Latest news with #WhatNoOneTellsYou
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Mad Men' Director Jennifer Getzinger: Ask for What You Want and Ask Again
Faith can be hard to attain when you're working in the entertainment industry. On the one hand, it's all there is to work off of, whether you're a nobody or a long-established player trying to keep in the mix. But with AI on the rise and jobs continuing to remain scarce, one starts to wonder what's even worth believing in. The answer? Yourself. During the latest episode of 'What No One Tells You,' television director Jennifer Getzinger discussed her leap from script supervisor to director and how it only came about because of her own tenacity. For year, Getzinger worked as a script supervisor on shows like 'Strangers with Candy,' 'The Sopranos,' and 'Sex and the City.' Later, 'Mad Men' creator and showrunner Matthew Weiner brought Getzinger onto the project as script supervisor for the pilot, which was shot in New York. Though the show was picked up to series and Getzinger invited to be a part of it, she found out it would require a bit of a sacrifice on her part. More from IndieWire Bella Ramsey Wants 'The Last of Us' Fans to Watch Upcoming Indie Films Like They're 'Game of Thrones' Dan Erickson on the 'Mesmerizing Dynamic' of 'Severance' Auteurs Ben Stiller and Jessica Lee Gagné 'The creator Matt Weiner said to me, 'Well we're going to go shoot the show in Los Angeles and I want my core team to come with me,'' she said. 'As a script supervisor, he wanted me to move to Los Angeles.' Getzinger was 'open' to the idea of moving across the country, but only if Weiner would allow her to direct an episode of the show. It was a huge ask, but based on Weiner's value of her and her own desire to move to the next stage of her career, she saw an opportunity and took it. 'He said to me, 'Look I believe in you, I know you're moving towards this, I know you're ready to do this, but I can't promise you anything. All I can tell you is if you don't come, it will never happen,'' Getzinger told IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking. 'That was what made me move to Los Angeles.' Sadly, Getzinger did not get to direct on the first season of 'Mad Men,' but when the show was renewed for a second season, her moment finally came. 'The producer called me and said, 'You know good news, we're going to get to do this again, bad news is we need a new script supervisor because you're going to be directing,'' said Getzinger. 'So that was my first shot at professional directing.' Getzinger would go on to direct not only for 'Mad Men,' but on 'Orange is the New Black,' 'Westworld,' and most recently on the hit HBO series 'The Penguin.' Watch a clip from her episode of 'What No One Tells You' below. Want to find out more about Future of Filmmaking and 'What No One Tells You?' Visit our new Future of Filmmaking landing page and sign up for our weekly newsletter, 'In Development.' Best of IndieWire Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear' Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 65 Films the Director Wants You to See The 19 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Penguin' Director Jennifer Getzinger: Learn How to Keep Quiet
When you're first starting out as a director, it can be easy to hold tight to your vision as if it were some kind of North Star that can do you no wrong. It's good to have that passion and confidence, but when it comes to actually executing most productions, time can't be wasted trying to explain the minutiae of your inner thoughts. In fact, as explained by TV director Jennifer Getzinger, more often than not conciseness and clarity is more appreciated from actors than trying to dissect every element of a scene. During the latest episode of 'What No One Tells You,' Getzinger told IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking that when she was training to become a director, she tended to be 'a little bit afraid' of working with actors. To overcome this fear, she took a workshop with Adrienne Weiss, an acting coach and instructor who came out of the Yale School of Drama. It was here that she started to understand what performers really needed out of a director. More from IndieWire 'Hacks' Renewed for Season 5 at HBO Max AI Experts Debate What Will (or Won't) Be Disrupted by the Technology | Future of Filmmaking Summit at Cannes 'You would rehearse the scenes and then you would put them up in front of the class,' Getzinger said. 'And then at the end, the director would sit up on stage and everyone would critique what you did as a director.' This was unusual as typically it's the director commenting on the work of the actor, but in creating this even playing field, Getzinger began noticing patterns within the notes that spoke to a persistent problem amongst many first-time directors. 'It's unlike anything you'll ever ever have in real life as a director because no actor is going to tell you like, 'Oh, this was terrible. That note you gave me was awful,'' she told IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking. 'And the thing I learned the most was just stop talking so much. Stop giving so many notes.' In pursuit of their own objectives, Getzinger realized many directors were treating actors as devices rather than human beings. This didn't ultimately help the performer, but instead just overcomplicated whatever perspective they were trying to bring to the scene. 'You can't give someone 5 things to play in between every take,' said Getzinger. 'I think every new director just keeps talking and talking and talking and is hoping they're saying something that has some wisdom in it and you really need to stop.' Getzinger went on to direct for 'Mad Men,' 'Westworld,' and most recently on HBO's hit series 'The Penguin,' starring Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti. Watch a clip from her episode of 'What No One Tells You' below. Want to find out more about Future of Filmmaking and 'What No One Tells You?' Visit our new Future of Filmmaking landing page and sign up for our weekly newsletter, 'In Development.' Best of IndieWire Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear' Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 65 Films the Director Wants You to See The 19 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal'
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
After ‘The Idol,' The Weeknd Decided to ‘Focus on Being an Actor' for ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow'
It'll be a long time before HBO's misfire music series 'The Idol' is associated with anything other than chaos, but its star, Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd, is at least taking away positive lessons from the experience. Speaking in a recent interview with Fader ahead of the release of his new film, 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' Tesfaye acknowledged that going into the project and knowing director Trey Edward Shults would be at the helm, he knew he couldn't become as invested as he did on the failed TV show. 'I wanted to do my job as an actor,' Tesfaye said. 'So make my piece with the idea, with the script, give whatever notes I have to give, but essentially it being his film, where I give him the material, he makes the movie he wants to make, and I get to just focus on being an actor and not give a fuck about what's going on behind the scenes.' More from IndieWire Mia Threapleton Struggled to Focus on 'The Phoenician Scheme' Opposite Tom Hanks: 'It's Bloody Woody' 'What No One Tells You': Justin Simien Explains Why Delusion Is Key to Making It in Hollywood Tesfaye went on to share that Shults' way of directing from afar and never making himself too apparent while shooting a scene really allowed him to be in the moment, rather than dissect every choice he was making. This ultimately made for a much more enjoyable and efficient experience compared to 'The Idol.' '[Trey] really doesn't want to get in the way of whatever is happening in front of the camera and it was a smoother process,' said Tesfaye. 'I got to just focus on performing and doing what I do in front of the camera and stay in it, just stay in in the role.' It also helped that he had close friends nearby to support him, including producer Kevin Turen, who sadly passed away two years ago after production had wrapped. Co-star Barry Keoghan is also a longtime friend of Tesfaye who helped ground the reality of their scenes. 'I knew he was the only one that can play this role because we were like brothers already,' he said. 'So a lot of it didn't feel like acting, I got to just be with my brother in that moment. And Jenna [Ortega] as well. Jenna just was so patient with me and just gave incredible notes and she's just doing so much heavy lifting in the film that it just felt like I was in a in a great space to just perform.' Ultimately, Tesfaye was 'blown away' by the first cut Shults delivered, providing a 'very cathartic' experience as the film reflected some his own experiences with sleep paralysis and losing his voice. Watch Tesfaye's full Fader interview below 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' releases in theaters May 16 from Lionsgate. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
