SEASON 2 - EPISODE 160 - Mark Friedberg - Production Designer

In this extended (and funny) episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with production designer Mark Friedberg (CAUGHT STEALING, JOKER, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD). A native New Yorker, it wasn’t until returning to the city after Jack Kerouac-ing around the country that Mark (and his dog) first found work in the film industry as a driver for the Woody Allen production team. Mark was eventually let out of the van, and, throughout our conversation, he reveals how he thought through many of the challenges in his long and impressive career as a designer. Mark is also a staple in Barry Jenkins’ (Season 2, Episode 156) stable of collaborators, and we learn how Mark’s daughter convinced her father to break his own rules to initially meet with the director. We also discuss technology’s place in Mark’s design process, and he shares why he rehired the millennial gamers who built MUFASA’s Africa to digitally visualize the sets of JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX before physically constructing them.

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Recommended Viewing: THE ICE STORM

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This episode is sponsored by Sandstorm & Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 159 - Michael McDonough - Cinematographer

We speak with cinematographer Michael McDonough (BOSCH, SUNSET SONG, WINTER’S BONE) in this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. If you listened to our conversation with Debra Granik (Season 2, Episode 158), then you know a bit about Michael already. He fills in what she left out, and we learn how he came to pursue filmmaking as a career after roaming around Rome on a year-long printmaking scholarship during his time in art college. We further discuss his professional partnership with Debra, and we also trade stories about working with director Michael Radford. In addition to his work in film, Michael has shot long-running television series such as FEAR THE WALKING DEAD and BOSCH, and he shares how he does the best he can given the limitations of working in the format. Michael also reflects on how BOSCH incorporates Los Angeles’ rich noir history into the show’s look, and we learn what advice he would give his younger self if he were starting out again. Among the other topics discussed in our conversation: lighting lessons learned from observing cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and the allure of Venice Beach in the winter.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Sandstorm

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 158 - Debra Granik - Director

In this extended episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with director Debra Granik (LEAVE NO TRACE, WINTER’S BONE, DOWN TO THE BONE). Debra’s films carry the traditions of social realism into the 21st century, and throughout our conversation we discuss the movement’s place in the United States and around the world, her approach to the work, and why she’s faced difficulty finding the means to shoot and distribute films that direct attention towards American poverty with clear and empathetic eyes. We also learn about the college professor and the films he screened that influenced her attitude towards filmmaking the most, and she reflects on being further inspired by the spirit of Dogme 95, a filmmaking movement co-founded by director Thomas Vinterberg (Season 1, Episode 101). We later discuss her extensive use of non-actors in her films, and she shares how the local community featured in WINTER’S BONE helped improve the film. We also reflect on the legacy and genius of Charles Dickens, and Debra answers the question, “What is the scariest four letter word in American storytelling?”

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Recommended Viewing: LEAVE NO TRACE, WINTER’S BONE, DOWN TO THE BONE

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This episode is sponsored by Barco & Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 157 - Garret Dillahunt - Actor

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor Garret Dillahunt (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, DEADWOOD). We worked with Garret on NO COUNTRY and JESSE JAMES, and we had a wonderful time catching up with him. Garret shares how he made his way from rural Washington to the graduate program for acting at NYU, and we learn why he made the leap from theatre to film and television. While trading stories from NO COUNTRY, Garret shares a humorous episode involving himself, actor Tommy Lee Jones, the Coen brothers, and a bowl of wrapped candies, and we marvel at the Coens’ ability to nudge actors into shooting their storyboards. In the latter half of our conversation, Garret recalls his experiences shooting the television series DEADWOOD, and we learn how those experiences set the tone for the rest of his career. Garret also reveals how showrunner David Milch wrote the show as they shot it, and we discuss the different strategies and approaches to coverage. Plus, we discuss dealing with imposter syndrome, and Garret reflects on the actor-in-a-supporting-role’s tricky task of trying to find the vibe on a set at 2AM.

