The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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30 • LMGI COMPASS | Fall 2024 2015 on projects like Mank and psychological thriller, The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender. "I have a team of key assistants who do the prepping for the locations and then I just fire questions at them all day long, like where we're at with the parking, neighbors, permits, etc.," adds SLM Ilt Jones/LMGI from his current base at Trilith Studios near Atlanta, Georgia, whose credits include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Transformers: Age of Extinction. Many choose to be at the coal face too, throughout the shoot, checking generators and blocked toilets. "On my latest film, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, I had like 13 assistants and as many PAs, so I could focus on the creative side. But ultimately, I was there up to my knees in water, pulling the pump to do some irrigation, throwing plastic over dirt mounds and unclogging storm drains," says Fantasia. ADDED RESPONSIBILITIES Mucking in often comes with the territory. It is, after all, the role of the location manager to juggle the creative demands of the production people with being the face of the film or TV series to the outside world. No easy task, which has got more complicated in recent years. "I'm dealing with everybody from the director and person cleaning the trash to the county commissioners and mayors, and it's much more hands on than it used to be," admits Fantasia. Another leading location manager, Doug Dresser/LMGI, whose recent credits include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Matrix Resurrections and Ready Player One, agrees: "The role of the SLM has definitely grown and become more pressured. We're the only ones that are boots on the ground dealing with locals, while negotiating with Fortune 500 companies, government officials, federal and state agencies. The latter used to be the job of the producer or production manager, but now we're doing it." The complexities of the location agreements have also made the job harder. "Back in the day, there might be a one- or two-page agreement to sign with a location owner. But now, even on smaller productions, you'll have at least a six-page complex document to get your head around, as well as legal processes and increased risk management," says McWilliams. "The contracts are more complex because productions are trying to protect themselves, and with locations, even permitting, a lot of government authorities have become very risk averse. So, you've got those two competing aspects. And quite often, it's lawyers at 10 paces to work through all those differences and come to an agreement." "It's a lot of logistical stuff. It's shocking to me how much of a lawyer I have to play," adds Kyle "Snappy" Oliver/LMGI, who recently transitioned to location management (see page 33). Add to that the full environment reports—impact statements on locations—that need to be put together and it can be a very onerous (albeit necessary and important) part of the job, even before they can proceed with a location. Plus, locals living in the big cities are getting fed up with the growing number of productions turning up to shoot in their streets. "They're trying to live their lives, especially post-COVID and don't want to be inconvenienced, even for five minutes, let alone weeks," says Bensch. "It's getting harder to shoot in urban areas. Neighbors are getting burned out and it takes a lot of persuading to get filming done. There might come a point where they say, 'No filming for these weeks or months or only on certain days of the month,'" concedes Fantasia. CREATIVE DEMANDS While on the creative production side, managing the (often conflicted) demands of the directors, DOPs, producers, UPMs, designers, etc., has also become ever more challenging. "You could be working with a Hollywood director or someone who's just starting out. The DOP might be from South America or just worked on the UK hospital drama show Casualty. All these different personalities with their diverse backgrounds and interests make our jobs a challenge because we have to deliver no matter what," says McWilliams. Nancy Haecker/LMGI, a location manager on films like The Matrix Resurrections, Horizon: An American Saga 2, and The Revenant, insists: "The key thing is to establish who's making the decisions. Twenty years ago, I knew it was the director, but now it could be the production designer, showrunner or the UPM as the money guy. "The difficulty is you can get them all together on a call to discuss the vision for the project and they all say the right thing, but then they go off and do their own thing. What I tend to do is see who wields the most power on set and then alter my scouting accordingly." The ideal is a project that has a strong producer(s). On the series Dopesick, Haecker says Jane Bartelme got in the meeting and outlined the budget and number of shooting days in West Virginia. "She was very direct, understood the creative and financial side of things, and the constraints. She called the shots, which was great, and explained to the director and studio what needed to be done." McWilliams adds: "The difficulty is when the director, designer and DOP are very focused on the creative side of things, without any concept of the logistics of getting permits and agreements, dealing with neighborhoods, etc. They see those things as an inconvenience." There are times when the location manager must step in or say something if an issue arises. "You can sometimes get a second unit director trying to make a mark who has their own vision, Photo by Christian McWilliams/LMGI Morocco