Chris Colfer's Crazy Next Project - EXCLUSIVE
2012 is poised to be the biggest year yet in Chris Colfer's already incredibly successful career.
On April 10, Glee will return with a fresh batch of new episodes, which all lead up to Kurt's big high school graduation (fret not, as Insider.com first reported, Chris will be back in season four). April 21 brings the world premiere of Chris' feature-writing debut when Struck By Lightning screens at The Tribeca Film Festival while his debut novel, Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, hits shelves on July 17.
Like I said, big year.
But that's not all! As I discovered during my exclusive chat with Chris this afternoon, another idea that's been banging around his brain has finally made its way to paper. So what is Chris' next script about? And what do the final season three episodes of Glee have in store for us? Keep reading to find out!
Insider.com: We're less than a month away from the world premiere of Struck By Lightning -- how are you feeling?
Chris Colfer: I can not wait. I'm giddy [but] terrified to see it with an audience. Recently I saw it with an audience full of my family and friends. It's going to be quite a different audience in NY – I'm terrified of that. There's a lot of pressure on this for me.
Insider: What were some of the reactions you got at that friends and family screening?
Chris: The best reaction I got, and I got this a lot, was, "Oh my God Chris, we're so glad that was good! We talked in the car on the way here about what we'd say if it was bad." That was the most honest reaction, so it was the best.
Insider: Are you working on any other movie scripts right now?
Chris: Yes. This next one is definitely a genre change for me. It's not set in the high school world. For the first time, it's something I had to do a lot, a lot, a lot of research for before I started working. It's a period piece that takes place at an asylum in the early 30s. It's interesting because while I was doing my research I met with a UCLA professor to talk about different disorders and conditions of asylums back in the day and I got so many suggestive looks on the Glee set because I would have all my books with me. People kept asking, "Chris, why are you reading books on asylums and schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder?" I think everyone thought I finally lost it when I was reading the Coping With Mental Illness book [laughs].
Chris Colfer Talks Glee Season Four
Insider: Sounds scary -- is it a horror movie?
Chris: It's not horror. There's no ghosts or monsters popping out at you. It's almost like a movie about characters after they have an experience like characters do in a horror movie. Almost like the aftermath of what a traumatic experience, a la a horror movie, would do to someone.
Insider: What inspired you to write this movie?
Chris: Honestly, I just wanted to do something really fun and something I hadn't done before -- something kind of creepy. Instead of waiting to find a script, I just thought, "I'll write it myself." And we have a director and producer attached already.
Insider: Will you be starring in this one as well?
Chris: I created a supporting role for myself in this one. I'm not the lead. It's a role that people don't write for young men, unfortunately. These types of roles are few and far between, so I thought, screw it – I'll write it myself!
Insider: It feels like the only hurdle left for you to jump is directing -- does that interest you?
Chris: It's so funny because every one wants me to direct. I'd rather just create the characters at home in my pajamas than be on a set for 20 hours a day, coming up with shots. There are definitely a few things that I would absolutely direct – like if someone called me and said, "Do you want to direct a Candyland movie?" I'd jump at it, but directing is not my goal.
Insider: Fair enough. On another note, Glee is coming off a pretty sizable hiatus on April 10 -- how excited are you for fans to see what's coming up?
Chris: Oh, very excited. We have some great episodes coming up – there's the Whitney Houston tribute episode, a Bee Gees tribute episode and the episode where Rachel & Kurt finally audition for NYADA. We got to work with Whoopi [Goldberg] who I absolutely love more than life itself. It's really cool because Whoopi is the reason I started performing in the first place. Sister Act came out in 1992 and it was the first movie I was obsessed with. My mom used to tell me that she'd come home from work and I'd be standing in the living room with a towel on my head saying, "I want to watch Whoopi!" Singing along with the nuns in Sister Act is the first time I've ever performed.
Insider: In addition to Whoopi, you also have Lindsay Lohan coming on the show -- what do you think about her going from subject of Glee mocking to a guest star?
Chris: There seems to be a pattern with Glee – first we insult you, then we hire you. We did the same thing with John Stamos. If you've been insulted by our show, expect a phone call [laughs]. I think it's funny. A lot of people have strong opinions about it, but I think the fact Lindsay Lohan is judging a show choir competition is pretty damn funny.
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