Shauna Macdonald – Exclusive Interview
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Staci Layne Wilson / Horror.com: Hi, Shauna. Nice to talk to you again — I caught up with you on the red carpet a few months back at the Chainsaw Awards in L.A. Did you have fun at the bash that night?
Shauna Macdonald: It was loads of fun, but unfortunately, they didn't read out the award I was up for. They didn't announce "The Chick You Least Want to Mess With." [for her role in The Descent] I was supposedly nominated, but they didn't even read it. But otherwise it was a really good night. I really liked the sets, and the acts that came on and performed. It was mad. It was almost a culture shock, really, but it was fun.
Q: Were you shooting a movie in L.A., or what?
Shauna: No, no. I came over for the Awards and to meet people. My agents set up some meetings for me, so it was that sort of initial 'Hello, this is who I am and I've got a film coming out.' So they were sort of easing me into it, really. No big deal, just a sort of gauging my way in quite slowly.
Q: I saw The Descent on the big screen, and loved it again on DVD. The additional release material is incredible.
Shauna: It's great stuff, isn't it? All the backstage stuff, and the interviews with the all actors and the director. It's a really good package. I think all the extras are great. And also, you Americans didn't get to see the other [European] ending, which is fun.
Q: Yeah, I guess we Yanks just couldn't take it, huh?
Shauna: [laughs] I think we were kind of patronizing you just a little bit. I think you're a lot harder than you look. You can take it! But, uh, they decided after many discussions over several weeks to give both endings on DVD. So it's kind of cool.
Q: So was the other ending just altered, or did you actually have to go back and re-shoot?
Shauna: No, all that happened is the film is just kind of cut differently. There was no reshoot. All the reshoots we did, all the sort of pick up stuff, was done about 6 weeks after we filmed. There was some stuff about the ending that we had to do some extra shots of, but that was really just to tell the story — because it jumps from reality to hallucinations, the director [Neil Marshall] felt that the story wasn't flowing. When it came to deciding the American release [for the big screen] it was easy, because there was a clear cutting point for you.
Q: Neil Marshall is such a visual director; I love the composition of his shots, and the choreography he employs. Did he do tons of storyboards for you guys?
Shauna: I can't even remember if I saw storyboards… I know that he chose fight scenes, specifically, to storyboard. But I know also, that the big fight sequence that Natalie Mendoza's character Juno has with the Crawler when [censored!] gets it… um, she gets it in the neck. That fight was more or less… I wouldn't say it was improvised, but it was definitely done on the day and they just went for it. So that certainly wasn't storyboarded.
The other big sequences though, you really can't by not storyboarding stuff, because you've only got 12 hours in a day and you can't afford to lose the time, really, on deciding where to put the camera. But for us actors, it really wasn't important to see [them]. For us, it's more important to go over the dialogue with the director and to have the conversations and the communication with him throughout the shoot.
Q: The group commentary with you, your costars, and Neil is so funny. It's like watching the movie with a bunch of friends. Was the vibe on the set while you were shooting as easy-going as it seems there?
Shauna: Yeah, it was real easy-going. The casting people and Neil did such a good job getting us girls; they did pick a group of girls that automatically got on together. I mean, we're all very different, but we kind of share the same humor. I think that's the most important thing about it. We're from all over Britain, and Natalie's from Australia. And Miama is Swedish, Sas is Dutch… so it's not like we're all typical British girls. So to speak — whatever that means! [laughs] But we all just kind of got each other and just loved taking the Mick out of each other and just…
We also knew that we were doing something so unique, and so thrilling. Not that any of the girls had anything to lose, they didn't pick any girls with big names, you know. We had everything to gain; we knew that if we threw ourselves into the experience we'd get a lot out of it. It was sort of this adrenaline rush for all of us. We just loved it, relished it, and had a laugh.
Q: One of the funniest things on the DVD… though it does make the monsters seem a little less scary… is the gag reel, where they're dancing and just goofing off. I laughed so hard when I saw that! Those guys were real cutups, weren't they?
Shauna: Yeah, well, that's hilarious. They really are very funny actors. They're from Newcastle, and they're called Geordies. If you're from Newcastle, you're a Geordie. They are notorious for being very earthy, funny, loving sort of people — as in the way the Scots and the Irish have the sort of reputation of loving a drink and loving a dance. So, kind of putting everyone in the same basket, with Geordies, that is kind of true! [laughs] They were such a joy to have on the set.
As soon as you got over the fact that they looked so horrendous, it was fun to get up alongside them and chat with them. They worked so hard. They were real hardy boys, and they were… You've got to remember, they were naked and the sets were so big and cold. They were always in the water, because every time we'd cut the art department would stray the sets with water and everything, so they were freezing cold and they never, ever, ever complained. In fact, they always had a smile.
But yeah, I wouldn't suggest watching the song and dance routine on DVD before you've seen the movie! [laughs]
Q: You've been doing a lot of interviews on this movie, for a couple of years now. So many people all over the world love it. It's fairly new here, having just come out in U.S. theaters in mid-2006 and now on DVD for Christmas, but The Descent has been out in Britain since, what, early 2005? So, what is the greatest compliment you have gotten on the movie to date?
Shauna: Well, I think when they compare it to things like Alien, and when they say that it's a cult film. There was one interview in particular I did, and they were really concentrating on the strength of the females in it. They'd really gotten it. They were talking about the physical strength of females, and I think that was a bit of a compliment, because they said, 'Yeah, the females are physically strong but it's not a feminist film because all the girls don't stick together.'
When that interview came to me, and the interviewer really understood the film, that was huge compliment because it's quite easy to take horror films at face value, and we didn't want that. We wanted realistic characters in an unrealistic situation. So, when people acknowledge that, and want to talk to me about that, it's just wonderful. I never thought I would speak so in-depth on a horror film, as I have done for this.
Q: What's coming up for you? I know you've got the Mutant Chronicles with Thomas Jane in the bag, and what about The Farm? Is that a go?
Shauna: We're hoping, fingers crossed, The Farm is going to go in February. It's a little bit up in the air at the moment, but ultimately it looks like that's what going to happen. I recently finished a film for Channel 4 that Irvine Welsh has written. Irvine Welsh did Trainspotting, the movie that sort of launched Ewan McGregor. That was a brilliant part to play, it was very dark but, like Trainspotting, very, very funny. It's called Wedding Belles.
So the next thing I'll be working on is The Farm. I play Cathy… and she not insane, but she's just at the end of her tether. It's great because again I get to show a lot of different sides to my character. But actually, it's nowhere near as extreme as Sarah was. It's not that dark, but she's thrown into this circumstance and situation which makes her behave in a way that she may not have otherwise have done with a level head. Something changes in her, and you really don't want to be in her path.
Q: Another "Chick you don't want to mess with"!
Shauna: Exactly!
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- The Descent DVD, with both endings, two commentaries, and several behind-the-scenes features, is due out on December 26, 2006.
- Trivia Tidbit: For a great little Shauna Macdonald film, check out the 2004 short, The Porcelain Pussy, which is a gender-swapped noir spoof starring Shauna and a sexy homme fetale.