EXCLUSIVE: Meet The Man Behind Cult Shows Like Dexter, The West Wing And American Horror Story
Hollywood's best was there at WAVES in the form of director Michael Lehmann, who has directed cult shows such as Dexter, Californication, American Horror Story, and The West Wing and movies like 40 Days and 40 Nights and Hudson Hawk, which starred Bruce Willis.
During his Masterclass at WAVES, titled Insights into Filmmaking and the Entertainment Industry, there was one tongue-in-cheek remark he made: "I directed The West Wing about the White House, back when presidents told the truth," a comment on the state of the presidency in America.
In an interaction with us, he shared whether it was easy or difficult to direct The West Wing (1999-2006), the political drama set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, showing what happens behind the scenes with the US President.
"It was really easy to direct and fun. At the beginning, we were just figuring out stuff, and the cast was terrific, and we were able to do things that were really creative and really unusual, which at the time nobody was doing in television. So I saw it as an opportunity to do really good television, " he told us.
Michael also spoke about working with Francis Ford Coppola amd the fact that all directors have to take suggestions from time to time and also compromise.
"I wish there weren't so many directors who had the reputations of being just 'impossible' because it doesn't really help you in the process. And I learned this because when I started, I worked with some of the best directors in the world as as a production assistant. The first movie I worked on was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who at that time was the best director in the world. And I noticed that one day on the set, a member of the crew gave a suggestion and Francis was gracious enough to accept his suggestion. What is important to know is that people work, learn, listen and at times you have to compromise during shoots in how you wanted things to be."
news