first time the filmmaker has actually toyed with the idea of a sequel. According to Feig, this is just a story that felt like a natural progression for him.

“I just felt like Stephanie and Emily have another adventure in them,” explained Feig, referring to the characters Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively play in the film. “It just felt like there is more we could do with this. I really love Stephanie, who Anna Kendrick plays, because putting someone in over their head is comedy gold… and it just felt like, ‘Let’s take Anna Kendrick’s character into a much crazier, bigger world and see what happens.’ And obviously, Emily is her tour guide into it.”

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Another project in development is “Dark Army,” which is Paul Feig’s take on the classic Universal Monsters and the horror genre. This is a film that the filmmaker says he’s “desperate to make.”

“That’s one I’m desperate to make. I’m such a fan of the old James Whale classic monster movies from Universal. And this was my ode to that but with new characters,” he said. “I think the studio felt it might be too expensive. I don’t agree. I just have to convince them.”

He continued, “I probably need to go in and do another draft and try to make it a little cheaper, I guess. But I’m not giving up on that one because that’s a real passion project for me. There’s nothing more dangerous than a passion project, but I really want to make it.”

You can hear our full discussion below. “The School for Good and Evil” is available on Netflix now. 

The Playlist Podcast is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes Bingeworthy, Be Reel, Deep Focus, The Fourth Wall, and The Discourse. We can be heard on iTunes, AnchorFM, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the Spotify embed within the article or click on the lead image at the top page. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast and our other shows regularly. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.