Hunter Doohan & The Wilderness Director Talk Intense ‘Therapy’ Movie | Interview
ComingSoon caught up with The Wilderness director Spencer King and star Hunter Doohan to learn more about the film, which takes a brutally honest look at “wilderness therapy” programs. The film, which also stars Lamar Johnson, will be released in theaters on October 17.
“A group of troubled teenage boys are kidnapped from their homes and taken deep into the unforgiving Utah desert, where they are forced into a brutal and secretive ‘Wilderness Therapy’ program. With no contact with the outside world, their only way home is to earn the approval of the enigmatic program director—whose motives are far from therapeutic. As the line between rehabilitation and manipulation blurs, the boys must decide whether to survive the program or escape it,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Hunter, Wednesday gave you such a passionate fan base as an actor and now as a producer on this film that puts you in an interesting spot where you can do projects like The Wilderness and give it a spotlight that it might not have otherwise. How are you kind of navigating that space of your career and finding these projects that you’re really passionate about?
Hunter Doohan: You’re so right. I’m so grateful for Wednesday. I mean, one, I just love that show. I love being on it. We’re about to go do season three. But it just opened so many doors for me, and I just think it will really kind of kickstart a lot of things for me.
I don’t think I would’ve been asked to do this film if it weren’t for having so much attention on me from that project. And then I think being able to share it with fans of the show, obviously – as simple as sharing the trailer – can get some eyes on it, which is really lovely. And I hope that some of the fans of the show connect with this. I know it’s a super different project, but yeah, I’m just really grateful for the Wednesday effect of it all, if that makes sense.
Spencer, I find the subject matter so interesting. My good friend was actually put into one of these camps, and he had never really thought about it or realized how traumatic that experience was until a couple of years ago, when Chet Hanks was talking about it. It’s wild what you can lock away and just accept as a normal thing when you don’t know just how crazy it was. What drew you to this topic?
Spencer King: Yeah. Well, I did go to one of these programs when I was in high school. I wanted to tell that story to the world. There’s a lot of people that are still… a part of them is affected by it. You go through these programs in really pivotal years in your life. So, I was hoping to play a small part in bringing a little bit of that light to the world.
Hunter, I thought you played Ed with such humanity and a real sympathy for him. What really informed your approach to the character in helping ground your performance? What did you look for in the script there?
Doohan: I mean, the script was just beautifully written, and then Spencer and I just worked together on it before shooting for man, six, seven months. I mean, so we really just got to know each other. I got to just… You know, he was very open with me about his real experiences and his friends. He also introduced me to different resources online to look at and just hear from different survivors who are brave enough and passionate enough to go out and share their story.
Then I was just able to connect with the character emotionally, just with his story of losing a parent and grief, and just letting that kind of really inform where he’s at before we even really meet him. You get to see little glimpses of these flashbacks.
Spencer, you talked about living this experience out in your real life. So, how was it extrapolating that into a drama in bringing this real-life knowledge, but also crafting a compelling story? Is balancing that challenging?
King: Yeah, it is. When you’re writing something… I’d never done anything based on experiences. I think as a writer, you’re always naturally putting yourself into different characters, but then when you decide to do something that has autobiographical elements, it’s kind of the first hurdle to get over. Like, “So is this everything real or parts of it?” You know?
Then you kind of have to understand, “Okay, like get some distance from it, be authentic, but this is its own story, you know?” So, I think for me, that was a big hurdle. And once I kind of made that decision that everything was gonna have truth in it, but it was also gonna be a fictional story, then it was freeing in a way.
Hunter, I wanted to ask you about Lamar Johnson as a scene partner, because you two have some really powerful scenes. What stood out about him as an actor? Because it’s really great seeing you two on screen together.
Hunter Doohan: I am obsessed with him [laughs]. He’s so talented. I got to work with him in the show, Your Honor, a few years before we did this film, but our characters never really interacted. We had one scene where we were even in the same space, and we didn’t… like, I think we shared a look, but I remember it just being so captivated by his performance there.
