When it came time to cast key secondary roles in the recent horror extravaganza ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, fan favorites Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon couldn’t resist inviting some of their favorite actors from past productions to lend a hand. Tom Lenk, familiar to Whedon fans for his roles on both “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” was cast as Ronald, the control room intern. He’s often referred to by Whedon as the pair’s “good luck charm.”

“Tom Lenk is one of the funniest actors I’ve ever worked with,” declares Goddard. “He delights me to no end and I hope I’m lucky enough to work with him for the rest of my career.”

Another Whedon veteran, Amy Acker (“Angel,” “Alias,” and “Dollhouse”), appears in ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ as Lin, a control room technician who works alongside Sitterson and Hadley. Says Goddard, “Amy’s our not-so-secret weapon. She embodies the technical expertise that’s so important to our style. There’s nobody better at making you laugh and breaking your heart in the same sentence.”

Production took place from March 9 to May 29, 2009 in locations in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. Apart from an initial weather-related setback, Goddard and Whedon were able to continue the spirit of child-like wonder and fun they had conjured while writing the script. “This is not a movie where it’s people sitting around in rooms talking all day,” Goddard says.

“Every single day there was something that the 12-year-old in you would look at with wide-eyed astonishment. We always tried to hold onto that feeling. I remember looking at the schedule a week before we started shooting and looking at every scene and going, ‘That scene’s going to be fun to shoot. And that scene’s going to be fun. Oh, and yep, that scene’ll be fun.”

“A lot of things happen in this movie that aren’t very pleasant, and yet this was the happiest set I’ve ever worked on,” states Jenkins. “Actors do much better work when there’s no tension. And everybody had a great time because Joss and Drew clearly love their work.”

Although a first time director, Goddard’s extensive experience writing for TV prepared him well for the role. He says, “In TV, the writer/producers get a lot of the power that directors have in the feature world. You really oversee things. You supervise your own edits and you’re on set all the time. So directing ‘Cabin’ didn’t feel like this weird foreign environment.”

In fact, the experience, according to Goddard, was more like a dream come true. “I couldn’t imagine a better opportunity than this one for my first film. ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ gave me the chance to shoot multiple movies in one because we shifted gears so much. I had to pinch myself every day.”

“Drew is very clear about what he’s asking you to do,” comments actor Jesse Williams, “and it’s clear that he’s very passionate about it. Every take matters. It’s a joy to feel that, to have somebody commanding the ship. And it’s been a long shoot. So it’s great to keep that energy up, to keep that positivity going. I think that’s a word I can’t stress enough about Drew. What a positive guy.”

“Drew is a true horror aficionado,” adds Whedon. “He was ready to commit to it, ready to buy the most amount of blood you can purchase in Canada. He’s the kind of horror director who’ll spend a day watching different blood splatters to find the right one.”

Whatever the challenges, Goddard and Whedon were committed to continuing their spirit of collaboration all the way through the shoot. “When we’re together on set it is very much a hive mind of sorts where we are just in sync with one another,” explains Goddard. “There were times when we disagreed, for sure. But passion always won. So if I felt strongly, then he would back down. And if he felt strongly, I would back down.”

Image Courtesy of  The Cabin in the Woods

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About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus

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