"Cloverfield", an effective disaster movie told from a first person documentary-style perspective, took in about $40 million in its opening weekend.
Three of the stars of the film, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel and T.J. Miller sat down with a number of student journalists, including yours truly, in a lively and fun conference call.
We find out their thoughts on the film's message, what sets it apart from other monster movies and the "9/11 imagery" portrayed on screen.
What sets "Cloverfield" apart from other monster films?
Mike: The style in which it was done. The fact that it is a single camera shooting style mixed with a lot of incredible effects and then takes into account the film was done for $25 million. It sets a really high standard for other films to follow to show that it is possible, without busting a mega budget, to do what can be a successful film and make it look incredible and different. That's what sets it aside for me.
What message do you want audiences to take from this movie?
TJ: This is a really good way to experience this catastrophe without having to go through with it. When something like this happens, all you can think about is the present. And the movie is about how people are always looking to the future and making plans and thinking about tomorrow [and] next year. You need to care about the people that are around you and all you have is that time in the present. So, I hope that people see this and leave and think, 'maybe I should pay a little more attention to my life in the present and in the now'. And take away that I'm (f******) hysterical.
How physically demanding was the film?
Lizzy: We had to do like upwards of 40 takes for every scene. And a lot of the scenes we were running and a lot of the time we were covered in sticky blood and gross dirt. I had these platform boots on and the longer you run in them, the worse your feet feel. It's just rough. I mean, I haven't gone to the gym in like a year so I don't know if I was really ready for it.
TJ: I was in every single scene and had days where I was 12 hours on the set. I was running also [and] we were constantly running. We were constantly screaming. Even when I was in the voice-over booth - after the movie was done - we were doing post production. I [was] breathing hard and screaming and all that kind of stuff, so it was a lot.
Lizzy: You know what I forgot about? We actually had - with all the hyperventilating we had to do - oxygen tanks available] for us.
Besides the Cloverfield Monster, what is the scariest monster movie in your opinion?
TJ: I think "Aliens" is pretty (f*******) scary. For me scary movies are things like "The Exorcist" or "The Omen." This film, I think, is a genuine scary edge-of-your-seat moving picture. Most monster movies are kind of campy and they're not really scary. So that's what this movie achieves that [others] don't. Did you agree to sign on [to the film] without knowing what you were getting into?
Mike: There is something about the ambiguity of this film. I think when we were all initially told it was a monster film, there was sort of a hesitation because it can be [seen] done bad a lot of times. But, I think what the saving grace of it is the vision of JJ Abrams [and] the vision of Matt Reeves.
How much of an opportunity did you [T.J.] have a chance to ad-lib off script?
TJ: Every time you laughed at one of the lines that I said, I wrote that line. Every time you don't like something that I said, that's someone else's fault. No, listen I was given a skeleton of a script [that] was fantastic. [I believe director Matt Reeves] knew that I come from improvisation and knew that's part of what I bring to every project that I do. So, I did improvise a lot. I'm the comedian that they brought in to make this part funny and to have that aspect of the film be successful. I so I hope that I did that. I wanted to see a monster movie where people reacted like you really [expect they] would and I think everybody in the film does that.
There's a lot of 9/11 imagery from the film. Do you think people will react negatively to the 9/11 imagery?
Lizzy: I think some people will react negatively because it does conjure up some disturbing images but it was never our intention to exploit what happened on 9/11. I mean this is a fantasy movie, it's a monster movie. I think people that make films need to be allowed to explore - and not exploit - but explore, these relevant social issues like the fear that we all live in. And I'm talking about all of us every single day. And that's what movies do. That's what science fiction does in particular.
Are any of your characters bitter that Rob [character in the film] put their lives in danger [in a desperate rescue attempt]?
Mike: That's just the luxury of a film like this, I think that's the draw to it. People want to experience danger without experiencing danger and that's why we go to films. I don't know if there's a right or wrong answer to that except the film allows you the opportunity to think. It just so happens that's the choice that he makes [and] he was persuasive enough to pull everyone on board with him.
Lizzy: In a situation like that, in a disaster situation, you really try to hang on to anything that you have any control over. He [Rob] definitely would have gotten laid again if he found her alive which he………
How much of the actual camera work you did yourself?
TJ: One third of the entire movie was shot by me, T.J. Miller, and that's a quantitative and qualitative assessment. This was a weird movie, because I did shoot 1/3 of it. All of the party scenes, everything where there wasn't a big green screen, I shot all that. So it was a strange thing to be wearing that many hats. I was wearing about seven hats. I was wearing a baseball cap and a top hat and a monocle and so I was a camera man and a comedian and an actor. What else?
Did you have any thoughts how people view your performance in this movie knowing that you were from such a big movie as "Mean Girls"?
Lizzy: They wanted to hire lesser known actors for this. [Michael Vogel and I] were the two that had been in some stuff that people have seen. But, "Mean Girls" was a long time ago. That was a very specific character. But I will say I think both characters have both elements of sarcasm in their personalities. But, I do think that "Mean Girls" turned out to be the best possible version of [a] high school movie and I am hoping that this will be the best possible version of a monster movie.
Reach the reporter at Jeffrey.mitchell@asu.edu">jeffrey.mitchell@asu.edu.
