We wanted to have something great to deliver to him.
James is such a crazed horror buff that we were just talking about what we could write together.
JAMES RODAY:It was my first foray into television writing.
USA Network
We havent really done a [Detective Juliet OHara] episode and were almost done with the season.
So, I immediately went toBlack ChristmasandHouse on Sorority Row.
MAGGIE LAWSON:Ihad so much fun with that.
I was the girl.
So, I felt by that episode I got to be funny.
JOHN LANDIS:I just got called, Would you come up and do this show?
And I thought, Well, I dont know.
Then, James called me and was very convincing on the phone, so I did it.
The killer was dressed in a suit of armor at the top of the staircase with an ax.
Steve was like, I just dont think we can do that.
Then we went back to the drawing board and came up with the old toaster in the bathtub.
My first thought was, Well, how grisly are these killings?
How scary can I make them?
So that was a balance to strike.
We were like, Well, no… Hes like, Then you do the stunt!
Trust me, its worth it.
It was just the perfect storm.
My eyes go really big.
They really wanted this shot of my eyes looking really big.
So, here we are, Im on the set and Im like, Wheres the stunt ax?
There is no stunt ax.
They had a trained professional landing that shot.
FRANKS:This was the first serious salvo for the battle for complete insanity on the show.
[The web link was] like, We dont know what were going to do with this.
Guess we have to go along.
The thing that saved it is that it looked amazing.
It looked like a movie.
Johns the one who brought true, huge production value to the show.
It became the marker of what this show can and will be.
Roday and Franks co-wrotePsych: The Movie, which will air Dec. 7 on USA data pipe.
