Exclusive Interview with Warm Bodies Author Isaac Marion

2013/02/01 21:08:04 +00:00 | Jonathan James

Fans of the Warm Bodies novel don't just have the movie to look forward to this week. A prequel novella, titled The New Hunger, was also released, and I had a chance to talk with author Isaac Marion about a variety of topics related to the movie and his written works. Continue reading to learn about his involvement on the Warm Bodies movie, his plans for a sequel, and The New Hunger:

Thank you for taking the time to talk with Daily Dead. Can you tell our readers about your start as a writer and what inspired you to write Warm Bodies?

Isaac Marion: I started writing when I was 14 and wrote three awful novels before finally starting to figure it out with Warm Bodies. It began as a simple POV experiment--what would happen if I dived into the mind of a zombie and just started writing? What would his thoughts be like? From there, the story developed into something surprisingly personal, based on a transformation I was attempting in my own life and social issues I was observing in the world around me.

Many of our readers are looking forward to the upcoming Warm Bodies movie. Did you have a chance to spend time on set? What does it feel like to see your written work come to live in this way?

Isaac Marion: I spent two weeks on the set and got to know everyone really well. Some of the cast are now people I hang out with in normal life; that's how close and familial the production was. Watching them translate my imaginings into tangible reality was...there's really just nothing to compare it to. I can't think of any other experience in life that creates a feeling similar to that. Surreal is the only word I can find to describe it.

When it came to the development of the movie, did you have any creative input?

Isaac Marion: Jonathan [Levine] consulted me many times throughout the writing process and asked me for notes on two drafts of the script. They definitely seemed to care what I thought and wanted my feedback, but I wasn't co-writing or micromanaging anything. Jonathan had a vision for how to make my weird, complicated story work on screen and I wanted to step back and let him do his thing.

I heard you have a cameo in the movie. Where/when should we keep an eye out for you? Can you tell us about your experience joining the ranks of the living dead?

Isaac Marion: When R is bringing Julie into the airport for the first time, if you look very carefully in the scene where they walk through the metal detectors, you'll see me stumbling by in the background, but it's basically just a tall shape with a beard. It was funny because they spent an hour on my makeup, the horribly painful contacts and everything--I had as much detail as Nicholas Hoult--and I'm not even in focus in the shot. But at least I got some great Facebook photos out of it.

This week saw the release of your Warm Bodies prequel novella, The New Hunger. Was this a story you always wanted to tell or did you recently decide you wanted to write this?

Isaac Marion: This story always existed as backstory for the characters, and much of it is referenced in Warm Bodies--Nora's deadbeat parents and her missing finger, Julie's crooked teeth and the mental decline of her mother, etc, and of course, R's death and undead rebirth--but I never thought I'd have a chance to actually tell the stories. Even so, I wouldn't have written this prequel if it wasn't important to setting up what's going to be happen in the sequel. It's sort of a bridge between the two novels.

I've heard that you're planning a sequel to Warm Bodies. Can you give me more details on what we can expect? Do you have a target release date in mind?

Isaac Marion: I'm not even finished outlining it so I don't really have a plot synopsis yet. About all I can say is that it will be larger in scope and even more difficult to fit in a genre. It's less about zombies specifically and more about death itself as it emerges from abstraction and becomes a literal force in the world. It's about R and Julie fighting that force and trying to build a better humanity.
And no, I have no idea when it will be done. Hopefully it won't take longer than a year, but I'm not going to rush this no matter what deals may be offered to me. It's way too complex to fit into a deadline.

How do you plan to avoid the sequel curse and create something as impressive or more impressive than Warm Bodies?

Isaac Marion: I'm trying not to look at it as a sequel in the traditional sense. I'm not going to sit down and think, "How can I recreate the magic of the first one and make sure I give the fans a second helping of everything they like?" I'm looking at it as just "my next novel" and trying not to let the beats I established in Warm Bodies dictate where I go with this. I'm giving it freedom to be different. It will have a different voice--possibly multiple voices. It'll be a bit darker, less cute, less easily mistaken for a YA book. Whatever it needs to be to fit the story, I'm going to make it that. And if I lose a few people for the crime of not repeating myself, I'm okay with that. That's the great thing about having a successful debut. I'm not starving anymore, so I can afford to take these risks.

With the success of the novel and there being plenty of buzz for the movie, how has your life changed? Are you enjoying all of the attention that the movie has brought?

Isaac Marion: By far the biggest change was being able to quit my job and write full time, but that happened over two years ago. With this new surge of attention, the main thing I'm looking forward to is having the necessary clout to force my less commercial ideas into publication. At least that's my hope, that if the movie is a big hit and I sell lots of books, I'll be able to do whatever I want creatively and still have an audience, even if it's not the same audience.

Aside from the Warm Bodies sequel, are there any other projects you have planned for the near future?

Isaac Marion: I recently finished a screenplay about a guy who gets nonconsensually cloned and has to figure out how to share his life with his doppelgänger. After that, I have three other ideas for novels that I'm really excited to write, none of which have anything to do with zombies or young love and will probably alienate most of my current fan base. Should be fun!

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For more information on The New Hunger, we have an exclusive excerpt you can read at: