Jennifer Morrison | Inspiration is Everywhere

I joke about this, but it's literally

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Jennifer: happened to me more than once where, like,

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Jennifer: I've sat in the dentist office and like,

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Jennifer: picked up the coffee table book and like

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Jennifer: the images in that book become inspiration

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Jennifer: for something I'm shooting.

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Announcer: Welcome to Story and Craft.

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Announcer: Now there's your host, Marc Preston.

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Marc: Alright, here we go another episode of

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Marc: Story and Craft.

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Marc: Thank you so much for stopping back by.

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Marc: Hey, if this is your first episode, hi, I'm

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Marc: Marc Preston and today we're all going to

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Marc: sit down and have a conversation with the

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Marc: lovely, the talented Jennifer Morrison,

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Marc: been acting since she was 13 years old.

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Marc: You probably know her as an adult actor in

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Marc: TV shows like House.

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Marc: This is us once upon a time how I met your

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Marc: mother.

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Marc: But the cool thing about Jennifer she is

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Marc: also a very accomplished TV director Done

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Marc: film as well, but you probably know

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Marc: projects she's worked on like Euphoria, joe

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Marc: Pickett.

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Marc: So right now she's directed a number of

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Marc: episodes for the new season of Doctor Death.

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Marc: Just rolled out the new season on Peacock.

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Marc: She is a blast to speak with about the

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Marc: industry.

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Marc: It's kind of a micro master class in the TV

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Marc: industry and you know half of the name of

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Marc: this program is Craft.

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Marc: So this is one of those Craft days.

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Marc: Also, everything you could possibly ever

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Marc: want to know about Story and Craft just go

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Marc: to StoryandCraftPod.com.

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Marc: Check out information about all of our

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Marc: guests, check out past episodes.

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Marc: Shoot me a note if you would like.

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Marc: Love the messages.

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Marc: Also, if you would like to send an email,

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Marc: don't forget the address you can shoot the

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Marc: email, too.

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Marc: Gets right to me.

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Marc: It's hello at StoryandCraftPod.com.

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Marc: Alright, so let's jump right into it.

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Marc: Today it's Jennifer Morrison Day, right

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Marc: here on Story and Craft.

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Marc: Where are you located right now?

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Jennifer: I'm in Los Angeles.

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Marc: Is that where you're originally from?

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Marc: Are you a California kid?

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Jennifer: I mean, I've lived here longer than

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Jennifer: anywhere else, but I grew up in the Chicago

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Jennifer: suburbs and then I moved to Los Angeles in

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Jennifer: 2000.

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Marc: Now, well, I always have to ask people from

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Marc: the Chicago area Lou, malnotti's or

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Marc: Giardano's which one is your place?

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Jennifer: Lou Malnotti's.

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Jennifer: Yeah, malnotti's, for sure.

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Marc: I was looking over a little bit of your

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Marc: obviously wonderful acting career, the

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Marc: directing thing.

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Marc: Was that always like a conscious thing,

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Marc: where you always like I want to direct

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Marc: someday, or is it just kind of a natural

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Marc: evolution over time throughout your career?

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Jennifer: Yeah, I have to say it's a little bit of

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Jennifer: both.

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Jennifer: I started directing theater really young.

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Jennifer: I started directing community theater when

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Jennifer: I was in high school.

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Jennifer: The very first production I ever directed

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Jennifer: was the who's Tommy at the Community

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Jennifer: Theater near me, which was an aggressive

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Jennifer: first production.

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Jennifer: And then when I went to college I directed

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Jennifer: some theater and even when I moved out to

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Jennifer: LA I directed some theater and then I got

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Jennifer: cast on the show House and my life became

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Jennifer: 20 hours a day for six years.

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Jennifer: That was my life and so I wasn't directing

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Jennifer: as much.

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Jennifer: But what I was realizing was that I could

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Jennifer: use set as a way to learn all the technical

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Jennifer: stuff, to potentially be a filmmaker as

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Jennifer: well.

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Jennifer: So I really had that experience of

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Jennifer: directing theater and then used being on

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Jennifer: set for House and Warrior and how I met

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Jennifer: your mother, and once upon a time I kind of

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Jennifer: just used all those sets as my film school

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Jennifer: in terms of asking people questions and

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Jennifer: really studying the technical side of

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Jennifer: things.

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Marc: I look at the director.

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Marc: I mean you're really picking things up from

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Marc: way before the production starts to well

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Marc: after.

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Marc: I mean it's almost like being an actor is

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Marc: way easier of a gig.

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Marc: It seems like, you know, because you show

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Marc: up for your day, you do your thing and you

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Marc: get to go home, you know, and TV is a

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Marc: pretty aggressive production schedule.

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Marc: It seems like it is.

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Marc: Kind of going back to the beginning on

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Marc: origin story type thing.

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Marc: Were you?

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Marc: You said you directed community theater in

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Marc: high school?

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Marc: Were you a theater kid or were you?

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Marc: Was theater always your thing, or were you

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Marc: kind of going I want to be on TV one day,

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Marc: or movies.

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Jennifer: No, theater was my thing.

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Jennifer: You're right, that was a good guess.

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Jennifer: Yes, I was a theater kid.

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Jennifer: I loved being on stage.

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Jennifer: I was going to Saturday school like

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Jennifer: creative Saturday school things that I

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Jennifer: don't remember what it was actually called,

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Jennifer: but we would just call it Saturday school

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Jennifer: where I was doing plays there and then did

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Jennifer: all the school plays and all the plays in

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Jennifer: high school and the musicals and all that

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Jennifer: stuff.

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Jennifer: So that was really where my heart was and

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Jennifer: that's ultimate.

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Jennifer: I majored in theater and English in college,

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Jennifer: so, yeah, so for me my life really sent

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Jennifer: around theater and Loyola in Chicago, which

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Jennifer: ended up being a really great school for me

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Jennifer: to go to.

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Marc: Did they have a pretty robust program?

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Marc: Or when you came out of school, were you?

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Marc: Were you focusing on just doing local

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Marc: theater?

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Marc: Or, again, what were you up to after your

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Marc: Loyola time?

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Jennifer: Well, so part of the reason I ended up at

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Jennifer: Loyola and, like I said, really happy I

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Jennifer: ended up there, I had I really appreciate

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Jennifer: the education I got there was because they

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Jennifer: were willing to let me work as an actor

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Jennifer: while I was there.

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Jennifer: And I was already working as an actor

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Jennifer: because I did my first film when I was 13

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Jennifer: and I already had representation and stuff.

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Jennifer: So I wanted to go to a school that was

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Jennifer: going to let me continue my career, whereas,

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Jennifer: like you know, I'd gotten into Northwestern

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Jennifer: and DePaul and other schools that I really

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Jennifer: admired and thought maybe I'd want to go to,

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Jennifer: but they were conservatory programs where

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Jennifer: they weren't going to let you work

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Jennifer: professionally while you were actually in

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Jennifer: school.

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Jennifer: And Loyola was not a conservatory program

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Jennifer: and they also had really wonderful

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Jennifer: professors there at the time for theater

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Jennifer: and there was no graduate program.

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Jennifer: So it meant that as an undergraduate I

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Jennifer: didn't have to compete with graduate

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Jennifer: students for roles and so it gave me an

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Jennifer: opportunity to really be actually on stage

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Jennifer: acting a lot more.

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Jennifer: And, like I said, because I had an agent

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Jennifer: and had already sort of gotten into the

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Jennifer: industry before that, I did three films.

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Jennifer: I was in three films while I was in college

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Jennifer: and they really accommodated the schedule

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Jennifer: to help me do that.

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Jennifer: And so when I graduated I really didn't

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Jennifer: make a decision because my heart was that I

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Jennifer: really wanted to go to New York and try to

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Jennifer: be on stage.

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Jennifer: But I also knew how lucky I was that I had

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Jennifer: an agent in Los Angeles and that I sort of

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Jennifer: had, you know, a little bit of a head start,

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Jennifer: having been a kid actor, and I was like I

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Jennifer: think I need to do LA while I'm young and

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Jennifer: hope that, you know, whatever success comes

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Jennifer: from that, or experience comes from that,

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Jennifer: will also lend me the opportunity to

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Jennifer: eventually go to New York.

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Jennifer: And so, luckily, that is what happened.

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Jennifer: I mean, I ended up having a place in New

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Jennifer: York for 12 years and I've done plays in

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Jennifer: New York as well now, but I just did it a

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Jennifer: little bit later.

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Jennifer: You know, I went to LA first once I

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Jennifer: graduated.

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Marc: When you were 13.

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Marc: What kind of role was this?

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Marc: Was this a movie or was it a TV show?

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Jennifer: Yeah, so I played Richard Geer and Sharon

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Jennifer: Stone's daughter in the film Intersection

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Jennifer: and Marc Rydell was the director and Vilmos

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Jennifer: Zygman was the cinematographer.

