Representing the alpha dog of airport authority in the film is the overworked and under-appreciated Passenger Relations Manager Oliver Porter, played by stand-up comic and political satirist Lewis Black.

“I carry a lot of anxiety, frustration, pain and nausea around,” jokes Black when commenting on why he thought the filmmakers wanted him to play the role of Oliver. “That’s not really a family-oriented kind of attitude or character. I’m the anti-family. My character has no family. He’s divorced. He lives by himself. He’s miserable. I guess knowing that, they said, ‘Let’s get Lewis.’”

Shuler Donner adds, “Allison Jones knows comic talent better than any casting director in town. She and Paul helped us bring in such a great comedy cast.”

For Feig, casting Black in the role of the grouchy nemesis to the fun-loving UMs was a no-brainer. “I’ve been a huge fan of Lewis’ comedy for years. We couldn’t have found a better actor than Lewis to play the role of someone who is so utterly vexed and annoyed by the kids.”

Black adds, “All my character wanted was a vacation, but he’s not going to get it because of the blizzard outside. And, on top of that, he now has to deal with hundreds of kids who are running amok in his airport, all because Mother Nature decided to ruin his holiday. I get a lot of anger time. I get to yell at kids, which is really fun, albeit half the time I’m just yelling off-camera at imaginary kids. But there are a few scenes where I actually get to chase kids around and yell at them directly.” Turning only slightly more serious, Black continues, “It’s actually a lot of fun playing the villain, because you get to go hog wild in a way. You know, you get to be the scary guy.”

Oliver’s subordinate is the accommodating airport attendant Zach Van Bourke, played by Wilmer Valderrama.

“Wilmer’s character, Zach, is somewhat conflicted,” Aguilar notes. “On one hand, he wants to help his boss, but, on the other hand, he is really about these kids and is kind of a big kid himself. Wilmer brought a really sweet and sincere quality to the character.”

Valderrama offers, “My character is assigned by Oliver to keep the UMs in check, but the kids don’t respect Zach’s authority, so they find ways to make his life hell by breaking out of the UM Room. The kids get away, and Oliver’s just hell-bent on catching them, using whatever means necessary. At first, Zach’s afraid of Oliver because he doesn’t want to lose his job, but the experience of being with the kids teaches him to stand up for himself.”

While airport officials and UMs play cat and mouse, Spencer and Katherine’s father, Sam, receives a frantic call from their mother about the kids being stranded on their layover. Sam, an eco-obsessed environmental studies professor, played by comedian and former “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” correspondent Rob Corddry, decides to drive hundreds of miles through the snowstorm to meet up with his kids...in his earth-friendly but slower-than-a-moped bio-diesel clunker.

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