10 CLOVERFIELD LANE will be a fairly divisive film among sci-fi fans, I can guarantee you of that. I won't spoil what makes me think so, but like another recent J.J. Abrams-produced sci-fi yarn, this should have people arguing and debating for a while after its release. And that's not a bad thing at all, is it?
Before the world gets a look at the film, I can offer you a tease in the form of a couple of interviews with two of the film's principal participants. First up is star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, whose performance will not be argued over. Winstead, known to genre fans for her turns in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, THE THING, and SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, is thoroughly terrific as Michelle, who wakes up after a car accident to discover she's been quarantined in a doomsday bunker by a man who assures her the world is ending… The rub is, if he's wrong, then she's a kidnapping victim. If he's right, well, she's trapped down there with a very intense fellow. I spoke to Mary about the secrecy surrounding the project, the moment when she realized she was in a movie called CLOVERFIELD, working in such confined conditions and what she might do if she found herself in such an extreme situation.
This is Dan Trachtenberg's first feature but, as I mention in the below interview, it can't hurt to have someone like J.J. Abrams around to lend a hand if needed. Trachtenberg, a director of commercials and well-regarded short films, had been working on finished 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE literally days before the press junket, a tight squeeze indeed, but worth it. Here we talk about this project's transition into a CLOVERFIELD "blood relative," working with Abrams and what it means to be involved with such a top secret project.