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Jennifer: It was like a really wild, amazing group of

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Jennifer: just veteran everything to be introduced to

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Jennifer: that world through.

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Jennifer: I think Marc Rydell had just come off of

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Jennifer: directing on Golden Pond and you know

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Jennifer: Vilmos Zygman has shot all he you know,

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Jennifer: shot some of the most epic movies ever.

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Jennifer: But yeah, so I and I got that from making a

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Jennifer: tape in Chicago and sending that in and

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Jennifer: then they flew me out to Vancouver where we

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Jennifer: shot the movie and I met with Marc Rydell

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Jennifer: and had auditions there and then ultimately

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Jennifer: got cast.

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Marc: I'm trying to remember that the wife was

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Marc: cheating on him, or it was.

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Marc: Am I thinking the right movie?

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Jennifer: It opens with a car crash, so it was like a

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Jennifer: big car crash, yeah.

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Jennifer: And then he's pulled between Lelita

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Jennifer: Dvidevic and Sharon Stone's character and

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Jennifer: he's sort of honestly, I would have to go

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Jennifer: back and watch it to tell you the whole

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Jennifer: story, because I don't think I've seen it

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Jennifer: since I was like 15.

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Jennifer: But yeah, it was Sharon and Lelita and

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Jennifer: Richard and me.

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Marc: Being 13 and doing that.

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Marc: What were your folks thinking?

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Marc: Were they supportive of this thing their

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Marc: daughter was diving into, or were they kind

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Marc: of I don't know about this?

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Jennifer: I was really lucky.

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Jennifer: You know, my parents are both teachers and

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Jennifer: I think for them they're both music

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Jennifer: teachers, so they understood that I was

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Jennifer: interested in being creative and their

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Jennifer: attitude was always you know, if you're

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Jennifer: doing well in school and you're paying

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Jennifer: attention to your studies, you can do this

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Jennifer: for fun, and I think that was a great way

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Jennifer: to be introduced to it, because I never had

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Jennifer: that pressure.

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Jennifer: You know, I didn't have stage parents, I

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Jennifer: didn't have someone forcing me to do it and

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Jennifer: I also didn't have someone fighting me

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Jennifer: terribly.

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Jennifer: It was just if this is something you enjoy,

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Jennifer: then it's something that you love and we

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Jennifer: can make it work while you're still also

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Jennifer: taking your studies seriously, then you can

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Jennifer: do it, and so I think that was a really

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Jennifer: nice way for me to be introduced to all

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Jennifer: that.

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Jennifer: It kept a nice balance in my life.

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Marc: Yeah, you know, whenever I speak to young

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Marc: actors the kid actors it's always nice.

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Marc: When they've got the fire they're the ones

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Marc: like really wanting to do it.

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Marc: It always gets.

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Marc: I know in times I've done projects and I've

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Marc: been on since with kids who have this

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Marc: traditional stage parents.

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Marc: It's always uncomfortable.

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Marc: You know, I feel for those kids because I

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Marc: teach voiceover as well and sometimes I can

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Marc: tell when I get a student and they're not

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Marc: really into it.

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Marc: It's just something that one of them to do

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Marc: and I think you got to really have that

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Marc: internal fire.

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Marc: You got to really want to do it yourself.

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Marc: Now, as you were coming up, you know, let's

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Marc: say you get to house.

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Marc: So, by the way, my I have a good friend of

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Marc: mine who's a commander in the Coast Guard.

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Marc: I think he knows every episode by heart,

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Marc: wow, and he's going to lose his mind when I

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Marc: talk to you.

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Marc: So you mentioned earlier it kind of altered

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Marc: the trajectory of kind of where you're at.

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Marc: How do you?

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Marc: What was that experience like with house

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Marc: working on a the schedule?

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Marc: What was that like and was it kind of where

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Marc: you wanted to be?

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Jennifer: Yeah, I definitely wanted to be there.

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Jennifer: I you know it was.

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Jennifer: I was.

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Jennifer: I was always up for a lot of pilots.

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Jennifer: I had done pilots before that didn't go and

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Jennifer: Brian Singer was directing the pilot.

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Jennifer: I learned a tremendous amount from him as a

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Jennifer: director and obviously that group of actors

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Jennifer: was just incredible.

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Jennifer: Hugh Laurie is extraordinary, and Lisa

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Jennifer: Edelstein and Jesse Spencer and Omar Epps

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Jennifer: and it was just such a great ensemble to be

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Jennifer: a part of and it was such a great way to be

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Jennifer: a young actor, learning you know when

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Jennifer: you're, when you're going toe to toe with

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Jennifer: Hugh Laurie every day, when you're 20

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Jennifer: something and and you're getting to learn

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Jennifer: from all of his experience.

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Jennifer: It was really incredible, but it was tough.

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Jennifer: It was a tough show.

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Jennifer: I mean, this was back in the day when no

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Jennifer: one cared about how abusive the hours were

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Jennifer: and we really were working sometimes 20

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Jennifer: hour days.

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Jennifer: We were really excited about like an 18, 16

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Jennifer: to 18 hour day.

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Marc: You said you're excited for a 16 at 18 hour

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Marc: day.

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Jennifer: Oh yeah, that was a good day.

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Marc: Vincent Donoffrio.

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Marc: I heard an interview with him and he was

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Marc: talking about how, when he was doing what

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Marc: he's, that back then, like you said, it was

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Marc: kind of untethered.

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Marc: You just you just go forever.

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Marc: Was it nonstop working or was there just a

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Marc: lot of waiting for them to set up the next

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Marc: scene?

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Jennifer: No, it was a combination of things.

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Jennifer: I mean it was, it was a lot.

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Jennifer: I mean when you think about, like every

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Jennifer: show is different and the reason the hours

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Jennifer: are longer different.

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Jennifer: But, like for house, a lot of it was just

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Jennifer: that every room was a glass box.

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Jennifer: So you're constantly trying to deal with

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Jennifer: all the reflections that could happen.

335

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Jennifer: You know everything reflects and everything,

336

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Jennifer: because you've got glass in every direction

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Jennifer: and then you've got five or six people in

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Jennifer: the room and then you're covering five or

339

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Jennifer: six people in every scene and it was just,

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Jennifer: it's just.

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Jennifer: It's just a lot that had to be accomplished

342

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Jennifer: in the day and plus, we all had to know all

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Jennifer: this medical dialogue.

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Jennifer: So it was like you know, you would have

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Jennifer: this 18 hour day and then you'd go home and

346

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Jennifer: be memorizing medical words for the next

347

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Jennifer: day and then they would force your call.

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Jennifer: Like it's a thing called force calls, where

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Jennifer: you're supposed to have 12 hours off from

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Jennifer: from set to set in terms of like turn

351

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Jennifer: around and they can ask to pay you a little

352

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Jennifer: bit, and then you have to make it extra to

353

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Jennifer: make it 10 hours instead of 12.

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Jennifer: And the crazy thing about that is by the

355

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Jennifer: time you drive at home 45 minutes and then

356

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Jennifer: you drive to set 45 minutes and so that's

357

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Jennifer: another hour and a half that you've lost.

358

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Jennifer: And then you know you go home and you need

359

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Jennifer: to memorize for an hour and you need to eat

360

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Jennifer: and you need to.

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Jennifer: You know it's like you literally are only

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Jennifer: home for barely enough time to like

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Jennifer: memorize, sleep for six hours if you're

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Jennifer: lucky, and then turn around and go back to

365

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Jennifer: work.

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Jennifer: So it was just.

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Jennifer: You know it was.

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Jennifer: It's the old days.

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Jennifer: Luckily, they've really done a good job of

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Jennifer: trying to keep things more to 12 to 14 hour

371

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Jennifer: days, which is much more humane.

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Jennifer: But you know, back then it was just, that

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Jennifer: was my whole life.

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Jennifer: I don't have a lot of memories from that

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Jennifer: time.

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Marc: Thank you, sag AFTRA yeah yeah, yeah,

377

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Marc: exactly.

378

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Marc: Was it back then where you becoming more

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Marc: intrigued with what was happening, like

380

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Marc: with the grips, the lighting, the camera,

381

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Marc: the you know?

382

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Marc: Was that something you were just inherently

383

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Marc: paying attention to, as if naturally a

384

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Marc: future director?

385

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Marc: I mean, was that something that already

386

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Marc: intrigued you or how did how did the

387

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Marc: directorial vibe kind of bubble up with?

388

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Jennifer: you.

389

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Jennifer: Yeah, I mean, I had always been such a

390

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Jennifer: lover of cinema.

391

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Jennifer: You know, I had my favorite films that I

392

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Jennifer: would carry around on DVD when I'd be out

393

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Jennifer: of town, working and things like that, and

394

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Jennifer: watch the movies that I loved over and over

395

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Jennifer: and over again and watch the you know, the

396

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Jennifer: specials, things behind the scenes and all

397

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Jennifer: of the commentaries and read about it and

398

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Jennifer: all of it.

399

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Jennifer: And you know, it was really just kind of

400

00:13:16,623 --> 00:13:18,413

Jennifer: doing the best I could to put myself

401

00:13:18,433 --> 00:13:19,117

Jennifer: through film school.

402

00:13:19,197 --> 00:13:20,526

Jennifer: Honestly, you know I was looking at film

403

00:13:20,546 --> 00:13:22,136

Jennifer: school syllabuses and looking at what they

404

00:13:22,156 --> 00:13:24,476

Jennifer: watched and watching those things, and then

405

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Jennifer: when I was curious about something or

406

00:13:26,081 --> 00:13:27,915

Jennifer: didn't understand something, you know I

407

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Jennifer: would use this cinematographer on set as

408

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Jennifer: like a resource, or I would talk to the

409

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Jennifer: grip or I would talk to the dolly grip or I

410

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Jennifer: would, you know, ask the gaffer.

411

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Jennifer: And you know I realized that people who

412

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Jennifer: love what they do love talking about what

413

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Jennifer: they do, and so it became just this

414

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Jennifer: incredible film school for me and that was

415

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Jennifer: that was started on the set of house.

416

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Jennifer: But then, you know, continued once I was

417

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Jennifer: working on Once Upon a Time and working on

418

00:13:52,107 --> 00:13:54,276

Jennifer: the film warrior and being able to sort of

419

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Jennifer: talk to Gavin O'Connor about some of that

420

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Jennifer: stuff as well.

421

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Jennifer: And you know, just I was very lucky because

422

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Jennifer: I've worked with probably over 200

423

00:14:01,813 --> 00:14:03,237

Jennifer: television directors and I've worked with

424

00:14:03,277 --> 00:14:07,346

Jennifer: about 30 film directors and I've gotten to

425

00:14:07,387 --> 00:14:09,240

Jennifer: really just take all the good and the bad

426

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Jennifer: from them, you know, like learn from both

427

00:14:10,838 --> 00:14:14,168

Jennifer: the good and the bad, and sort of hone my

428

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Jennifer: skills and ask all the right questions.

429

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Jennifer: And I think the biggest thing that I took

430

00:14:18,681 --> 00:14:20,225

Jennifer: away from the directors that I really

431

00:14:20,265 --> 00:14:22,820

Jennifer: admired was just that they were really

432

00:14:22,980 --> 00:14:24,564

Jennifer: honest about what they knew and what they

433

00:14:24,604 --> 00:14:24,985

Jennifer: didn't know.

434

00:14:25,715 --> 00:14:27,379

Jennifer: And I think a lot of times you have you

435

00:14:27,419 --> 00:14:29,344

Jennifer: have directors who feel like they have to

436

00:14:29,424 --> 00:14:30,795

Jennifer: act like they know everything, and the

437

00:14:30,815 --> 00:14:32,159

Jennifer: truth is you've got an entire team of

438

00:14:32,219 --> 00:14:34,305

Jennifer: people to know things with you and for you,

439

00:14:35,195 --> 00:14:36,440

Jennifer: and I'm just sort of honest about all that

440

00:14:37,645 --> 00:14:40,174

Jennifer: you end up in a position where you can

441

00:14:40,194 --> 00:14:42,062

Jennifer: learn a lot and also you can contribute a

442

00:14:42,102 --> 00:14:42,282

Jennifer: lot.

443

00:14:42,555 --> 00:14:43,861

Marc: Well, when you said you were looking at the

444

00:14:43,901 --> 00:14:47,075

Marc: syllabi or of the film schools, were there

445

00:14:47,175 --> 00:14:49,381

Marc: in movies or TV shows or something that you

446

00:14:49,461 --> 00:14:51,387

Marc: watched, that really kind of informed, like

447

00:14:51,535 --> 00:14:54,178

Marc: yeah, that's kind of my style, that's my

448

00:14:54,639 --> 00:14:56,223

Marc: that you kind of held on to and kind of

449

00:14:56,243 --> 00:14:58,167

Marc: made part of your own like directorial DNA.

450

00:14:58,836 --> 00:14:59,727

Marc: Was there anything out there that you

451

00:14:59,747 --> 00:15:00,234

Marc: really loved, like that?

452

00:15:00,415 --> 00:15:01,842

Jennifer: Yeah, I think, you know, one of the things

453

00:15:01,862 --> 00:15:03,469

Jennifer: that was really influential for me was

454

00:15:04,554 --> 00:15:07,685

Jennifer: there is a book of interviews with Scorsese.

455

00:15:07,835 --> 00:15:11,675

Jennifer: It's like 400 pages of pure interview and

456

00:15:12,196 --> 00:15:14,743

Jennifer: he talks so much about craft, like actually

457

00:15:14,763 --> 00:15:18,078

Jennifer: talks about craft, and I was, I've always

458

00:15:18,138 --> 00:15:22,386

Jennifer: been really in awe of and admiring of his

459

00:15:22,827 --> 00:15:23,027

Jennifer: way.

460

00:15:23,268 --> 00:15:24,799

Jennifer: The way that he uses the camera to tell

461

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Jennifer: story visually and moves the camera, you

462

00:15:27,092 --> 00:15:28,280

Jennifer: know, is when to move the camera, he knows

463

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Jennifer: when not to move the camera.

464

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Jennifer: You know it's a very he's just a very

465

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Jennifer: effective visual storyteller and really

466

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Jennifer: creative with how he uses the camera, and

467

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Jennifer: so it was just really that became kind of a

468

00:15:37,201 --> 00:15:38,926

Jennifer: North Star for me in terms of just like

469

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Jennifer: conversation about craft.

470

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Jennifer: And so, you know, I really I admire a lot

471

00:15:45,681 --> 00:15:47,186

Jennifer: of those movies from the 70s, you know, I

472

00:15:47,295 --> 00:15:49,581

Jennifer: like, I like that kind of vibe of like

473

00:15:49,701 --> 00:15:51,586

Jennifer: using the camera to be a character in the

474

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Jennifer: story.

475

00:15:52,135 --> 00:15:53,664

Marc: Yeah, I do kind of like that when they do

476

00:15:53,705 --> 00:15:55,475

Marc: that in TV now, when you kind of feel like

477

00:15:55,595 --> 00:15:58,224

Marc: you are an additional observer in the scene,

478

00:15:58,915 --> 00:16:01,665

Marc: I kind of dig the I don't know what you

479

00:16:01,685 --> 00:16:03,713

Marc: would call it the action of it or the

480

00:16:03,954 --> 00:16:05,460

Marc: kinetic vibe that you get from it.

481

00:16:06,397 --> 00:16:09,166

Marc: But looking back at your career now, as far

482

00:16:09,206 --> 00:16:11,354

Marc: as TV like house, were you given the

483

00:16:11,374 --> 00:16:13,020

Marc: opportunity to direct any of the episodes?

484

00:16:13,595 --> 00:16:16,483

Jennifer: So here's the thing it and I feel like I

485

00:16:16,503 --> 00:16:17,787

Jennifer: get in trouble every time I see this, but

486

00:16:17,875 --> 00:16:20,882

Jennifer: it's just the truth there is an unspoken

487

00:16:20,962 --> 00:16:21,966

Jennifer: attitude in the industry.

488

00:16:22,006 --> 00:16:23,954

Jennifer: That is, if, as an actor, the first thing

489

00:16:23,975 --> 00:16:26,207

Jennifer: you work on as a director is your own show,

490

00:16:26,950 --> 00:16:29,421

Jennifer: it was some sort of like gift that was

491

00:16:29,441 --> 00:16:31,108

Jennifer: given to you and everybody else made it

492

00:16:31,168 --> 00:16:34,051

Jennifer: happen and you didn't really direct, and I

493

00:16:34,111 --> 00:16:36,036

Jennifer: was not interested in having that stigma

494

00:16:36,076 --> 00:16:38,102

Jennifer: attached to what the way that I wanted to

495

00:16:38,130 --> 00:16:39,674

Jennifer: be a filmmaker and the way that I wanted to

496

00:16:39,714 --> 00:16:42,411

Jennifer: be able to contribute as a filmmaker, and

497

00:16:42,831 --> 00:16:45,758

Jennifer: so I don't think that I was probably in a

498

00:16:45,798 --> 00:16:46,981

Jennifer: place where that would have even been

499

00:16:47,021 --> 00:16:47,382

Jennifer: offered to me.

500

00:16:48,230 --> 00:16:49,153

Jennifer: I was in a place where that would have been

501

00:16:49,173 --> 00:16:51,530

Jennifer: offered to me by once upon a time, but I

502

00:16:51,651 --> 00:16:54,336

Jennifer: very, very intentionally did not direct

503

00:16:54,457 --> 00:16:54,837

Jennifer: anything.

504

00:16:54,938 --> 00:16:57,082

Jennifer: I was on because I wanted to start it.

505

00:16:57,890 --> 00:16:59,795

Jennifer: I wanted to climb through that experience,

506

00:17:00,357 --> 00:17:01,801

Jennifer: the way that a filmmaker does.

507

00:17:02,431 --> 00:17:03,979

Jennifer: So I made a short film first and I

508

00:17:04,039 --> 00:17:05,547

Jennifer: submitted that to festivals and then that

509

00:17:05,567 --> 00:17:07,072

Jennifer: went to festivals and then I worked on some

510

00:17:07,112 --> 00:17:08,997

Jennifer: music videos and I worked on an anthology

511

00:17:09,057 --> 00:17:10,621

Jennifer: series for Refinery 29.

512

00:17:11,331 --> 00:17:13,436

Jennifer: And so I was really cutting my teeth on all

513

00:17:13,456 --> 00:17:15,140

Jennifer: these things like the way that you normally

514

00:17:15,180 --> 00:17:17,395

Jennifer: would, and then I really fought very hard

515

00:17:17,435 --> 00:17:20,748

Jennifer: to put my feature together and found that

516

00:17:20,808 --> 00:17:22,614

Jennifer: financing for that made that film sold it

517

00:17:22,655 --> 00:17:25,973

Jennifer: to Netflix, and so it was really important

518

00:17:26,013 --> 00:17:29,140

Jennifer: to me to kind of climb through that process

519

00:17:29,802 --> 00:17:34,918

Jennifer: organically and not be perceived as like,

520

00:17:35,118 --> 00:17:37,082

Jennifer: oh well, she was just given this favor of

521

00:17:37,122 --> 00:17:37,724

Jennifer: an episode.

522

00:17:38,110 --> 00:17:39,514

Jennifer: It's not a fair thing because, no matter

523

00:17:39,594 --> 00:17:40,737

Jennifer: what, you still have to direct.

524

00:17:41,259 --> 00:17:41,840

Marc: That's interesting.

525

00:17:42,430 --> 00:17:43,456

Marc: So you really drew a line of delineation

526

00:17:43,476 --> 00:17:45,508

Marc: between you and camera, because I wonder

527

00:17:45,529 --> 00:17:48,508

Marc: what it's like to direct yourself and be in

528

00:17:48,528 --> 00:17:50,042

Marc: an episode that's got to be really rough.

529

00:17:50,083 --> 00:17:50,830

Marc: To have that objectivity.

530

00:17:50,930 --> 00:17:54,419

Marc: You got to trust, I guess, your DP to give

531

00:17:54,439 --> 00:17:55,903

Marc: you a good you know, got to trust somebody

532

00:17:55,950 --> 00:17:57,294

Marc: on the set to give you feedback on your own

533

00:17:57,334 --> 00:17:57,816

Marc: performance.

534

00:17:57,896 --> 00:18:00,612

Marc: I guess Is there any genre that you kind of

535

00:18:00,713 --> 00:18:04,740

Marc: wanted to focus on, indirecting, because

536

00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,812

Marc: you've covered some interesting like

537

00:18:07,932 --> 00:18:10,679

Marc: euphoria and you're dealing with young folk,

538

00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:11,240

Marc: you know.

539

00:18:11,281 --> 00:18:14,397

Marc: And then is there any specific genre you

540

00:18:14,437 --> 00:18:16,724

Marc: like to stick to, if you, or do you like to

541

00:18:16,764 --> 00:18:17,125

Marc: do it all?

542

00:18:18,108 --> 00:18:18,710

Jennifer: Not necessarily.

543

00:18:18,991 --> 00:18:20,575

Jennifer: I mean, I really looked at television as an

544

00:18:20,636 --> 00:18:22,401

Jennifer: opportunity to try every genre.

545

00:18:22,610 --> 00:18:28,361

Jennifer: You know, my feature Sun Dogs is very much

546

00:18:28,381 --> 00:18:29,463

Jennifer: like an underdog story.

547

00:18:30,872 --> 00:18:32,496

Jennifer: It's a very traditional American film.

548

00:18:32,557 --> 00:18:35,211

Jennifer: I feel like, you know, on purpose, I grew

549

00:18:35,291 --> 00:18:37,415

Jennifer: up loving things like the Graduate and

550

00:18:37,455 --> 00:18:41,743

Jennifer: loving things like Miracle, groundhog Day.

551

00:18:43,592 --> 00:18:44,354

Jennifer: What About Bob?

552

00:18:44,414 --> 00:18:45,997

Jennifer: You know, like just those, like you know,

553

00:18:46,058 --> 00:18:47,882

Jennifer: kind of all American, heartfelt.

554

00:18:48,350 --> 00:18:51,855

Jennifer: You know movies and I wanted to find

555

00:18:51,876 --> 00:18:53,159

Jennifer: something that had that energy to it,

556

00:18:54,030 --> 00:18:56,462

Jennifer: whereas with television I felt like here's

557

00:18:56,482 --> 00:18:58,110

Jennifer: a chance to go work on all different levels

558

00:18:58,190 --> 00:18:59,614

Jennifer: of budgets with all different kind of

559

00:18:59,674 --> 00:19:01,479

Jennifer: technical requirements, with all different

560

00:19:01,499 --> 00:19:04,015

Jennifer: kinds of casts, and really just get the

561

00:19:04,055 --> 00:19:05,279

Jennifer: experience of trying all of it.

562

00:19:05,430 --> 00:19:07,657

Jennifer: And so you know euphoria, I got to work

563

00:19:07,677 --> 00:19:08,700

Jennifer: with PT Anderson's crew.

564

00:19:09,110 --> 00:19:10,114

Jennifer: I got to work with Sam Levinson, who's a

565

00:19:10,175 --> 00:19:12,196

Jennifer: genius, like it was just all movement.

566

00:19:12,250 --> 00:19:14,256

Jennifer: It was a master class in movement and how

567

00:19:14,276 --> 00:19:15,920

Jennifer: to achieve really difficult shots.

568

00:19:16,530 --> 00:19:17,979

Jennifer: And then you know to go and work on, like

569

00:19:18,019 --> 00:19:19,709

Jennifer: Joe Pickett, which is a western, and be

570

00:19:19,729 --> 00:19:21,758

Jennifer: able to really like work with horses and

571

00:19:21,939 --> 00:19:23,687

Jennifer: animals and out in the wilderness and like

572

00:19:23,727 --> 00:19:25,574

Jennifer: with landscape, and then do a grease rise

573

00:19:25,594 --> 00:19:27,259

Jennifer: of the pink ladies and direct a musical and

574

00:19:27,299 --> 00:19:28,895

Jennifer: figure out what that looks like and all the

575

00:19:28,935 --> 00:19:30,543

Jennifer: technical things that go into accomplishing

576

00:19:30,604 --> 00:19:32,794

Jennifer: a musical and then do surface, which is a

577

00:19:32,854 --> 00:19:33,236

Jennifer: thriller.

578

00:19:33,830 --> 00:19:35,698

Jennifer: So it was like what my team and I were

579

00:19:35,718 --> 00:19:38,228

Jennifer: really looking for from a directing

580

00:19:38,288 --> 00:19:39,994

Jennifer: perspective on television in the last few

581

00:19:40,034 --> 00:19:42,381

Jennifer: years has been how do I do as many

582

00:19:42,461 --> 00:19:45,450

Jennifer: different genres as aggressively as

583

00:19:45,531 --> 00:19:47,495

Jennifer: possible, just because I really wanted to

584

00:19:47,555 --> 00:19:49,580

Jennifer: be inside those worlds and really

585

00:19:49,660 --> 00:19:52,696

Jennifer: experience what was required of those

586

00:19:52,756 --> 00:19:53,499

Jennifer: different genres.

587

00:19:53,690 --> 00:19:56,263

Jennifer: And so I think that I'm always I think Sun

588

00:19:56,283 --> 00:19:57,670

Jennifer: Dogs is always going to look like a North

589

00:19:57,790 --> 00:19:59,456

Jennifer: Star for the kind of films that I make.

590

00:20:00,390 --> 00:20:02,300

Jennifer: But what excites me is kind of moving from

591

00:20:02,341 --> 00:20:03,990

Jennifer: genre to genre on television.

592

00:20:04,656 --> 00:20:05,645

Marc: You know it sounds like you don't have any

593

00:20:05,706 --> 00:20:06,130

Marc: free time.

594

00:20:06,230 --> 00:20:07,714

Marc: I'm like thinking of the timeline of these

595

00:20:07,795 --> 00:20:08,256

Marc: projects.

596

00:20:08,276 --> 00:20:09,620

Marc: I'm like you don't have a lot of time off.

597

00:20:10,210 --> 00:20:11,647

Marc: Do you have, like, do you want to carve out

598

00:20:11,708 --> 00:20:11,890

Marc: space?

599

00:20:11,910 --> 00:20:12,610

Marc: You know I'm gonna.

600

00:20:12,689 --> 00:20:14,231

Marc: I want to do some time on camera.

601

00:20:14,231 --> 00:20:15,536

Marc: I want to work on some projects and then

602

00:20:15,917 --> 00:20:16,680

Marc: come back to directing.

603

00:20:16,770 --> 00:20:18,915

Marc: Are you kind of, is there like a pendulum

604

00:20:18,936 --> 00:20:20,640

Marc: that swings for you, or is it just sort of

605

00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:21,041

Marc: whatever?

606

00:20:21,590 --> 00:20:23,774

Jennifer: You know it's a good question and I think

607

00:20:23,815 --> 00:20:25,224

Jennifer: it's probably depends on what moment you

608

00:20:25,265 --> 00:20:26,732

Jennifer: asked me that question what the answer was

609

00:20:26,773 --> 00:20:27,014

Jennifer: to it.

610

00:20:28,430 --> 00:20:32,983

Jennifer: But really, the sort of grounding force

611

00:20:33,003 --> 00:20:35,490

Jennifer: that I feel I look to when I'm trying to

612

00:20:35,510 --> 00:20:37,374

Jennifer: make a decision about whether I'm acting or

613

00:20:37,414 --> 00:20:39,859

Jennifer: directing or what projects next is really,

614

00:20:39,999 --> 00:20:40,781

Jennifer: who am I working with?

615

00:20:41,790 --> 00:20:43,135

Jennifer: You know, we we all get to do the coolest

616

00:20:43,156 --> 00:20:43,617

Jennifer: thing in the world.

617

00:20:43,690 --> 00:20:45,276

Jennifer: We get to, like, do what we love all day,

618

00:20:45,316 --> 00:20:47,294

Jennifer: every day, and unfortunately, that doesn't

619

00:20:47,314 --> 00:20:48,839

Jennifer: mean you're always in a great environment.

620

00:20:48,970 --> 00:20:51,554

Jennifer: It should mean that, but not every set is a

621

00:20:51,594 --> 00:20:54,315

Jennifer: happy set, and so what's really important

622

00:20:54,355 --> 00:20:55,678

Jennifer: to me is looking at the team of people that

623

00:20:55,698 --> 00:20:56,300

Jennifer: I'm gonna work with.

624

00:20:57,370 --> 00:20:58,957

Jennifer: So, you know, if a job comes up or an

625

00:20:58,977 --> 00:21:01,206

Jennifer: opportunity comes up as an actor where I'm

626

00:21:01,307 --> 00:21:03,012

Jennifer: really inspired by the showrunner and the

627

00:21:03,052 --> 00:21:05,197

Jennifer: writers and the other actors and the whole

628

00:21:05,217 --> 00:21:06,780

Jennifer: group, like I will jump at that.

629

00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,003

Jennifer: That was, this is us for me.

630

00:21:08,150 --> 00:21:09,814

Jennifer: You know, I was dying to work with Dan

631

00:21:09,834 --> 00:21:11,959

Jennifer: Fogelman and I loved all those actors and I

632

00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,113

Jennifer: loved the show, and so that was a no

633

00:21:14,133 --> 00:21:15,096

Jennifer: brainer of like.

634

00:21:15,136 --> 00:21:16,741

Jennifer: Yes, I will carve out the time to do this,

635

00:21:16,830 --> 00:21:18,515

Jennifer: and I feel very lucky to be here and to

636

00:21:18,595 --> 00:21:19,598

Jennifer: even be asked to be here.

637

00:21:20,871 --> 00:21:22,776

Jennifer: And then same thing with with directing,

638

00:21:22,796 --> 00:21:24,100

Jennifer: you know, it's like who's the showrunner,

639

00:21:24,311 --> 00:21:25,683

Jennifer: who's the cinematographer, what's the

640

00:21:25,805 --> 00:21:27,214

Jennifer: creative team, who's the production

641

00:21:27,254 --> 00:21:29,055

Jennifer: designer Like, what's this cast look like?

642

00:21:29,510 --> 00:21:31,255

Jennifer: So, for me, the decisions right now are a

643

00:21:31,315 --> 00:21:32,618

Jennifer: lot more about not.

644

00:21:32,779 --> 00:21:34,392

Jennifer: It's not so much am I gonna act or am I

645

00:21:34,413 --> 00:21:34,875

Jennifer: gonna direct.

646

00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:37,295

Jennifer: It's what opportunities are available to me

647

00:21:37,336 --> 00:21:38,819

Jennifer: and what's the ecosystem that I might be

648

00:21:38,860 --> 00:21:41,336

Jennifer: joining, and so I'm really like looking at

649

00:21:41,377 --> 00:21:43,868

Jennifer: that kind of creative collaboration and I

650

00:21:44,028 --> 00:21:46,016

Jennifer: and I move toward, like the places where

651

00:21:46,036 --> 00:21:46,979

Jennifer: I'm really inspired.

652

00:21:47,270 --> 00:21:48,855

Marc: I just feel like you have so much more

653

00:21:48,895 --> 00:21:49,978

Marc: energy than I do.

654

00:21:51,611 --> 00:21:53,957

Marc: You have a great collage of things you're

655

00:21:53,977 --> 00:21:56,183

Marc: working on, but you're constantly active.

656

00:21:56,230 --> 00:21:58,375

Marc: I mean, what are you doing when you, you

657

00:21:58,415 --> 00:22:00,721

Marc: know, when you are not doing something

658

00:22:00,761 --> 00:22:03,934

Marc: creative on or behind the camera, what are

659

00:22:03,954 --> 00:22:05,078

Marc: you doing to kind of fill up your days

660

00:22:05,198 --> 00:22:05,459

Marc: usually?

661

00:22:05,731 --> 00:22:08,158

Jennifer: Um, I mean, I feel like I am just sort of a

662

00:22:08,198 --> 00:22:10,234

Jennifer: creative being, so much of my life is just

663

00:22:10,274 --> 00:22:12,099

Jennifer: kind of accumulating inspiration.

664

00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,602

Jennifer: Right, you know it's like I feel like I

665

00:22:15,663 --> 00:22:16,948

Jennifer: joke about this, but it's literally

666

00:22:16,988 --> 00:22:18,315

Jennifer: happened to me more than once where, like

667

00:22:18,375 --> 00:22:19,964

Jennifer: I've sat in the dentist office and like

668

00:22:20,005 --> 00:22:21,772

Jennifer: picked up the coffee table book and like

669

00:22:21,852 --> 00:22:24,098

Jennifer: the images in that book become inspiration

670

00:22:24,139 --> 00:22:24,961

Jennifer: for something I'm shooting.

671

00:22:25,470 --> 00:22:27,134

Jennifer: You know, it's just, I feel like if you're

672

00:22:27,234 --> 00:22:28,137

Jennifer: open to it, you can.

673

00:22:28,959 --> 00:22:31,194

Jennifer: You can sort of collage inspiration in your

674

00:22:31,234 --> 00:22:31,415

Jennifer: life.

675

00:22:31,610 --> 00:22:33,879

Jennifer: And so I think a lot of the time spent for

676

00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,430

Jennifer: me when I'm not on a set, you know, even if

677

00:22:36,611 --> 00:22:38,700

Jennifer: I am trying to take care of errands or

678

00:22:38,740 --> 00:22:40,729

Jennifer: whatever, is also just trying to stay open

679

00:22:40,749 --> 00:22:42,777

Jennifer: to those different influences and and and

680

00:22:42,858 --> 00:22:45,408

Jennifer: letting things accumulate inside of me so

681

00:22:45,428 --> 00:22:47,556

Jennifer: that I have that well of creativity to use

682

00:22:47,576 --> 00:22:48,198

Jennifer: when I'm working.

683

00:22:48,910 --> 00:22:50,758

Jennifer: But I also, you know, like I work out and I

684

00:22:50,799 --> 00:22:51,944

Jennifer: spend time with my family.

685

00:22:52,506 --> 00:22:53,310

Jennifer: I love hiking.

686

00:22:53,651 --> 00:22:55,216

Jennifer: You know it's great to live in LA because

687

00:22:55,236 --> 00:22:56,861

Jennifer: there's always a, you know, a pretty decent

688

00:22:56,890 --> 00:22:57,713

Jennifer: hike nearby.

689

00:23:00,110 --> 00:23:01,395

Jennifer: It's nice when there's time that I can

690

00:23:01,435 --> 00:23:02,599

Jennifer: travel with my family.

691

00:23:02,750 --> 00:23:03,894

Jennifer: Like that's something that's always really

692

00:23:03,954 --> 00:23:04,195

Jennifer: nice.

693

00:23:06,010 --> 00:23:08,617

Jennifer: But yeah, I would say, like you know, my

694

00:23:08,677 --> 00:23:10,202

Jennifer: husband and I love watching stuff together.

695

00:23:10,270 --> 00:23:11,475

Jennifer: We always have shows that we're watching

696

00:23:11,495 --> 00:23:11,736

Jennifer: together.

697

00:23:11,850 --> 00:23:13,235

Jennifer: We always have a list of movies that we're

698

00:23:13,275 --> 00:23:13,978

Jennifer: working our way through.

699

00:23:14,230 --> 00:23:17,035

Jennifer: Like our life is really very much centered

700

00:23:17,095 --> 00:23:19,720

Jennifer: around either working or finding

701

00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:21,844

Jennifer: inspiration for work, and we just love it

702

00:23:22,270 --> 00:23:22,571

Jennifer: Like it's.

703

00:23:22,792 --> 00:23:24,338

Jennifer: It doesn't feel like work when you love it.

704

00:23:24,630 --> 00:23:25,392

Marc: Now who's your husband?

705

00:23:25,432 --> 00:23:26,333

Marc: In the industry as well.

706

00:23:26,413 --> 00:23:28,497

Jennifer: He is yeah, yeah, no, he's an.

707

00:23:28,537 --> 00:23:29,259

Jennifer: He's an actor.

708

00:23:29,719 --> 00:23:30,421

Jennifer: He's an actor, yeah.

709

00:23:32,470 --> 00:23:33,380

Marc: Do you all try to work in such a way where

710

00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:34,270

Marc: you're both not working on a pretty intense

711

00:23:34,370 --> 00:23:37,357

Marc: project at the same time, or do you just

712

00:23:37,378 --> 00:23:39,128

Marc: kind of take it as it comes to you?

713

00:23:40,453 --> 00:23:43,381

Jennifer: No, I mean so far it's worked out really

714

00:23:43,421 --> 00:23:43,561

Jennifer: well.

715

00:23:45,794 --> 00:23:48,059

Jennifer: I think it's part of the joy of both being

716

00:23:48,099 --> 00:23:49,381

Jennifer: in the industry is that you really

717

00:23:49,421 --> 00:23:51,672

Jennifer: understand we would never take it

718

00:23:51,712 --> 00:23:54,019

Jennifer: personally and we would never be offended

719

00:23:54,079 --> 00:23:55,893

Jennifer: by the time that needs to be spent on a

720

00:23:55,933 --> 00:23:58,575

Jennifer: project, and we do really try to be there

721

00:23:58,615 --> 00:23:59,097

Jennifer: for each other.

722

00:23:59,510 --> 00:24:00,834

Jennifer: It's like there's different things that we

723

00:24:00,874 --> 00:24:02,479

Jennifer: need from each other on different projects,

724

00:24:03,351 --> 00:24:05,116

Jennifer: and I think that that's been a really

725

00:24:05,156 --> 00:24:07,381

Jennifer: beautiful part of our partnership is just

726

00:24:07,542 --> 00:24:08,915

Jennifer: it's like okay, what do you need from me on

727

00:24:08,935 --> 00:24:09,256

Jennifer: this one?

728

00:24:09,350 --> 00:24:11,260

Jennifer: You need me to like give you space so that

729

00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:13,230

Jennifer: you can think and be alone, or you need me

730

00:24:13,270 --> 00:24:14,575

Jennifer: to be there to run lines with you every

731

00:24:14,615 --> 00:24:14,816

Jennifer: night.

732

00:24:15,530 --> 00:24:17,595

Jennifer: So we really we have found creative ways to

733

00:24:17,635 --> 00:24:19,460

Jennifer: do that for each other, even when we can't

734

00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:20,162

Jennifer: be in the same city.

735

00:24:20,631 --> 00:24:23,002

Jennifer: Thank God for Zoom and FaceTime and all the

736

00:24:23,043 --> 00:24:24,530

Jennifer: things, because now I think you could be a

737

00:24:24,610 --> 00:24:25,253

Jennifer: lot more present.

738

00:24:27,753 --> 00:24:29,096

Jennifer: But I'm sure it'll continue to get more

739

00:24:29,136 --> 00:24:31,000

Jennifer: complicated as our lives continue and

740

00:24:31,020 --> 00:24:31,982

Jennifer: different jobs come up.

741

00:24:33,993 --> 00:24:36,017

Jennifer: But it's like if I'm directing something

742

00:24:36,037 --> 00:24:37,901

Jennifer: and he's acting on something, oftentimes

743

00:24:37,961 --> 00:24:40,476

Jennifer: he's the one who's like I get it.

744

00:24:40,570 --> 00:24:42,578

Jennifer: I know you're basically working 24 seven,

745

00:24:42,750 --> 00:24:44,856

Jennifer: so like he'll ask for a Friday off so he

746

00:24:44,896 --> 00:24:47,333

Jennifer: can fly to me, and then vice versa.

747

00:24:49,053 --> 00:24:51,538

Jennifer: It's like, if I'm not, if I'm in prep and

748

00:24:51,598 --> 00:24:53,683

Jennifer: I'm not actually on set at that moment, I

749

00:24:53,703 --> 00:24:55,053

Jennifer: have a little bit more time, but he's got a

750

00:24:55,073 --> 00:24:56,658

Jennifer: really intense role, then I'll try to fly

751

00:24:56,698 --> 00:24:56,959

Jennifer: to him.

752

00:24:58,170 --> 00:24:59,314

Jennifer: And there's also been times where we've

753

00:24:59,334 --> 00:25:01,480

Jennifer: just it's turned out that he's had time off

754

00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:02,674

Jennifer: while I was directing something and he's

755

00:25:02,694 --> 00:25:03,958

Jennifer: been able to come and stay with me for a

756

00:25:03,978 --> 00:25:04,279

Jennifer: stretch.

757

00:25:04,430 --> 00:25:07,451

Jennifer: So we just make the best of it and, like I

758

00:25:07,471 --> 00:25:09,557

Jennifer: said, it's the lucky part of both being in

759

00:25:09,577 --> 00:25:10,901

Jennifer: the industry is that we do at least

760

00:25:10,990 --> 00:25:12,738

Jennifer: understand what each other is going through.

761

00:25:13,031 --> 00:25:14,797

Marc: Is he down with you directing him in a

762

00:25:14,837 --> 00:25:15,259

Marc: project?

763

00:25:15,350 --> 00:25:16,774

Marc: Is that something he's kind of like?

764

00:25:17,035 --> 00:25:18,659

Marc: You know, I don't know about that or is he

765

00:25:18,679 --> 00:25:19,361

Marc: kind of cool with it?

766

00:25:19,511 --> 00:25:21,512

Jennifer: No, he would love that Like he's actually.

767

00:25:21,953 --> 00:25:24,720

Jennifer: He's yeah, he's like my husband's the best

768

00:25:24,780 --> 00:25:25,342

Jennifer: he really is.

769

00:25:25,850 --> 00:25:26,995

Jennifer: He's an incredible human being and like

770

00:25:27,377 --> 00:25:27,839

Jennifer: he's just.

771

00:25:27,899 --> 00:25:30,511

Jennifer: He's such a I mean he's an incredible human

772

00:25:30,531 --> 00:25:33,304

Jennifer: being and like a great talent and he's

773

00:25:33,559 --> 00:25:36,647

Jennifer: incredibly egoless with me when I direct

774

00:25:36,902 --> 00:25:39,436

Jennifer: him, which is which is incredible, because

775

00:25:39,476 --> 00:25:40,919

Jennifer: I think that that's a really tough thing to

776

00:25:40,959 --> 00:25:43,312

Jennifer: do in a partnership, but he really trusts

777

00:25:43,372 --> 00:25:47,523

Jennifer: me and and yeah, we've I mean, a lot of the

778

00:25:47,543 --> 00:25:49,050

Jennifer: directing has just been on like self tapes

779

00:25:49,130 --> 00:25:51,100

Jennifer: to get jobs and things like that, but it

780

00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:51,823

Jennifer: goes really well.

781

00:25:51,984 --> 00:25:52,708

Jennifer: You know like we're.

782

00:25:52,889 --> 00:25:54,516

Jennifer: We make a good team when it comes to that

783

00:25:54,556 --> 00:25:56,034

Jennifer: stuff, so it's been.

784

00:25:56,095 --> 00:25:56,536

Jennifer: Oh, there he is.

785

00:25:57,753 --> 00:26:00,212

Jennifer: I was just bragging about here, so I might.

786

00:26:00,273 --> 00:26:00,936

Jennifer: He just walked through.

787

00:26:01,831 --> 00:26:04,578

Marc: You know it's funny the well not funny.

788

00:26:04,638 --> 00:26:06,823

Marc: But I've talked with folks that now you had

789

00:26:06,850 --> 00:26:08,757

Marc: this kind of three month gap during the

790

00:26:08,797 --> 00:26:09,138

Marc: strike.

791

00:26:09,270 --> 00:26:10,635

Marc: How did you fill up your time during that?

792

00:26:11,076 --> 00:26:12,191

Jennifer: Oh, yeah, I mean that's.

