TV Directors roundtable: ‘Adolescence,' ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,' ‘The Pitt,' ‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story'
Watch our full group panel above. Click on each name above to view that person's individual interview.
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Bonhôte says that the most important thing when directing is that 'the story needs to be extremely emotional. We need to have a narrative and emotional arc as strong as possible. That's the base of everything.' Pennolino agrees and says, 'You've gotta be able to tap into something inside people and make them walk away and either cry or be elated or inspired or a zombie. That's the whole purpose of what we do. Yeah, emotion is everything.'
Marsalis reflects, 'It's interesting, like, I'm not a writer, right? I'm a director. I have done most of my work coming onto existing shows. Sometimes beggars can't be choosers. And I keep joking being nominated for an Emmy is one step away from homelessness for me. I just want to make something entertaining that doesn't cause destruction in this world. But then also there's that magical storytelling part of our jobs.'
With past work in front of the camera, Barantini appreciates how actors can enhance a scene. He explains, 'Sometimes an actor will do something completely different and it will have an immediate effect on you. And it might not have been what you're looking for, but it might be better. That is so joyful and terrifying.'
Marsalis adds, 'You have your script and then, when you choose an actor for a job, it becomes something else. Because it's a living, breathing organism if you're doing it right.' Barantini replies, 'I always say to actors, look, did you believe that? Because if you didn't, the audience won't believe it either.'
Bonhôte admits, 'It's very different for me in a sense. In documentaries, the films have to have like an impact in the world. I think some of the shows you guys are discussing do that as well, which is very strong. But, we talk about laws of the issues of the world. We use Christopher Reeve as a magnet to talk about disability.'
Pennolino reflects 'As a director there's so much magic that has to happen. We do these occasional enders that have moving parts, and explosions, and giraffes coming from the ceilings, and all kinds of craziness. And a lot of times I'll have an A-list camera person that's available that I've worked on other projects and I'll be like, 'nah, just not gonna play well in this sandbox.''
Barantini admits, 'We live in a world where it's terrifying and I think we watch TV to ultimately be entertained. To make something heartfelt which can be sad with hope at the end means we're onto a winner. That's what always drives me.'
This article and video are presented by Netflix and HBO Max.
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