The “Host” Diaries #1: The Idea Incubates

When people ask me where ideas (either mine or in general) come from, I never really know. I do have the feeling, though, that they tend to come from the brain being half-idle, half-engaged. It’s a state I find myself in, for example, when I’m reading an article, walking around in a museum, or talking to people1.

This was one of these cases. I was just standing around, talking to colleagues about who-knows-what, when it dawned on me the very obvious (and maybe commonplace) idea that the word “host” is used both for someone who is presenting a podcast to an audience, and for an organism that has another, usually a parasite, growing inside of itself. That very apparent connection was the environment in which “Host” grew.

I kicked around some options to go about it. I believe my colleagues and I were talking about true crime podcasts that day, so it was a part of the idea since its inception. I toyed with the possibility of a podcaster literally hosting something dark, evil inside him or herself, but quickly shed the idea. I didn’t want to go full into horror (as I often don’t), but stay in the “thriller/suspense” vicinity. Having recently watched the very interesting “Woman of the Hour”, starring and directed by Anna Kendrick, I gravitated towards a serial killer story, but through lenses that avoided glamorizing or fetishizing the murderer.

“Woman of the Hour”, dir. Anna Kendrick. 2023.

It was around that time that I decided I wanted to write it as a single-location, single-actor film. Not only was it a writing challenge for me (I had never done it before apart from some writing exercises), but it would also make it feasible for my recurring production team. If everything went according to plan, we could shoot this entire thing in one day. That was (and still is) a non-negotiable for the project. If it looks like we might need a second day, then what we really need is another pass at the script and my shot list. One location, one character.

Well, I did cheat around the last rule a little bit. I added a podcast producer, who stays outside the recording booth so we never hear him, and, of course, I also have the serial killer in the film. That said, I remained true to the original concept: we stay with Alice Welsh, our host, the entire time.

Having listed the main beats, I went for a first draft, and I found three problems while writing it. First, I was running long—almost eleven pages, which is a lot for the concept, structure, and production vision I was going for. Second, and very importantly, I was concerned with the message that the film was pointing towards. Even though we examine the toxicity of exploring criminal tragedies for profit, it felt to me like I was making the podcaster share the blame on the crimes themselves, which, of course, is absurd and not the point at all.

The natural consequence of problem #2 was problem #3: now the ending I had planned did not work anymore, because it would drive home a point I was not trying to make.

After struggling with those three points for a while, my solution was simple: I let the script and me rest for a little. I set it aside and went on to make revisions and beat sheets for other ideas while the cogs were still spinning in my head. After a week or so, I sat down with the script, still without an answer. In those situations, I tend to just push through and write, even if it’s not good (and it rarely is in those cases), so I can jump out of the hamster wheel.

And so I did. I finished the first draft, read it, made some notes, and so I was (kinda) ready to start for real and work through the first revision.

Up next:

#2: THE SCRIPT

1. And very rarely achieve it through scrolling through social media or mobile games. They still have their place, but I find them less and less relevant (and considerably detrimental) to creative processes. ↩︎