‘Obsession’ director reveals he turned down $2 million to change the film’s story

Director Curry Barker has revealed that several production companies wanted him to drastically change the storyline of his hit indie horror film Obsession which he refused despite being promised a much larger budget.

Speaking to Hollywood Reporter, the 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker said executives offered him up to two-million dollars to rewrite the script and transform the film’s protagonist, Bear, into a more heroic character.

“There were companies that told me they would give me $2 million if I just rewrote the script to make Bear a hero,” Barker said.

Released on May 15, Obsession was made on a reported budget of just $750,000 and has become one of the year’s biggest indie success stories. The film currently holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and has earned more than $287 million worldwide.

The movie follows Bear played by Michael Johnston, a hopeless romantic who breaks the mysterious “One Wish Willow” in an attempt to win over his crush Nikki played by Inde Navarrette. While his wish comes true, he soon discovers that getting everything he wants comes with dark and sinister consequences.

During the interview, Barker was asked about the film’s handling of consent and whether there was pressure to make the story’s moral stance more obvious.

The director explained that he deliberately wanted Bear to be a flawed character.

“I’m not rewriting the script to make Bear a guy that does all the right things,” Barker said. “It’s so much more interesting that he doesn’t do the right thing and instead keeps making bad decision after bad decision.”

Barker added that turning the film into a more conventional story would have taken away what made it compelling.

“The movie would have been so boring if Bear was going on a journey to figure out the lore of the One Wish Willow,” he said. “So I turned down more money to tell the story that I was more interested in telling.”