Team Deakins

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 188 - Nick Kazan - Writer
In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with writer Nick Kazan (BICENTENNIAL MAN, MATILDA, DREAM LOVER). Nick has been writing professionally for decades, and we spend much of our conversation with him discussing what he finds to work and not work in a screenplay. Nick also shares his relationship to a script after it's entered production, and we discuss how changes made during production can enhance a scene. We also learn how he's balanced writing spec scripts with assignments, what his opinion of the three act structure is, what he needs to know before he begins writing, and when he recognizes his writing is working. Nick also shares how a Harold Pinter play inspired him to begin writing in the first place, and we learn how he's been chasing the experience of writing for the very first time ever since. Plus, Nick reveals why he didn't leverage his the reputation of his father (director Elia Kazan) to build his own career, and we ask Nick: "What makes a good writer?"
-
Recommended Viewing: SHAMPOO
-
This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 189 - Titus Welliver - Actor
In this extended episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor Titus Welliver (BOSCH, DEADWOOD, THE TOWN). If you listened to our conversations with cinematographer Michael McDonough (Season 2, Episode 159) or cinematographer and director Ernest Dickerson (Season 2, Episode 58), then you know we love BOSCH. We were thrilled to speak to Titus not only about his work on the show but also about his life, the unconventional road he took to becoming an actor, and his perspective on acting as a career. Titus also reflects on working with and learning from the late cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and we discuss the relationship between actors, the camera, and the entire camera department. We later learn how Titus enforced good behaviour on the sets of BOSCH, and he reveals how the writers of the show would deal with anyone not preparing properly. Titus later reveals some of the acting inspirations behind his performance of Harry Bosch, and he recounts an evening spent smoking pot and receiving wisdom from actors James Coburn and Robert Mitchum after moving to Los Angeles.
-
Recommended Viewing: BOSCH
-
This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 190 - Steve Ramsey - Gaffer
In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with gaffer Steve Ramsey (THE BRIDE!, WEST SIDE STORY, JOKER). We worked with Steve on THE GOLDFINCH, and we had a great time catching up with him. During our conversation, we discuss what a gaffer actually does, what his or her responsibilities can be, and how Steve adjusts his process to work with cinematographers ranging from Janusz Kamiński to Vittorio Storaro—and us! Steve also grants us insight into working on the sets of several Steven Spielberg films, and he shares how he and the film's cinematographer will prepare a scene to give room for Steven to follow his instincts. We also reflect on the rise of LEDs, and we discuss a few instances in which classic tungsten lights and gels solved a problem on the day. At the end of the episode, Steve gives his advice for anyone interested in a career as a gaffer, and we reflect on the job's non-descriptive title.
-
Recommended Viewing: WEST SIDE STORY (2021)
-
This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 187 - John Hillcoat - Director
In this extended episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with director John Hillcoat (GEORGE & TAMMY, THE ROAD, THE PROPOSITION). Violence is often at the center of John's films, and we spend much of our conversation with him discussing its portrayal in his work, its ubiquity in the real world, and his fascination with its aftermath and consequences. Later, during our discussion of THE PROPOSITION, John reveals the source of inspiration for the project, how the film lost and then found financing, and why they shot it in the Australian Outback in the middle of the summer. John also relives the nightmare of fighting the Weinsteins over the cut of THE ROAD, and we learn how shooting the film in-camera protected it from outside meddling. Towards the end of our conversation, John describes the differences between working in television versus film, and he shares how he tried to use cinematic language within the limited series GEORGE & TAMMY. John also shares how he got his start shooting music videos in his home country of Australia, and we learn about his enduring quest to finally make the BLOOD MERIDIAN movie.
-
This episode is sponsored by Aputure & Picture Shop

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 186 - Peter Bradshaw - Film Critic
In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with Peter Bradshaw, the film critic at The Guardian. We normally talk about making movies with our guests, but with Peter, we talk about watching and reviewing them instead. We learn how Peter became a film critic after being successfully sued by conservative MP Alan Clark for satire, and he shares how he thinks about criticism in general. Peter reflects on the learning curve of becoming a film critic, and we discuss how his job has changed with the proliferation of social media. Later, Peter shares how he balances the subjectivity of his own personal point-of-view of a film with the objective facts surrounding it in his reviews, and we learn which movies Peter realized, years later, he was wrong about. Peter also makes the case of cinema's competitiveness in modern life, and he shares which movies he watched growing up that sparked his love and appreciation for the movies. Plus, we reflect on living in a world where everything and everyone gets reviewed.
-
This episode is sponsored by Picture Shop & Aputure