Jessica Lucas in "CSI" [above] and Cloverfield [top, far right, with Lizzy Caplan and Michael Stahl-David].Note: This article is currently appearing in the February issue of Venice Magazine.
The Monster Break of Cloverfield star Jessica LucasBy Terry Keefe
The schedule of Jessica Lucas has suddenly gotten extremely full. In the week after the record-breaking opening of Cloverfield, the young actress is so busy with auditions that we’ve had to do this phone interview at 11:30 at night. Understandable under the circumstances, as is her obvious continued enthusiasm for the project. The film, directed by Matt Reeves, and produced by J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk, arrived like the giant creature at the center of the film to eat the usually morbid January box office, and its leads, relative unknowns for the most part until now, are suddenly on every studio casting list. Lucas plays Lily, one of the group of Manhattan twentysomethings who get stuck inside the rampage of a giant monster of unknown origin, as they attempt to save a friend trapped inside a demolished building. The video tapes recorded by one of them during their rescue mission are found in the remains of Central Park and form the narrative of the film.
Prior to the Cloverfield break-out, Vancouver-native Lucas had joined the cast of “CSI” last year as a recurring character, and she completed four episodes prior to the Writers Strike. Next up will be the April release of Amusement, where Lucas stars as one of three friends who are being stalked by a man from their childhood.
You couldn’t see the monster while you were actually shooting. What kind of direction did Matt Reeves give you in terms of how to react to it?
Jessica Lucas: Matt had shown us some pre-visualization shots of the monster, like 30 seconds worth, of the monster attacking, so that gave us an idea of what it basically looked like. Then the hardest part for all of us was getting everyone to react in the right way, and at once. So Matt would yell, “Monster!” or “Statue of Liberty head!” and then we’d have to react. It was the timing that was the hardest. We all had to react at exactly the same time. If you were off at all, it looked really funny.
How close was the monster in the finished film to the pre-visualization stuff that you saw?
It was pretty close, but it was only 50 percent done [in terms of design] then. The final monster has a lot more appendages and is scarier-looking.
The details of Cloverfield were kept under lock and key for a very long time, and it was called “Untitled J.J. Abrams Project” during the early stages of preproduction. So I assume you didn’t know much about what you were auditioning for?
Yeah, when we first auditioned, it had no title. I actually thought I was auditioning for Star Trek, because that was the big buzz around town, that this project was really Star Trek. The part I read for was just a generic character. It gave me no idea what the story was about. Even when I actually booked it, I didn’t know. We finally got a completed script 2 weeks before shooting. I had no idea it was a monster movie until then.
What was your reaction when you found out?
[laughs] I think I was a little apprehensive. Sci-fi is not my favorite genre to watch. But I knew I was working with talented people. And the script had a very strong character base to develop from.
Did you prepare by watching a bunch of giant monster movies when you knew what the genre was?
I didn’t [laughs]. What we actually did watch was footage from different disasters to figure out how people reacted in those situations. Something that surprised me was how much people actually did film while these things were going on. What was also surprising was how silent the crowds often were during a disaster. The footage was often scarier for that reason.
Did you have any concerns because some of the shots directly reference well-known footage from 9/11, such as the big cloud of smoke which the crowds are running from?
Yes, and there are obviously some images which would remind of 9/11. But it’s also mainly the scenes in the beginning when the characters don’t know what is happening. Those characters lived in New York, and through 9/11, so they would be worried and want to know what is happening here. But once the monster actually appeared, I think it became a movie about a monster, and not terrorism.
What type of rehearsal period did you have prior to shooting?
We had a brief rehearsal to talk in general about what direction to go with the characters. But I think the general idea was: the less rehearsing the better. The characters are supposed to be confused about what is happening. And Matt was also open to us doing lots of improv. And so on the day of shooting, we’d get together and figure out what works and what doesn’t and go from there. Any shots with special effects had to be nailed down, obviously. But at the party, for example, we’d try things a lot of different ways. They were open to us playing around. That was a nice change from other films, because we didn’t have to just stick to the script.
To what extent did you shoot the film in sequence, story-wise?
We did shoot most of it in sequence, because it was hard to shoot out of order, due to the fact that we did so much improv. With the couple of scenes we did out of sequence, we ended up re-shooting them, because they didn’t really work.
Was that also due to the fact that your outfits and make-up were getting progressively tattered and battered as the story progressed and there would be continuity trouble?
It was a performance thing, not due to continuity. We wore the same outfits the whole movie. I was in dress and heels for the entire movie [laughs]. There was a lot of time spent trying to figure out how I was going to do that. When I was costumed for the movie, we still didn’t know what it was about, the wardrobe people or myself. I wouldn’t have given the ok to high heels if I had known [laughs]. But after we shot the short trailer, the costumes were locked in. I was actually half-way through shooting and I had to sprint and found I couldn’t run. They made me stunt shoes, so that was nice [laughs].
And during one scene, the point is made that you take the heels off.
Because it was ludicrous [laughs]. So we wanted to make a point of my taking them off.
When you were on the set, did this production look and feel like a regular studio film, crew and equipment and attitude-wise, or was it more guerilla?
It was a bit of both. It was probably the most chaotic set I ever worked on, but for good reasons. They were sort of flying by the seat of their pants, because no one had ever shot this style, on this scale, before. So there were long periods where we didn’t shoot, because they had to make the lighting look realistic. But once we started shooting, it was actually all pretty structured.
The fans have been going crazy on the IMDB message boards with all types of speculation about different parts of the film. Part of what makes Cloverfield work is that it doesn’t reveal all that much and the audience has to fill in the rest with their imaginations. One of the biggest questions is [SPOILER ALERT] whether Lily actually gets away in that helicopter?
[laughs] That is one of the biggest questions that comes up. But we never thought that she didn’t survive. Technically, anything could happen to the helicopter, of course. But we always thought of her as the lone survivor.
Which would put you in good position for the sequel.
Maybe. I don’t know if they’re planning on doing one, and if they are, I think they’re going in a different direction, other than continuing to follow us.
Also, the back story of the monster is under a lot of discussion by fans. Where’d he come from, what is he, all that. How much info about that were you given by the director and producers?
Nothing. I don’t know if it was because they didn’t know. But we as the characters weren’t supposed to know. So I didn’t want to know.
Since the movie has come out, have you cast members been speculating about who that creature really is at all?
Not really, but we liked some of the theories that other people came up with! I’m so impressed that people spend that much time speculating. Some of the ideas are hilarious. And some are great. They could be writers themselves.
0 comments:
Post a Comment