Interview with Jonathan Wright, director for Awakening the Zodiac
By Steven G. Farrell
www.celtic-badger.com
Awakening the Zodiac, a new feature film about the return of the infamous Zodiac Killer, is set to be released in theaters across the United States on June 9th. I have now had the wonderful opportunity to engage in a lengthy telephone conversation with Jonathan Wright, the director of Awakening the Zodiac. Jonathan also wrote the final script used for the shooting of the film.
I was pleased to discover that Jonathan has a deep interest, as well as an intense knowledge, in the complex Zodiac case. The Zodiac Killer murdered at least five people and maimed two others during the period running from December of 1968 to October of 1969. However, many experts in all things pertaining to the Zodiac contend that this man was also responsible for four additional murders: a couple in Santa Barbara, 1963, a college coed in Riverside, 1966, and a casino nurse in Lake Tahoe, 1970. The Zodiac claimed to have murdered upwards to 37 people in one of his communications to the public. There is also a well-grounded fear by some that the number could even be higher, and that geographical mapping of Zodiac victims could even extend further than is generally believed.
What makes the Zodiac Killer such a compelling figure for movies and books after all of these years is that his identity still remains a mystery. Nobody has ever be charged for any of the murders attributed to the villain known as the Zodiac. So many questions still remain unanswered. Did the Zodiac’ murderous career end abruptly in 1969, or did he continue his bloody spree beneath the radar of the police? Was the Zodiac able to go cold turkey and stop the demonic rage that propelled his attacks? Did the man in the black mask and self-designed executioner costume work as a solo act or did he have an accomplice? Did the police departments working on the case (San Francisco, Vallejo and Napa) ever really have the Zodiac’s true fingerprints and DNA? What about the handwriting: would the Zodiac be foolish enough to use his own penmanship in his taunting letters to the police and the media?
I was curious to see what light Jonathan Wright had to shed on the Zodiac.

1) (SGF) Please give us an overview of your career in the film industry.
(JW) I’ve been in the business for 25 years. Working my way up through the ranks in production and working as a script doctor until 8 years ago when I wrote and directed my first feature.

2) (SGF) What sparked your interest in the Zodiac Killer?
(JW) Michael Baker the producer of Awakening the Zodiac approached me with the project. I immediately jumped at the chance to enter a world I knew a little about. He’s one of the most fascinating killers in history.

3) (SGF) Would you give us some insight about the research you did in preparation for your screenplay? I noticed that you had an interest in the codes that the Zodiac sent to the newspapers.
(JW) I spent most of my time digging through the FBI’s files on the Zodiac. The cipher’s were so interesting to me and the fact that one was never solved, it seemed obvious to me that this should be the main plot point of the movie.
4) (SGF) You expressed an interest in serial killers in general. How would you compare and contrast the Zodiac with serial killers such as Jack the Ripper, BTK, Ted Bundy or the Green River Killer?
(JW) They are all terrifying in their own right. Jack the Ripper seemed to set the profile for many serial killers to come by killing sex workers, citizens that quite often are forgotten or nobody cares about. BTK, Bundy and the Green River Killer seem to share to insatiable appetite for killing. It’s interesting the BTK found a solution to curbing his appetite for blood using auto-erotic asphyxia. I believe that the Zodiac killer was probably imprisoned for another crime which led to his disappearance. The Zodiac also seemed to me as someone very mad at the world, the government in particular. That made him stand out among these other serial killers

5) (SGF) Which of the four canonical Zodiac attacks influenced you the most in the development of your script? Please connect them the possibility that the Zodiac and an accomplice actually filmed the attacks to make their own homemade “snuff films.”
The image of Bryan Hartnell’s VW Karmman Ghia’s door with the writing on it, including the symbol, the dates of his previous attacks and the words “By knife” resonated with me. His taunting of the police. The witness accounts of Zodiac flashing a bright light in his victim’s eyes and that the zodiac symbol could have been the countdown on a film strip attracted me to the theory that he filmed his kills. I’ve also heard the theory that there was a team of men, which seems a little less likely, but possible.
6) (SGF) Why do you think the Zodiac eluded justice for many years? Could it be because he was a criminal mastermind or a genius? What was his motivation in creating his Zodiac alter ego?
(JW) I believe he eluded justice the same way most serial killers do. The killing of random people without any personal connection. When someone kills, they are usually driven by passion or malice. When a serial killer strikes, it is almost always without any personal connection with the victims. His alter ego for me was a tool to heighten the terror that he inflicted.
7) What chance is there that the Zodiac is still alive? Are you afraid that Awakening the Zodiac will provoke a response from you?
(JW) For me, I believe it was Arthur Leigh Allen, that helps me sleep at night seeing as he is dead, but there are many theories out there. Some people think that there was three men working together, some think it was two completely separate killers taking credit for all of the murders. There are theories out there of men who are still alive that have never been mentioned in any interviews or research that people think are the Zodiac. Sometimes that keeps me up at night.
8) Did the actors (Shane West, Leslie Bibb and Matt Craven) in the film share your interest in the Zodiac?
Matt Craven learned how to solve Ciphers and studied the Zodiac’s cipher which amazed me. Leslie Bibb had previously taken the FBI training course for a previous project. Shane West is a hardcore genre fan so they all came to the project with so much.
9) What’s next for you?
(JW) I’m currently casting a super fun heist movie while also writing a couple of serial killer thrillers!