Then, when I saw that show, I was like, “Oh my God, he’s just one of the best actors I’ve ever seen.” So I suggested him to Spencer when it came time to cast this role, and we were so thrilled that he responded to the script and wanted to do it. And yeah, I mean, you’re right. He’s incredible, and he brings so much to that character. I loved working with him.
Spencer, one aspect of the film I was really impressed with was your use of the environment. Sometimes it’s so harrowing, sometimes it’s gorgeous. How was it using that landscape as a pivotal part of the story? Because that’s a real character too, here.
Spencer King: Yeah, totally. And thank you for saying that. Yeah, it was intentional. If you are on that set, you remember I was obsessed with what color rocks we were in, and it had to be the whole idea, the it in that part of Utah, the environment changes really quick, so we’re able to have those red rocks, the white rocks, then the Aspen trees all within 45 minutes to an hour of each other.
So we got this ability to show them being out there for what could be months, but do it all in the same environment where most people would have to pick up the crew and travel to a new location. So I really wanted to I wanted it to feel claustrophobic that being out there and the idea that it was just endless expanse, you know, and there was nothing near you. So I think we picked the right place to shoot it because that part of Utah is like… it’s just like this magical crossing of environments, topography. Yeah.
Hunter, I’m a huge fan of the Evil Dead movies. I feel like it’s the only horror franchise that doesn’t have a bad movie in it. They’re all so great. I know you can’t talk too much about Evil Dead Burn, but what does it mean for you to be joining that franchise? That has to be so cool.
Doohan: It’s been incredible. Yeah, I was first introduced to it through the Fede Alvarez one they did in 2013, and then I had seen Evil Dead II. Actually, we were shooting Wednesday, and there’s a scene where someone’s like, you know, fighting with Thing… the hand. Someone said that was a reference for them, and so I watched that film just for fun, and it was like, “Oh, well, this is this whole other thing.” They’re [very] campy.
So then I got to see the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell ones. Then once I found out about this project I saw everything in the franchise. So it’s been really fun to have been a fan of it, but then I got to dive in deeper, and yeah, I can’t say too much about it, but I hope people are really gonna like it. I think our director, Sébastien Vaniček, is the perfect guy to take the reins over on this one.
Spencer, when you have a young creative like Hunter who is writing and directing shorts as well, and clearly has that kind of admiration for the craft, how does that help you as a director when you have a true creative partnership?
King: Oh, so much. I mean, especially as a young filmmaker myself, I’m really I’m relying on the whole team to hopefully empower everyone to bring everything they can to it. That’s the only way a film like this reaches its potential.
And Hunter was the first stop on that train, you know? And he added so much, you know, and really challenged me as a director in all the best ways. “Why are we doing something?” You know? He wanted to be a part of the knowledge of a lot of those decisions, which can only be a positive for me, you know, so it’s been great.
Hunter, are we gonna get your directorial feature at some point? Is that one of your goals?
Doohan: Yes, for sure. Really inspiring. I’ve always wanted to do this, and I write a lot, but honestly, this film and getting to work so closely with Spencer was really inspiring. Yeah, I hope so. I’m trying to put something together. It’s hard to make a movie.
King: He said he is gonna cast me in it, so….
Doohan: Well, I’m gonna let you read for it.
King: I will blow you away.
Hunter, you mentioned getting to film on Wednesday Season 3 soon. How thankful are you that the turnaround’s much quicker this time?
Doohan: I swear to God, we’re trying. It’s hard. You know, there was a strike in between. We did not mean for it to be three seasons, three years almost between the two. Yeah, it won’t be quite as long for season three, but that shows that a lot gets put into it. So it’s a big undertaking, but we’re trying to get it faster.
Thanks to Hunter Doohan and Spencer King for taking the time to talk about The Wilderness.
Source: Comingsoon.net