The Joy of Sets: Cloverfield's TV Secrets Declassified
Cloverfield courtesy Paramount Pictures
OK, I loved
Cloverfield. Lovedlovedloved it. Granted, the shaky-cam monster-takes-Manhattan movie gave me a bit of vertigo and yes, there were moments in the theater where I wasn't sure if the popcorn was gonna stay down. But aside from that, good times. Even better on DVD, truth be told. The perspective is easier on the equilibrium, the extras explain some murky parts
and you can freeze-frame to see if the final scene really does show the beast crashing into the water off Coney Island.
It's also one of those flicks so filled with actors you think you've seen before that I have decided to dedicate this column to my favorite movie game ever: "Where Do I Know Them From?" And we'll start with
Executive-producer J.J. Abrams Shame on you for now knowing this one.
Alias.
Lost.
Felicity. All available on DVD.
Michael Stahl-David - Rob, the lead dude whose surprise bon-voyage party is kiboshed by the rampaging goliath, who refuses to leave the city without his true love, who keeps his suit-coat on for way longer than is acceptable during times of complete shizz? The one and only Sean Donnelly from NBC's gone-too-soon and completely excellent
The Black Donnellys. Damn, I still miss that one.
Buy The Black Donnellys on Amazon.com
Jessica Lucas - Technically the heroine, since she sticks it out the longest (maybe), Lucas' Lily not only throws the doomed going-away bash but also throws down with some way wrong critters in the night-vision subway sequence. A far cry from her days as doormat Sue Miller in ABC's much-better-on-DVD teen drama
Life As We Know It, but not so far from her stint this year as Sara-lite techie Ronnie on
CSI.
Buy Life as We Know It on Amazon.com
Mike Vogel - His Jason has one of the best lines of the movie very early on. Then things go to Hell and before you know it, you've completely blanked on the fact that this guy used to be high-school hottie Dean from
Grounded for Life.
Buy Grounded for Life on Amazon.com
T.J. Miller - The man behind the perpetually moving camcorder, Miller can't really can cop to being a fresh face since his wise-ass Hud only pops up on-screen briefly...and I won't give away in what condition. I will say that he fared better as Marmaduke, the tighty-whitey sporting mama's boy on ABC's
Carpoolers, even if the show didn't.
Odette Yustman - You totally get why Stahl-David's Rob would risk becoming monster mash to save Yustman's Beth from her all-messed-up skyscraper condo. She's stunning. Even impaled on a piece of rebar, you're like, "wow, she is hot...in a seriously injured way." As opposed to the "wow, why is she wasting her time?" as Nick's student-slash-flirtation Aubrey on ABC's love-it-or-loathe-it
October Road.
Buy October Road on Amazon.com
Lizzy Caplan This one literally explodes onto the screen as Marlena, the bored party guest who winds up in every wrong place at every worst possible time. As the teen daughter of Mike Judge's 2003 Fox-com
The Pitts, she was apparently in a good show at the wrong time in the wrong way, because Fox has decided to give
The Pitts another shot. Only this time as a cartoon, with Caplan and most of the original cast voicing their old characters. (Caplan also kills it as goth-geek Janice in
Mean Girls.)
Wasn't that fun? Now, I know some of you may recognize these folks from other TV shows, so why don't ya give me a shout and share the deets. Until then, don't hog the remote!
- Damian Holbrook
