Soundstage Access

UPDATE: Erik won a 'Best Cinematography' Oscar for MANK since our conversation! Congratulations! It’s so exciting to sit down with Erik Messerschmidt, ASC - an Emmy-nominated cinematographer whose credits include the popular Netflix series MINDHUNTER, HBO’s RAISED BY WOLVES and David Fincher's latest Netflix film MANK! In today’s conversation, Erik and I discuss his beginnings in the film industry...

We're honored to welcome to the show Kazu Hiro, an Oscar-winning makeup effects designer from Japan whose credits include THE GRINCH, PLANET OF THE APES and THE DARKEST HOUR, which earned him and Gary Oldman Academy Awards for the stunning transformation into Winston Churchill. In the conversation, we discuss Kazu's personal relationship with makeup legends Dick Smith and Rick Baker (who created i...

It was a joy to be welcomed in studio by Emmy-winning composer David Arnold, whose credits include CASINO ROYALE, INDEPENDENCE DAY and BBC’s SHERLOCK. In today’s conversation we discuss how avoiding a formal music training (in favor of scoring student films) prepared David for his launch into the film industry—and why David chooses not to listen to film music composed by his peers; how making a re...

It’s so exciting to sit down with cinematographer Shelly Johnson, whose credits include CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, THE WOLFMAN and BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC. Shelly is an amazing storyteller, and in our conversation we discuss a number of topics: from Shelly getting chosen by Spielberg himself to shoot JURASSIC PARK III as his first studio movie; the complex process of creating a "skinny...

To complete our conversation we catch up once more with Zoë Bell, a New Zealand actress, stunt double and stunt coordinator whose credits include THE HATEFUL EIGHT, THOR: RAGNAROK and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD. While in Part 1 of our conversation we discuss Zoë's experience on the XENA TV series and memories from shooting KILL BILL in China, today's Part 2 is focused on a wide range of topi...

We're so lucky to sit down with Zoë Bell, a New Zealand actress, stunt double and stunt coordinator whose credits include THE HATEFUL EIGHT, THOR: RAGNAROK and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD. In Part 1 of our conversation we discuss Zoë’s beginnings in New Zealand stunt doubling Lucy Lawless in the XENA TV series; how a special trip to Los Angeles led her to meet Quentin Tarantino and be cast as...

It’s so exciting to sit down with Emmy-nominated British film composer Lorne Balfe, whose credits include THE DARK KNIGHT, BAD BOYS FOR LIFE and Marvel's BLACK WIDOW. In our conversation we discuss a number of topics from Lorne's career: an introduction to his score for HBO’s HIS DARK MATERIALS, Lorne’s technical approach to film scoring and creative collaboration with Hans Zimmer since 2005, an i...

It’s an honor to sit down with legendary Dutch filmmaker Jan de Bont, who directed the most exciting action cinema of the '90s. He began his career as the cinematographer of DIE HARD, before directing pulse-racing movies like SPEED (with Keanu Reeves) and the disaster flick TWISTER. In our conversation we discuss the horrific accident Jan suffered on the infamous production of ROAR when one of the...

We're so happy to be joined on the show by Oscar-winning Production Design duo David Wasco & Sandy-Reynolds Wasco, whose credits include COLLATERAL, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS and LA LA LAND. In Part 2 of our conversation, we briefly talk about the history of Los Angeles in movies and the Wasco's experience trying to re-invent the city 11 different times (PULP FICTION among them)— before we shift our co...

We're so happy to be joined on the show by Oscar-winning Production Design duo David Wasco & Sandy-Reynolds Wasco, whose credits include KILL BILL, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS and LA LA LAND. In Part 1 of our conversation, we discuss how their creative process ranges when working with directors like Wes Anderson, Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino; an in-depth discussion about their experience on INGLORI...

We're jazzed to sit down with award-winning filmmaker Alice Wu, whose credits include SAVING FACE and THE HALF OF IT, which won 'Best Narrative Feature' at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix! In our conversation we discuss with Alice the importance of writing emotionally authentic stories, the path that led to her first feature being financed, how the 15 years between her tw...

It was awesome to welcome to the show Oscar-nominated film director Morten Tyldum, whose credits include 2014's THE IMITATION GAME (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination), PASSENGERS - starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt - and this year's DEFENDING JACOB, now streaming on Apple TV+. In our conversation we discuss the impact that the Oscar-nomination received for THE IMITA...

