'Cabin In The Woods' Delays 'Frustrating' For Fran Kranz

[NelsonG]

It's unlikely that there's ever been a development quite like "[url="http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/402673/moviemain.jhtml"]The Cabin in the Woods[/url]," the horror film [url="http://www.mtv.com/movies/person/310705/personmain.jhtml"]Drew Goddard[/url] directed and co-wrote with cult hero [url="http://www.mtv.com/movies/person/143062/personmain.jhtml"]Joss Whedon[/url].

One of the most notable victims of the MGM bankruptcy, "The Cabin in the Woods" sat on the shelf for three years before its upcoming release by Lionsgate this coming April. While a film collecting dust on a shelf isn't an entirely new story, one that's being heralded as a modern classic certainly qualifies.

[url="http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/03/08/cabin-in-the-woods-fran-kranz/"][img]http://mtv.mtvnimages.com/uri/mgid:uma:video:mtv.com:747338?height=288&width=512[/img][/url]

[url="http://www.mtv.com/movies/person/319953/personmain.jhtml"]Fran Kranz[/url], a recent draft into the group of Whedon regulars, spoke with MTV News about waiting so long for the world to finally see the movie he loved and the disappointment that came with it.

"At one point Joss told me, 'When this movie comes out, you are going to play so many great father roles,'" Kranz said.



The journey to "The Cabin in the Woods" for Kranz began years ago, when he was working on Whedon's show at the time "Dollhouse." "We shot it in 2009, like right now. We shot it in Vancouver, and I went out," he said. "It was around February because I remember our first night was the Oscars, so we all had a party but no one really knew each other. Then we shot it up until June. We went over the whole deal, but now it's like 2018."

The one thing you're certain to hear about "The Cabin in the Woods" from people who have seen it is that you shouldn't know anything. Suffice it to say that it's a horror movie, but unlike any you've ever seen.

"Honestly, I'm a horror film fan, and it's a crazy movie. I think you could pitch it as the ultimate horror film," Kranz said. "It goes in such a crazy direction that's unexpected. When I read it, it's not like some Best Picture typical kind of movie, great drama. When I read it, I thought it was one of the best scripts I've ever read."

So naturally, working on a film like that excited Kranz. "To go through the process and then to get it, I was so thrilled, and it was such an achievement," he said. "It's hard as an actor to not sort of think ahead and think 'This could be a big deal for me,' to have it fall apart."

And fall apart it did. With MGM's financial troubles, "The Cabin in the Woods" floated in limbo without a home or release date. "It was a lot of twisting of the knife because it was one delay after another, then the 3D rumor," Kranz said. "I was at some party where I met Joe Drake, who is a Lionsgate guy, and ultimately now it's at Lionsgate. At one point, he was saying, 'If a movie's on the shelf this long, it never comes out.'"

Thankfully, Kranz's frustration will come to an end when "The Cabin in the Woods" hits theaters on April 13.

[i]Are you looking forward to seeing "The Cabin in the Woods"? Let us know in the comments below and on [url="http://www.twitter.com/mtvmoviesblog"]Twitter[/url]![/i]



[url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/03/08/cabin-in-the-woods-fran-kranz/]View the full article[/url]