The new horror thriller WISH UPON centers on a young girl, Clare (Joey King), and the diabolically powerful box that starts to consume her. Her struggling father, Jonathan (Ryan Phillippe), and a friend, Ryan (Ki Hong Lee), are two of the people in her life that try to rescue her soul before it is too late.

I recently had the pleasure of take part in a round-table interview with these three actors, were they talked about their experience creating this film, and many other topics. Here are some of the highlights of the exchange.

WISH UPON opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, July 14.

On their reaction after reading the script

Joey King

When you get goosebumps aftera reading something, you know that it’s going to be good. The story is amazing, and I like how we have a crazy twist at the end.

Ryan Phillippe

I was surprised how much I liked it. When they sent it to me I thought “It’s a thriller with high school kids, and I am going to play the dad… That sucks!” [Laughs]. But then I read it and had such a good time. And I also liked the fact that may 17-years-old daughter could watch it with her friends. It also reminded me of the movies I started my career with, like “I know what you did last summer,” and other horror thrillers from the 90’s that had the right amount of scares and humor.

Ki Hong Lee

What drew me to the story was that you have a guy searching for the truth. He is a classmate of Clare, and has a major crush on her since when they were younger. He helps her to figure out what the mystery of the box is really about.

On the non-human star, the box

Joey King

The box takes over her life, and seduces her. By the time that she realizes what it is doing, she has become obsessed with it.

Ryan Phillippe

There were like seven different versions of the box, all for different purposes. For example, one was made of rubber so she could throw it against the wall when she got mad. Also, one that couldn’t be opened, for a specific scene.

Joey King

There was always a box to replace a box, if something happened to that box.

On modern bullying

Ryan Phillippe

Bullying was so much more overt in my generation. We didn’t have social media as a way to picking on people. As a parent that’s the trickiest part.

Joey King

I posted a video on Instagram today. I started reading the comments and said “Oh!” It was sad.

On working with Ryan Phillippe

Joey King

He was amazing. We had a difficult scene together, but when someone gives you so much emotion, it means a lot. His character is great at playing the saxophone, but Ryan was so bad! [Laughs]. The fact that he can look like a fantastic sax player while being atrocious proves that he is a great actor.

On working with Director John R. Leonetti

Joey King

John set the tone for such an amazing set. When you have so many emotional scenes, it is great to have someone that always says positive things and keep things light. It felt good coming to work, and the days felt shorter because you knew that John was going to be there cheering you on, no matter what.

WISH UPON opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, July 14.

 

A teen girl discovers a magical box that will grant her seven wishes. As she uses her wishes for personal gain, bad things begin to happen to those around her. She discovers an evil entity lives inside the box and may be behind the gruesome deaths.