WGTC: What was the experience like living together in The Yankee Pedlar Inn while shooting the movie? Have you ever lived with other actors and/or directors you have worked with in the past?
SP: I’ve done that before. You did that too, Ti, you stayed at the inn (for The House of the Devil).
TW: Yeah, I’ve always been more or less confined with the cast and crew.
SP: I’ve done it before, and I didn’t get along with the people. But I got along with everybody (on The Innkeepers), everyone was cool.
WGTC: Kelly McGillis plays Leanne Rease-Jones, a TV actress turned psychic who checks into The Yankee Pedlar during its final week of operation. Ti, what motivated you to cast her in the role?
TW: Well, I cast Kelly because she had done another movie called Stake Land with the same producers, and they had recommended her. I had a hard time casting the role, because I thought it was going to be the easiest role to cast. I thought everyone was going to want to do it. I thought they were going to say, oh, this is great material, and I’d get to do something different because I’m an older actress, and I don’t get to do as much anymore.
But what I didn’t realize with older actresses, they don’t have sense of humors about being older actresses. So they were all offended that I’d even offer them the role, which was such a surprise to me. Thinking back on it, it’s not that surprising. At the time, I thought they were all going to love it, and they were all like, I don’t want to play an older actress.
Kelly was in London, doing a play. We Skyped, and she was smoking a cigarette in front of her computer. She said, I don’t give a sh*t about any of that. Right from the beginning, she was on board. She had a couple of questions for me, but we got along well. I think I answered them well. It was like the same way Pat and Sara got along.
It was just a matter of finding the right people. Like Sara, they don’t have to do a ton of research to play their character. It’s kind of already there, we just have to change a few things, and we’re there.
It’s the same thing with Pat. I knew Pat in real life. He’s not necessarily like the Luke character, but he’s not that far off. I think Kelly was kind of similar.
WGTC: Sara, since Claire admires Leanne’s acting work so much, do you look up to Kelly as an actress as well?
SP: Yeah. I mean, I was a Top Gun fan. (laughs) I think it’s like what Ti said about work, like Pat and I just got along right from the beginning. Kelly sort of made me nervous in real life, so that worked out.
TW: Kelly has an intense personality.
SP: Yeah, we mostly chatted about how it was a dog-friendly set. I had my dog, and she had her dog, so I would chat with her about that. But she would make me nervous.
TW: I think in the beginning, she might have felt like the odd man out. It took a little bit of time to bring her on board. Everyone else was instantly there from the beginning. Everyone else showed up before shoot day one, but Kelly didn’t show up until maybe week two. She came in a little late, and everyone else was already up-to-speed.