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Recommended Viewing: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, DEADWOOD

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Barco

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 156 - Barry Jenkins - Director

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with director Barry Jenkins (MUFASA: THE LION KING, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, MOONLIGHT). How did Barry get from South Florida to Hollywood? What did he learn about himself on his walkabout around the country after leaving the industry? What did Barry struggle with in the gap between the release of his debut feature and MOONLIGHT? How did he survive the gonzo shooting schedule of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD? Why MUFASA? Barry answers all these questions and speaks on craft, process, and so much more in this extended and enriching conversation about his life, his films, and the many years he spent not actually making anything. Barry and his film school friends Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak also produce movies through their production company PASTEL, and we discuss why he feels it’s important to help introduce new filmmakers and new voices—particularly now. Plus, Barry reveals the premise of his unrealized Stevie Wonder time-travel script.

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Recommended Viewing: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, MOONLIGHT, MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY

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This episode is sponsored by Barco & Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 155 - Fred Specktor - Agent

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with agent Fred Specktor (CAA). Fred has actually seen it all—now in his 90s, he joined the mailroom at MCA (before its dissolution) after graduating college, and he’s been in the business ever since. After a stint as movie mogul Lew Wasserman’s assistant at MCA, Fred was fired, and he recounts his journey bouncing between outfits until landing at CAA where he has represented top Hollywood talent for the past four decades. Fred’s long career as an agent is populated with moments such as networking at a car accident and attending an acting class with Jack Nicholson, and he shares many of them with us throughout the episode. We also discuss the differences in Hollywood, moviegoing, and filmmaking between today and the previous century, and we learn how he still tackles his work with verve after a lifetime on the job. Plus, Fred makes his prediction for the future of the movies.

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If you enjoy listening to Fred, we recommend reading THE GOLDEN HOUR. Fred’s career and life is one of the subjects of the novel which was written by previous guest (and Fred’s son) Matthew Specktor (Season 2, Episode 146).

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Barco

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 154 - Tracy Letts - Actor / Writer

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor and writer Tracy Letts (AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, BUG, HOMELAND). Born and raised in Oklahoma, Tracy struck out for Chicago after high school to find work as an actor in the city’s active theatre scene, and we learn why Tracy began writing plays himself. We also discuss cinema’s role as a messenger for exposing the stories of the stage to rural American communities without access to the theatre, and he shares his mixed experiences adapting his plays into films, from director William Friedkin’s tense vision of BUG to the Hollywood ensemble version of his Pulitzer Prize winning play AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. An accomplished actor as well, Tracy reflects on seeking advice for performing for the camera from his seasoned HOMELAND castmates Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, and he reveals how he felt when, after being replaced on a film he had written, he was asked to act in additional scenes invented for his character. Plus, Tracy quotes a critical review that ironically sold out the remaining shows of his first play KILLER JOE.

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This episode is sponsored by Barco & Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 153 - Steven Soderbergh - Director

In this extended episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with director Steven Soderbergh (BLACK BAG, TRAFFIC, OUT OF SIGHT). Steven credits his father for giving him the movie bug, and he shares how a young adulthood shooting short films and writing spec scripts in Louisiana led to the 8-years-in-the-making overnight success of his debut feature: SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE. We spend much of the episode discussing Steven’s insights into directing and filmmaking, and he opens up about his transition into shooting his own films under the alias Peter Andrews. Steven also reflects on directing OUT OF SIGHT, recalling how he ended up with the job, when a studio note protected him from his own instinct to be lean in the film’s edit, and why he felt the movie was at stake when he went to war to cast Jennifer Lopez. Steven also stresses the importance of character and reputation in the business, and he recalls the pitfalls of acting like an egomaniac that he witnessed while crewing in his early days. We also discuss the value of establishing a basic grammar and set of rules specific to the film one is making, and Steven shares how he tries to listen to what a movie wants “itself” to be.

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Recommended Viewing: OUT OF SIGHT

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Barco