TheProcess.Ink

Tom Benedek talks the creative process with writers, showrunners, directors, producers, actors, executives, agents, managers and other cultivators of truth and beauty.

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#5 – Joe Swanberg (writer-director-producer) from Chicago

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Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas) discusses his new 8-episode series Easy for Netflix using the same improvisational style he developed to make his numerous indie features.

We talk about:

  • Writing, directing and producing Easy
  • Casting over Skype
  • Improvising vs. sticking to a script
  • Scheduling in movies vs. TV
  • Shooting in Chicago (as much as possible)
  • A typical day on a Swanberg set
  • Pitching an idea to Netflix
  • Post-production strategies

Quotes from the show:

“There was no rule book for how to do a show like this.”

“The characters are all coming from autobiographical places in terms of my connection to them.”

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#9 – Bec Smith (literary & indie film agent) at United Talent Agency

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Bec Smith (United Talent Agency) discusses her work as both a literary agent and an independent film agent.

We talk about:

  • Growing up in Australia with movie maddness
  • A background in journalism, film criticism and development at Working Title
  • Producing and selling Animal Kingdom at Sundance
  • What it takes for a film to break through the noise, these days
  • How independent films get valued and how projects get made
  • American vs. foreign filmmaking and financing
  • Signing clients ( David Michod, James Ponsoldt, Garth Davis ) from the start

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Quotes from the show:

“I think it’s an exciting and interesting time for feature filmmakers, but I also think it’s more challenging than it’s ever been.”

“You’ve got to have a reason for being, either in subject or in terms of the filmmaking.”

“I’m a firm believer that cream rises to the top, and I find my way to the things I’m meant to find my way to.”

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#13 – Ben Jacobson (literary TV agent) at United Talent Agency

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Ben Jacobson (United Talent Agency) discusses representing drama and comedy television writers, directors and producers and the nature of today’s industry

We Talk About:

  • Staffing season and the selling cycle
  • Developing and branding for a network vs. cable
  • Different kinds of working writers today
  • Breaking in with a new voice
  • What a pitch meeting is really like
  • Current trends in comedy and drama
  • Navigating and structuring deals
  • Curating digital content and its future

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Quotes from the Show:

“It really comes from an idea, a book or a format or an original idea, and it’s about where can it live in the purest form for that idea instead of trying to jam everything into one box or the other.”

“Young people grow up and they want to create something… those creative juices are now naturally gravitating towards television.”

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#17 – Peter Horton (actor/director/producer) in Santa Monica

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Peter Horton (Thirtysomething, Grey’s Anatomy) talks about his journey from musician to actor to a director and writer/producer of film and television.

We Talk About

  • Finally agreeing to act in “Thirtysomething”
  • Writing and producing “American Odyssey” for Netflix
  • Directing the pilot for “Grey’s Anatomy” and producing the first three seasons
  • The best kind of actors out there
  • A new project for Cinemax set in the future

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Quotes from the Show

“(As a director,) you can never ask for an effect because you’re just sabotaging your actor. You have to be able to say, “It feels like the stakes aren’t as high as they need to be here. Can you find a way to make the stakes higher?” So, then you’re giving it back to them, and they can give you what you need.”

“I find the best actors have a real ego about what they’re doing. The they have a real take on it, too. They come in having really done their homework, having really embodied this character, so that they know them better than I do… they go deep with their work.”

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