793

00:26:12,211 --> 00:26:14,097

Jennifer: It's obviously a whole other thing.

794

00:26:14,117 --> 00:26:18,782

Jennifer: Yeah, I mean, the thing is I, a lot of it

795

00:26:18,822 --> 00:26:20,428

Jennifer: was just us being able to have time

796

00:26:20,448 --> 00:26:21,773

Jennifer: together and with our family, which is

797

00:26:21,814 --> 00:26:22,296

Jennifer: incredible.

798

00:26:22,991 --> 00:26:26,440

Jennifer: And we, we, we try to take advantage of

799

00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:27,042

Jennifer: things like that.

800

00:26:27,190 --> 00:26:28,674

Jennifer: You know, obviously we wouldn't wish the

801

00:26:28,694 --> 00:26:30,440

Jennifer: strike on the industry or on us or on

802

00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,217

Jennifer: anyone, and we really want to be back to

803

00:26:33,257 --> 00:26:36,897

Jennifer: work too, but but you know, we, we did try

804

00:26:36,937 --> 00:26:38,321

Jennifer: to take advantage of the fact that we could

805

00:26:38,341 --> 00:26:40,254

Jennifer: be home together, living in our house and

806

00:26:40,735 --> 00:26:43,462

Jennifer: and being a family and really enjoying that,

807

00:26:44,371 --> 00:26:45,694

Jennifer: and it was a blessing, you know.

808

00:26:45,915 --> 00:26:47,318

Jennifer: Yeah, exactly, exactly.

809

00:26:49,070 --> 00:26:50,715

Jennifer: And also, you know there's so many things

810

00:26:51,156 --> 00:26:52,320

Jennifer: that I have had plates, I mean so many

811

00:26:52,380 --> 00:26:54,514

Jennifer: plates spinning that I have as a director,

812

00:26:54,595 --> 00:26:57,742

Jennifer: that didn't necessarily stop during that

813

00:26:57,782 --> 00:26:59,213

Jennifer: time, you know, I mean we couldn't cast

814

00:26:59,253 --> 00:27:00,598

Jennifer: anything and it couldn't actually go into

815

00:27:00,638 --> 00:27:01,039

Jennifer: production.

816

00:27:01,310 --> 00:27:03,555

Jennifer: But you know there's, there's all sorts of

817

00:27:03,735 --> 00:27:07,082

Jennifer: other things that were being asked of my

818

00:27:07,143 --> 00:27:09,175

Jennifer: mind creatively for some of the projects

819

00:27:09,195 --> 00:27:10,640

Jennifer: that I'm attached to as a filmmaker.

820

00:27:10,790 --> 00:27:13,096

Jennifer: So so that did fill some of it.

821

00:27:13,296 --> 00:27:14,940

Jennifer: And you know, traveling a little bit and

822

00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:15,462

Jennifer: all that stuff.

823

00:27:15,830 --> 00:27:18,818

Marc: Well, on Dr Death, you know, like in movies

824

00:27:19,279 --> 00:27:20,991

Marc: it's really a director's medium and they

825

00:27:21,011 --> 00:27:22,235

Marc: say on TV it's a writer's medium.

826

00:27:22,255 --> 00:27:23,419

Marc: But you look at some of these shows and

827

00:27:23,439 --> 00:27:24,992

Marc: kind of the way things are done, and

828

00:27:25,012 --> 00:27:26,259

Marc: especially if you're directing multiple

829

00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:27,969

Marc: episodes, you really get to kind of put

830

00:27:27,990 --> 00:27:28,873

Marc: your own thumbprint on that.

831

00:27:29,790 --> 00:27:31,356

Marc: What was kind of your idea and kind of like

832

00:27:31,376 --> 00:27:32,118

Marc: how did it come to you?

833

00:27:32,270 --> 00:27:33,994

Marc: And also kind of how did you kind of put

834

00:27:34,014 --> 00:27:35,699

Marc: your own thumbprint on what this was all

835

00:27:35,739 --> 00:27:36,821

Marc: about this season?

836

00:27:37,250 --> 00:27:38,054

Jennifer: Yeah, it's a great question.

837

00:27:38,990 --> 00:27:41,719

Jennifer: So yeah, dr Death is an anthology series,

838

00:27:41,910 --> 00:27:44,077

Jennifer: so each season is a different cast and a

839

00:27:44,097 --> 00:27:45,360

Jennifer: different story that's being told.

840

00:27:45,550 --> 00:27:48,480

Jennifer: So it's exciting because, even though there

841

00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:50,868

Jennifer: is this kind of like heartbeat of a

842

00:27:50,908 --> 00:27:52,877

Jennifer: throughline of each season, is a doctor

843

00:27:52,897 --> 00:27:54,645

Jennifer: that has done something terrible within the

844

00:27:54,686 --> 00:27:56,232

Jennifer: system and kind of gotten away with it.

845

00:27:57,395 --> 00:27:58,779

Jennifer: Each year it really starts over.

846

00:27:59,270 --> 00:28:01,758

Jennifer: So the first year was about this Dr, dr

847

00:28:01,798 --> 00:28:03,676

Jennifer: Dunge and I actually directed episodes

848

00:28:03,716 --> 00:28:05,766

Jennifer: three and four of the first season when

849

00:28:05,847 --> 00:28:08,034

Jennifer: Patrick Big Manus was the showrunner for

850

00:28:08,054 --> 00:28:10,359

Jennifer: that season and worked with, you know, alec

851

00:28:10,379 --> 00:28:12,492

Jennifer: Baldwin, christian Slater, josh Jackson

852

00:28:12,632 --> 00:28:16,703

Jennifer: great cast Grace Gummer, and, and I got two

853

00:28:16,763 --> 00:28:19,489

Jennifer: episodes where it was sort of a really big

854

00:28:19,589 --> 00:28:21,373

Jennifer: visual concept for those two episodes

855

00:28:21,393 --> 00:28:23,704

Jennifer: because a huge section of it was like this

856

00:28:23,764 --> 00:28:25,468

Jennifer: fantasy sequence that needed to feel like

857

00:28:25,508 --> 00:28:29,482

Jennifer: it wasn't real and so I really got to Put a

858

00:28:29,542 --> 00:28:32,012

Jennifer: visual stamp on that because of the fantasy

859

00:28:32,072 --> 00:28:34,039

Jennifer: sequence of it all and and that went really

860

00:28:34,079 --> 00:28:35,988

Jennifer: well and I got along so well with Patrick.

861

00:28:36,049 --> 00:28:38,198

Jennifer: And then when season two was being

862

00:28:38,218 --> 00:28:40,105

Jennifer: conceived and they decided to do the Paolo

863

00:28:40,125 --> 00:28:41,831

Jennifer: Macchiarini story and they needed someone

864

00:28:41,871 --> 00:28:43,778

Jennifer: to pilot the second season and do the first

865

00:28:43,798 --> 00:28:44,400

Jennifer: four episodes.

866

00:28:45,622 --> 00:28:47,947

Jennifer: You know, I think because of how sort of

867

00:28:48,007 --> 00:28:50,372

Jennifer: visual those episodes were, that I ended up

868

00:28:50,512 --> 00:28:53,184

Jennifer: directing in the first Go around of the

869

00:28:53,245 --> 00:28:54,148

Jennifer: anthology series.

870

00:28:55,061 --> 00:28:56,746

Jennifer: They thought of me for this and I met with

871

00:28:56,806 --> 00:28:58,310

Jennifer: Ashley Michael Holbin, who's a showrunner

872

00:28:58,370 --> 00:29:01,211

Jennifer: on this one, and she was just incredible

873

00:29:01,292 --> 00:29:03,584

Jennifer: and we had a great collaboration and and I

874

00:29:03,604 --> 00:29:05,349

Jennifer: just attribute both Patrick and Ashley

875

00:29:05,389 --> 00:29:07,762

Jennifer: Michael as just being Just such

876

00:29:07,843 --> 00:29:09,466

Jennifer: collaborative partners like you were saying

877

00:29:09,487 --> 00:29:10,890

Jennifer: like sometimes the director is a little bit

878

00:29:10,910 --> 00:29:12,785

Jennifer: minimalized on television and I don't think

879

00:29:12,885 --> 00:29:14,839

Jennifer: either of them would ever allow that, you

880

00:29:14,859 --> 00:29:14,940

Jennifer: know.

881

00:29:15,060 --> 00:29:17,345

Jennifer: So I was really grateful to feel like a

882

00:29:17,386 --> 00:29:19,711

Jennifer: real partner in that situation, with in

883

00:29:19,731 --> 00:29:22,685

Jennifer: both situations and and Ashley and Michael

884

00:29:22,705 --> 00:29:26,362

Jennifer: and I were just like so close and Just in.

885

00:29:26,863 --> 00:29:29,709

Jennifer: We also had very similar taste and and saw

886

00:29:29,749 --> 00:29:31,112

Jennifer: the show in such a similar way.

