Untamed Talent
by Savas Abadsidis on 2012-05-29

Jeff Davis is one of the hottest young talents in Hollywood. A prolific writer, Davis generated nearly a screenplay a month during his undergraduate days at Vassar. He went on to graduate from USC's prestigious screenwriting program, and created his first big hit, CBS' Criminal Minds now in it's seventh season and more recently nearly single handedly saved MTV's attempt at producing original scripted entertainment with his awesome re-imagining of Teen Wolf, which was a runaway hit and whose second season premieres this Sunday June 3rd after the MTV Movie Awards. Jeff took a moment from his superbusy schedule to talk to Escape Republic.

What is your favorite place to escape to when you have an opportunity?

My favorite weekend getaway is actually San Diego. It's close enough to Los Angeles so that I can get there by car, but far enough that you can breathe some air unencumbered by thick layers of smog. I'm a big hotel guy and they have some beautiful modern hotels down there with plenty of rock star poolside service which I love. I'd have to say one of the nicest hotels I've stayed at, though, is The Four Seasons in Costa Rica. Now that was some luxury.

What are three essential items you must have when traveling?

I think the iPad has become the best on-the-go device ever created. One thing I almost always bring if I'm staying longer than a weekend, though, is a portable speaker. I wish I could say I leave my laptop at home, but I am never without it. So I'm always the guy at the airport security check who has to pull his laptop out of the bag and put it in an extra carton.

If you crash landed on a deserted isle, what are 5 things you couldn't live without (provided you found water and a source of food)?

A lighter. I'd be the loser spending four days trying to figure out how to get kindling to light. A toothbrush. I've felt the pain of a cavity-induced toothache. A knife. A comfortable pair of shoes. And most of all... Music. I don't think I could survive without hearing music. I'd probably have to figure out a way to create electricity to run my iPad, Computer or iPhone.

What's it been like doing Teen Wolf? Is this the culmination of a dream?

It's been two and a half years of almost non-stop work. Even weekends. But it's also been work with people I admire and love, cast and crew both. More than anything it's fun. I get to shift from one genre to the next, from horror to comedy to romance and get to do a serialized show that tells essentially a twelve hour story. That is immensely gratifying for a storyteller.

What surprises can we expect in season two?

More werewolves, more death, blood, romance, thrills. We wrung every penny dry in our limited budget to make this season entertaining. Hopefully the audience agrees.

Jeff Davis is the Executive Producer of Teen Wolf on MTV and creator of Criminal Minds on CBS.