Now, it\u2019s making headlines again. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A crew member involved in the making of the horror film is sharing a hard truth about the production. <\/p>\n
Art director, Sally Choi, has taken to social media complaining about how much she was paid for her involvement on the film directed, written and edited by 26-year-old YouTuber, Curry Barker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve debated this for a long time. I\u2019ve been holding a lot of weight over the past two years since the production of Obsession, so I\u2019m going to say it as it is. Obssn (sic) was made for $750K and is projected to make $250M. How much I made: $300\/day as Art Director. This came out to $6741.36 after taxes. No mileage,\u201d she shared on Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI did know the rate beforehand and agreed to it, but atp I was living paycheck to paycheck. This is the reality of most filmmakers especially those who work below the line. We become a line in the budget sheet to keep as low as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Choi continues her rant, admitting her role wasn\u2019t limited to just art direction, and will forever regret not speaking up at the time. <\/p>\n \u201cI kick myself every single day for not flipping this production. I was encouraged not to and I naively listened,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n \u201cAs is the case for most low budget productions, everyone has to wear many, many hats. Though my official title is art director, I was also a PA, set dresser, graphic designer, background actor, driver, swing, and buyer. I was doing runs for the art dept (again, no mileage). I was shopping, loading, returning while the rest of the crew were on set.\u201d<\/p>\n Choi shares that the stress during production took \u201cphysical toll\u201d on her body and ends the post with a plea: \u201cIf you were a crew member on Obsession and feel called to share your rate, maybe we can turn a tide in the film industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Choi\u2019s post amassed over 3000 comments, and in an interesting turn, many roasted the crew member instead of siding with her. <\/p>\n \u201cMan, what a choice. Sign on to a low budget indie. Agree to rate. Movie explodes. You\u2019re suddenly the Art Director of the most talked about film of the year. If this ever happens to you, let me give one piece of advice. Embrace it. Use the credit to fight off offers, get a BTL agent, turn those difficult three weeks into an incredible career,\u201d one person wrote on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cShe should use OBSESSION to get better-paying jobs immediately, because that is usually how this business works. But everyone on that movie was gambling. The difference is the gamble actually paid off,\u201d another agreed. <\/p>\n And another added: \u201cYou literally were the art director for the most TALKED ABOUT original film of 2026. You could leverage that and charge an extremely high rate on your next films and become so insanely rich and in demand. Instead, she chose to complain about a rate that he agreed to. This makes people in the industry think that you\u2019re hard to work with.\u201d <\/p>\n Obsession first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, where it began quietly building its terrifying reputation.<\/p>\n It follows the story of Bear (Michael Johnston), a timid music store clerk who uses a cursed antique novelty toy known as the \u201cOne Wish Willow\u201d to make his childhood crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), fall in love with him.<\/p>\n The wish is granted, but what follows is a slow, sinister unravelling of everything Bear thought he wanted.<\/p>\n Obsession is in cinemas now. <\/p>\n