887

00:29:31,172 --> 00:29:34,762

Jennifer: So it was a great partnership and I've

888

00:29:34,843 --> 00:29:37,748

Jennifer: learned over the years like it's really

889

00:29:37,809 --> 00:29:40,043

Jennifer: important to find that right partnership

890

00:29:40,103 --> 00:29:40,966

Jennifer: with your showrunners.

891

00:29:41,006 --> 00:29:42,390

Jennifer: You know every showrunner is different.

892

00:29:42,450 --> 00:29:44,383

Jennifer: Every showrunner Operates a little bit

893

00:29:44,403 --> 00:29:44,805

Jennifer: differently.

894

00:29:44,885 --> 00:29:47,267

Jennifer: Every showrunner is Differently generous in

895

00:29:47,287 --> 00:29:48,816

Jennifer: terms of how much they let you put your

896

00:29:48,877 --> 00:29:50,889

Jennifer: stamp on things, but no matter what,

897

00:29:51,190 --> 00:29:52,458

Jennifer: they're the ones who conceived of it in

898

00:29:52,478 --> 00:29:54,404

Jennifer: their brain, so I'm doing the best I can to

899

00:29:54,444 --> 00:29:56,449

Jennifer: kind of climb inside their heads and try to

900

00:29:56,489 --> 00:29:58,073

Jennifer: bring to life this thing that they've been,

901

00:29:58,701 --> 00:30:00,586

Jennifer: they've been working on for sometimes years,

902

00:30:00,667 --> 00:30:02,512

Jennifer: before I even come to the project, you know.

903

00:30:03,806 --> 00:30:07,304

Jennifer: And so with with the Second season of dr

904

00:30:07,365 --> 00:30:09,429

Jennifer: Death, you know, it was just exciting to do

905

00:30:09,449 --> 00:30:11,032

Jennifer: the pilot, is exciting to be a part of the

906

00:30:11,072 --> 00:30:11,934

Jennifer: casting process.

907

00:30:12,801 --> 00:30:15,149

Jennifer: It was wild because we shot all four

908

00:30:15,209 --> 00:30:17,384

Jennifer: episodes at once, so it was basically like

909

00:30:17,404 --> 00:30:19,470

Jennifer: making a four-hour movie and we had to cast,

910

00:30:19,550 --> 00:30:22,645

Jennifer: you know, 120 actors or something before we

911

00:30:22,705 --> 00:30:23,888

Jennifer: even started, because we were

912

00:30:23,908 --> 00:30:25,291

Jennifer: cross-boarding everything, which meant

913

00:30:25,351 --> 00:30:26,874

Jennifer: everybody had to be there and available.

914

00:30:28,702 --> 00:30:30,345

Jennifer: And it was really important to me that I

915

00:30:30,446 --> 00:30:32,389

Jennifer: wanted, I I wanted to still have the

916

00:30:32,429 --> 00:30:33,872

Jennifer: heartbeat, in essence, of what was

917

00:30:33,952 --> 00:30:35,221

Jennifer: established in the first season, but I

918

00:30:35,301 --> 00:30:36,927

Jennifer: wanted it to have its own look in its own

919

00:30:36,967 --> 00:30:39,585

Jennifer: vibe, and the story was so different that

920

00:30:39,605 --> 00:30:41,370

Jennifer: it was asking for a different energy.

921

00:30:41,450 --> 00:30:45,905

Jennifer: And so you know, the dog, the Palo Macchi

922

00:30:45,945 --> 00:30:48,812

Jennifer: Rini character, is kind of swirling people

923

00:30:49,012 --> 00:30:51,950

Jennifer: into Misconceptions at all times and he

924

00:30:52,050 --> 00:30:53,500

Jennifer: spins the truth all the time.

925

00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:55,605

Jennifer: And so there were just there were times

926

00:30:55,645 --> 00:30:58,152

Jennifer: where movement was really important to keep

927

00:30:58,352 --> 00:31:00,398

Jennifer: the audience in a place of feeling that

928

00:31:00,418 --> 00:31:01,300

Jennifer: kind of whirlwind of energy.

929

00:31:02,243 --> 00:31:03,708

Jennifer: And then there were times where, because

930

00:31:03,788 --> 00:31:06,376

Jennifer: that was happening, stillness really meant

931

00:31:06,457 --> 00:31:07,480

Jennifer: something, you know.

932

00:31:07,700 --> 00:31:09,605

Jennifer: So you you'll feel that there's a push and

933

00:31:09,645 --> 00:31:11,209

Jennifer: pull between movement and stillness in the

934

00:31:11,249 --> 00:31:13,013

Jennifer: show and that was very much in the design.

935

00:31:13,681 --> 00:31:15,245

Marc: Are you naturally a person who likes to

936

00:31:15,326 --> 00:31:17,070

Marc: prepare a lot, because that's what seems

937

00:31:17,090 --> 00:31:20,144

Marc: like TV and I don't know if I could ever

938

00:31:20,204 --> 00:31:22,630

Marc: direct, because I'm so like sometimes if I

939

00:31:22,670 --> 00:31:24,281

Marc: go to a restaurant with a big menu I'm like

940

00:31:24,321 --> 00:31:26,128

Marc: a pain in the ass, I mean, like I'm, I

941

00:31:26,168 --> 00:31:27,734

Marc: can't make my mind, and being a director,

942

00:31:27,794 --> 00:31:29,240

Marc: it's all about the choices, you know.

943

00:31:30,083 --> 00:31:31,529

Marc: So are you naturally somebody who just kind

944

00:31:31,569 --> 00:31:34,040

Marc: of really prepare is a lot, so you walk in,

945

00:31:34,060 --> 00:31:35,988

Marc: that it's, you're ready to go day off.

946

00:31:36,149 --> 00:31:37,314

Jennifer: Yeah, I mean here's.

947

00:31:37,334 --> 00:31:39,101

Jennifer: The thing is like I am a big prepper, but

948

00:31:39,322 --> 00:31:41,108

Jennifer: that preparation is so that I can be

949

00:31:41,168 --> 00:31:41,609

Jennifer: flexible.

950

00:31:42,111 --> 00:31:43,696

Jennifer: You know it's like I always look at the

951

00:31:43,736 --> 00:31:44,940

Jennifer: preparation as the safety net.

952

00:31:45,121 --> 00:31:46,732

Jennifer: You know it's like there's always, there's

953

00:31:46,772 --> 00:31:47,819

Jennifer: always something you don't expect on the

954

00:31:47,860 --> 00:31:47,920

Jennifer: day.

955

00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:49,104

Jennifer: There's always a crisis that you don't

956

00:31:49,144 --> 00:31:50,287

Jennifer: expect on the day that you're gonna have to

957

00:31:50,307 --> 00:31:54,361

Jennifer: pivot and solve, and you can't be so Stuck

958

00:31:54,401 --> 00:31:56,286

Jennifer: in your prep that you can't let go of it to

959

00:31:56,426 --> 00:31:57,589

Jennifer: adjust to the circumstances.

960

00:31:57,669 --> 00:31:59,012

Jennifer: But also there's oh there's gonna be a

961

00:31:59,072 --> 00:32:00,545

Jennifer: moment of Inspiration that you may not have

962

00:32:00,565 --> 00:32:01,047

Jennifer: seen coming.

963

00:32:01,401 --> 00:32:02,865

Jennifer: But as long as you have that preparation

964

00:32:02,905 --> 00:32:05,392

Jennifer: and you know you have a plan that can work

965

00:32:06,322 --> 00:32:08,089

Jennifer: If you so choose to go with it.

966

00:32:08,903 --> 00:32:11,196

Jennifer: It gives you an efficiency to the way that

967

00:32:11,236 --> 00:32:12,642

Jennifer: you move through your day and I think that

968

00:32:12,662 --> 00:32:15,149

Jennifer: that's the greatest gift a director can

969

00:32:15,189 --> 00:32:17,114

Jennifer: give themselves is efficiency, because that

970

00:32:17,154 --> 00:32:19,662

Jennifer: means you have time for that shot, that's a

971

00:32:19,722 --> 00:32:21,552

Jennifer: new inspiration, or you have time to have

972

00:32:21,593 --> 00:32:22,920

Jennifer: that extra take with the actor.

973

00:32:23,624 --> 00:32:26,943

Jennifer: So I really do believe in prep, but I also

974

00:32:27,204 --> 00:32:28,829

Jennifer: it's it's very similar to how I think as an

975

00:32:28,909 --> 00:32:30,088

Jennifer: actor, which is you prep, you prep, you,

976

00:32:30,128 --> 00:32:31,358

Jennifer: prep, you prep, and as soon as you're there

977

00:32:31,378 --> 00:32:32,605

Jennifer: on the day You've got to let it all go and

978

00:32:32,646 --> 00:32:35,622

Jennifer: just be, and it's a similar thing, I think,

979

00:32:35,662 --> 00:32:37,353