[Special Report] Werewolves, Rich Kids, Murder And Revelations On The Set Of “Hemlock Grove”!!
By: Evan Dickson
Date: April 17, 2013
Source: Bloody Disgusting
Note: This is a snippet of an interview with the cast and crew of HEMLOCK GROVE during a press set tour on December 12, 2012 in Toronto. I have included the parts of the interview with AARON DOUGLAS below. To read the full interview, click HERE.
But how is working on a Netflix series different than working for a network? After all, there are fewer episodes and they are all made available on the same day. Director Deran Serafian (a longtime veteran of the small screen) answers, “Netflix is letting us spread our wings and letting us break the boundaries that exist in network television. For a director and a producer it’s a fantastic opportunity. It’s going to be hard to go back and do a normal show after this… It’s different than anything I’ve ever done. It’s a very twisted, Lynchian experience. It’s almost like a graphic novel.”
It also differs in terms of organization, with everybody making their own mini-movies (sans commercial breaks since Netflix doesn’t air spots), “After the pilot, each director gets two episodes to do at a time. I happen to be doing the last two episodes. They’re out of order, so sometimes I’ll be doing a scene from episode 12 or a scene from episode 13, so it gets a little crazy.”
Of course, there is one person who only got to direct one episode before departing to Peru to shoot The Green Inferno, Eli Roth. But Serafian maintains that without Roth’s vision, the show would be a very different beast, “Eli brings such a great, offbeat sensibility to it all. The aesthetic he established hangs on throughout the entire series, it doesn’t leave. Brian [McGreevy] and I also watched a lot of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’. There’s a sense of humor there that was a big influence on the show.”
How about the actors? They’ve been in this mindset for almost 6 months now. Aaron Douglas, who plays Sheriff Tom Sworn, says it hasn’t been easy grappling with all of the dark material, “It’s a tough show. The material’s pretty heavy, so the days on set are pretty exhausting emotionally. It’s really really draining. My favorite time is away from set when you’re spending time with the other actors, writers and producers. It’s those connections I’ll miss and take away when all is said and done.” Still, at least Douglas can toe the rudder a bit by being the straight man. “My character is very much the heart of the show, he’s the humanity and moral straight line. For a few episodes at least.”