The Knockturnal had the opportunity to sit down with some of the cast and crew of the highly anticipated thriller “10 Cloverfield Lane.” Read what the cast had cast to say about the thriller.
What inspired this idea? Which one of you built your own Doomsday bunker?
Matthew Stuecken: It started with the idea of the beginning of the tale. That entire scene was what set off the story, so after seeing that idea in our minds we knew we had to sit down and write it out.
When the size of the cast was questioned in reference to the actors present, Mary Elizabeth Winstead who played Michelle and John Goodman who played the role of Howard, the members responded with:
Goodman: You have more lines. But with that you have more lines to memorize.
Winstead: When you have a cast like John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr. it’s never a dull moment with a small cast. It’s like a master class for acting, so it was amazing to be able to work with them and learn so much.
The structure of the cast and the film was also brought up with screenwriters Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken, but Campbell explained the general reaction the two had to the end nature of the film.
Campbell: We thought there was a market for small contained thrillers. We sat down to write something that was really makeable, and we knew Bad Robot wanted to do it but we didn’t think it would be this big.
When looking for the other sense of inspiration for the film, in terms of visuals and direction Trachtenberg explained his heavy inspiration from video, such as “The Last of Us”, he wanted to ensure the film was less like something the audience was watching and more like something they were experiencing. But the highlight of bringing that video game experience like quality to the film was aptly put by the young director.
Tractenberg: Mary is the best special effect of the movie.
He went on to say that within the shots and the nature of the story, it was only through actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s portrayal and depiction of the character where audience members able to feel as if they were a part of the story. Which naturally brings up the question of what essentially drew the actress to the role even with her track record of picking strong female characters.
Winstead: She’s kind of a badass from the beginning. With most female roles if they’re a badass they tend to be weak in the beginning and then become strong later on. As soon as she gets there she’s active and thinking how is she going to get out of there. There’s not a second that she’s passive, she’s always trying to figure something out.
There are a lot of people who love movies and they hate when everything is given away in the trailer. Obviously this isn’t the case for this particular film. At what point was it decided to shroud the movie in secrecy? This was probably one of the most secretive films you’ve worked on, what was that like?
Goodman: We would get the rewrites written on toilet paper in urine. That would slowly come to light in a microwave. The unfortunate thing was when we had to eat the script.
Trachtenberg: We weren’t supposed to talk about that.
Goodman: Now that I’ve broken the contract I will be joining the waterfront. Around 65th street if you want to visit.
Trachtenberg: It’s very much JJ’s thing. I hoped it would come to fruition with the trailers and stuff without giving much away. I feel that it’s harkening back to a time when we only found out so much about a movie from a trailer. I remember when I went to a movie called Dave, in the theater is when I saw the trailer for Jurassic Park and thought “What is that movie? I have to go see it!” I think that’s a really important feeling to provide for the public now.
How much of the movie should the audience be seeing as a sequel, prequel type deal with the original Cloverfield?
Campbell: We wrote an original screenplay, and Cloverfield wasn’t in our minds at the moment. During the writing process we thought it could have been in the Cloververse. I think now when people see it they will realize, it fits with the tone and the verse and feeling and we knew this was the right direction for the story.
Dan Trachtenberg this is his first film, if you go online you can see his fabulous shorts, but looking at your longer track records how long did it take to adjust? What was it like working with a first time director?
Goodman: It always takes time to adjust to anyone when working with them, but I don’t think it was ever a thought that crossed my mind. I never knew this was his first time directing. He always gave me wonderful direction and input, which was valuable because I can get tunnel vision while acting and only see things one way. I never knew once that it was his first time, he was very confident while directing.
Winstead: I agree. It wasn’t a thought that ever crossed my mind. He provided wonderful feedback and helped me get into the mindset of the character to be able to portray her the way that she should have been.
How challenging was it to find levity amongst all the intensity? What do you think is so appealing about dark themes?
Stuecken: I think in any movie like this, you need to give the audience a break. If you keep them feeling like something bad is gonna happen every second of the film, it becomes too much and you tend to become numb to it. We were lucky to have worked with such a confident first time director and such great performances so you’re in this bunker for so long but you want to be there. They’re such engaging people and I think that’s a testament to the work that the actors and the director did.
Campbell: I think to be fair also, the actors found stuff that we didn’t always necessarily see in some of the lines, which really elevated them beyond anything we can hope.
Trachtenberg: There are two awesome quotes from Wes Craven that were very inspirational to me, specifically to this movie. One was that “horror movies are boot camps for the soul” and that “horror movies don’t create fear, they release fear” and I think the thing about that, especially with this movie is that it’s very much about the fear of the unknown and so much in life is very overwhelming because we don’t know how things are going to turn out. To be able to see a movie that is really put through the paces and have this very intense and exciting experience to know you will come out the other side as victorious is very useful to us and is something to cathartically release all of those fears through. I think that will always be attractive to people, to kind of release all those tensions you get in life.
Goodwin: Kind of like getting on a 6 train in the morning.
The cast and crew made clear the thought and dedication that was put forth in the making of the film and clarified many speculations that have been spread around in the public. The mutual respect between the cast emphasizes the chemistry put forth on the screen with the intense characters. Touching upon technical decisions with Trachtenberg, and the influence of producer JJ Abrams, many shots were done with innovation to provide as realistic of storytelling as possible. Many of the grueling stunts of Winstead’s character Michelle were done by the actress, connecting back to her dedication to remain true to Trachtenberg’s vision for the character. The entire film’s basis was to bring the audience into the movie, so it’s not just a visual story, but one each person lives through. With a riveting script, dedicated actors, and an ambitious director, 10 Cloverfield Lane provides viewers a thrilling ride that will leave them on the edge of their seats.
The film is now playing!