What a pleasure to be joined on the show by Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman turned filmmaker who since 2013 has dedicated his directing career to the JOHN WICK franchise, starring Keanu Reeves. We're big fans of Chad's creative approach to turning stunts into a storytelling device, and in our conversation we provide an in-depth breakdown of the JOHN WICK movies: how Greek mythology influenced th...

What a treat to sit down with animation director of photography Patrick Lin, who's curated the cinematography for your favorite Pixar films including INSIDE OUT, RATATOUILLE, UP and THE INCREDIBLES. In our conversation, we break down the creative pipeline of how movies are made at Pixar, how Patrick chose dynamic camera angles for THE INCREDIBLES, the design behind that heart-breaking opening for...

We're so excited to welcome on the show Oscar-winner Chris Corbould, a Special Effects Supervisor whose credits include STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, THE DARK KNIGHT and every James Bond film from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) to the upcoming NO TIME TO DIE (2021). Chris has discovered a way to merge imagination and engineering to create larger than life action. In our episode we discuss his memorie...

We're honored to welcome to the show Oscar-winning Production Designer Barbara Ling, whose credits include BATMAN & ROBIN and Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. In our conversation, we briefly discuss her creative experience working on two of the most controversial BATMAN films before deep-diving into a nearly hour-long spoiler conversation about designing the sets of ONCE UPON A T...

We're so happy to welcome back to the show Assistant Director WILL CLARK, whose credits include KILL BILL, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. Will has been Quentin Tarantino's Assistant Director for over 20 years, and in our conversation we deep-dive into a nearly hour-long spoiler conversation on the making of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. From managing the high-budget resour...

We’re grateful to be welcomed into the offices of Company 3 to chat with legendary colorist STEPHEN NAKAMURA, whose credits include FIGHT CLUB, THE MARTIAN and IT: CHAPTER TWO. In our conversation, we discuss the creative process of arriving at a film's final look, collaborating with visually-driven directors like David Fincher and Gore Verbinski, and shaping the haunting look of Pennywise the Clo...

What a treat to welcome on the show Benjamin Wallfisch, a prolific music composer whose credits include SHAZAM!, BLADE RUNNER 2049 and Christopher Nolan’s DUNKIRK. In our conversation we discuss Benjamin's early love for music; his creative experience working on the incredibly underrated A CURE FOR WELLNESS; the mentorship received from friend and fellow composer Hans Zimmer; the haunting role of...

We're so lucky to sit down with Editor-turned-Director JOHN GLEN, a UK filmmaker famous for helming the 007 franchise throughout the 1980s, directing 5 of the Bond films including 'For Your Eyes Only' and 'License to Kill'! In our conversation we discuss the creative process of building each Bond screenplay from the ground up, what John learned working as a 2nd Unit Director and Editor on several...

Just in time for the release of 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', we sit down with 1st Assistant Director William Paul Clark, who has worked with Quentin Tarantino for the last 25 years, and whose credits include PULP FICTION, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD. In our conversation, we discuss Will's creative duties as an Assistant Director, anecdotes from sets and his filmmak...

What a treat to welcome on the show Academy Award-nominated Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas, whose credits include INCEPTION, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL and the sci-fi PASSENGERS(starring Jennifer Lawrence) among others! In our conversation, we discuss Guy's early beginning working as an Illustrator in Hollywood, his experience working as the Production Designer of the...

We had a blast sitting down with award-winning cinematographer Julio Macat, whose credits include HOME ALONE, HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK and WEDDING CRASHERS among many others. In our conversation we talk about Julio's first experience as a feature cinematographer shooting HOME ALONE, shooting the stunts and creating comedy through framing; his first time meeting Jim Carrey on the set of ACE V...

What a pleasure to welcome on the show Academy Award-winning producer Irwin Winkler, who has been producing Martin Scorsese films for the last 40 years, and whose credits include GOODFELLAS, the ROCKY franchise and the gangster epic THE IRISHMAN. In our conversation, we discuss the challenges of making the original ROCKY as a low-budget film, Irwin's creative role as a Producer to discover new mat...

*UPDATE: Sam Hargrave's directorial debut EXTRACTION (previously titled 'DHAKA') is now Netflix's most watched film ever! So excited to sit down with Director and Stunt Coordinator Sam Hargrave, whose credits include CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, EXTRACTION, and AVENGERS: ENDGAME! In our conversation, we discuss Sam's beginnings as a stuntman in Hollywood, a breakdown of his award-winning stunt work...