Fresh off the critically acclaimed finale of “Barry,” creator/star/writer/director Bill Hader went in another direction and dove headfirst into writing a horror feature — only to have his confidence shaken when an unnamed producer dismissed the script as “mean-spirited, horrible, disturbing, and cynical.” The story came to light during a candid conversation between Hader and director Ari Aster on a recent episode of The A24 Podcast discussing Aster’s pandemic thriller, “Eddington.”
“I had written a horror movie right after ‘Barry’ wrapped,” Hader revealed to Aster. “I didn’t really take a break… I kind of went right into writing this feature.” The project, which remains untitled and unrevealed, was initially met with a frosty reception. “I had a meeting with a big producer — actually, a very smart, lovely guy,” Hader said. “But his response to it was so bad.”
The producer, whose identity Hader declined to share, reportedly recoiled at the script’s tone. “This is so mean-spirited and horrible and everything,” he told Hader, also calling it “disturbing” and “cynical.”
Hader, for his part, was baffled. “I was like, yeah, it’s a horror movie,” he recalled. “Did you not see my TV show?”
The reaction cut deeper than Hader expected. “It did kind of… I really lost my confidence,” he admitted. “And I think it was just because I was very vulnerable after finishing ‘Barry’, and this kind of pressure of like, ‘What are you going to do next?’ — or whatever. That was all self-imposed. No one was asking me that. It was just my own neurosis.”
As a result, Hader shelved the script — at least for a while.
What eventually rekindled his inspiration? A viewing of “Eddington,” Aster’s latest film. “I mentioned this to you after I saw ‘Eddington’,” Hader told Aster. “That movie inspired me to go back to it.”
The podcast episode, billed as a film school-style deep dive, covered everything from watching “A Clockwork Orange” at childhood sleepovers to using genre as a vessel for personal storytelling. However, the emotional honesty of Hader’s anecdote stood out as a reflection of the quiet turbulence artists often face after a major creative chapter closes.
While Hader hasn’t yet confirmed whether the horror script is officially back in development, his remarks suggest it’s no longer gathering dust. And if the tone truly mirrors the darkness of the later “Barry” seasons, audiences may want to brace themselves. As for us, put that movie into our eyeballs immediately, thanks.
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