Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1126636
DGA QUARTERLY 39 Building Bridges vs. Building Camps R O D U C I N G / D I R E C T I N G V ET E R A N Norberto Barba (Grimm) says it's a job that depends on a director's vast creative knowledge, and ability to communicate across departments. "The true producer/director is one [who] is actually involved in all aspects of the process, with location scout- ing, casting, the look of the show and the continuity of the show," ex- plains Barba. "In the best cases, that person becomes a conduit be- tween the writers and production. Where there is true trust, where there is deep collaboration, that producer/director will lift a lot of the weight so (the writer) can concentrate in the writers' room." Comedy veteran Todd Holland also believes in the power of the producer/director to increase communication, especially when the demands of production often spur suspicions and protectiveness. "I'm a big believer in the more people that know what we're try- ing to achieve, the more people who know our challenges, the more minds come to solve it," says Holland, who has made a name for himself as a pilot-to-series producer/director with an emphasis on forward momentum: making writers accountable for timely deliv- ery of scripts, hiring a crew that functions harmoniously, prevent- ing power-hoarding fiefdoms from forming, and staying positive in the face of expected first-season scrutiny. "This is a loving army here to do its best work. I'm working hard to build a community. I look at the producer/director as a force of stability, sanity and clari- ty. There's a lot of mojo [the job] can add to an equation, an alchemy that people feel heard, respected and appreciated." Andrew Bernstein, who recently served as producer/direc- tor for Amazon Prime's costly, globe-trotting Jack Ryan, says the job is particularly important when a visiting director—faced with the pressure of delivering when the learning curve is steep and time is short—needs an ally who knows the lay of the land and speaks the same language. "As the shows get bigger, and the time and money to produce them isn't always commensurate with that size [of the] show, and directors come into situations where scripts are late or the sched- ule doesn't fit the work they need to do, who are they going to talk to?" Bernstein asks rhetorically. "You might have a line producer who is going to sympathize with you, but sometimes not. You have P Mike Slovis, on the set of Preacher, eschews the idea of micro-managing directors on a series ("we don't want people who paint by numbers"); Mimi Leder, opposite, filming The Leftovers, says it's always about bringing the world you've created "to the next level."