CraveOnline had a chance to speak with Goosebumps director Rob Letterman at Comic-Con 2014. Our very own Erin Darling asked Mr. Letterman about Jack Black and how he related with R.L. Stine during a set visit (Black plays him in the film), as well as diving a little deeper into how the books influenced his past and the seemingly heavy burden of the responsibility of translating the reading experience into a film that isn’t a direct pull from any prior stories but is entirely unique.
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Rob Letterman is a graduate of USC and has been a director for some years now. His most popular films are ones you’ve likely seen with your friends, family, or with your children. Notable movies in his directing repertoire include: Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens (Nominated at Annecy International Animated Film Festival for Best Feature), and Gulliver’s Travels (also starring Jack Black). Each of these had very well-known star talent voicing the charming characters and playing the roles throughout. Letterman did receive an Annie nomination for co-writing Shark Tale in 2004. The Hawaiian native, before he joined up with DreamWorks Animation, directed Los Gringos. It was accepted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000.
His newest (and recently completed) project, Goosebumps, follows the story of young Zach Cooper, who moves into a small town in Maryland and meets a girl named Hannah. Her father, author R.L. Stine (Jack Black), contains the monsters from his stories locked within books. The film shows the dramatic accidental release of these creatures by Zach; all three of these characters must team up and put these monsters right back where they came from, somehow.
Goosebumps is set to hit theaters on August 7th, 2015 in the US. Make sure to check out CraveOnline‘s continuing Comic-Con 2014 coverage, and stay tuned for more!
