Team Deakins

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 76 - DEB AQUILA - CASTING DIRECTOR Casting director Deb Aquila (CODA, LA LA LAND, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Deb grew up in an arts-loving family, whose encouragement to enter the field led her to attend NYU and study under Stella Adler. Pivoting into casting, Deb found herself working on the hit serie...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 75 - LUC MONTPELLIER - CINEMATOGRAPHER Cinematographer Luc Montpellier (WOMEN TALKING, AWAY FROM HER, AUTUMN HEARTS) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Hailing from rural Canada, Luc reflects on his childhood growing up with a deep love for film and later knuckling down to get into film school, both by building his portfolio and threatening the school with an...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 74 - LISA CHURGIN - EDITOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we're joined by editor Lisa Churgin (PITCH PERFECT, HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, GATTACA) to discuss her career and the craft of editing. Lisa shares with us the moment she discovered filmmaking after leaving suburban New Jersey for New York City and how she survived bouncing between employment and unemployment be...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 73 - INBAL WEINBERG - PRODUCTION DESIGNER Production designer Inbal Weinberg (THE LOST DAUGHTER; SUSPIRIA; THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Despite her early love for European social realist films, Inbal embarked on the immigrant dream of making it in New York City and studied film at NYU before being asked by direc...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 72 - STEVE YEDLIN - CINEMATOGRAPHER Cinematographer Steve Yedlin (GLASS ONION, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, LOOPER) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast to discuss the nuts and bolts (and truth!) of cinematography. We touch on Steve's early-career projects and on the start of his enduring creative partnership with director Rian Johnson during their time at USC. Late...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 71 - DAVID OYELOWO - ACTOR / DIRECTOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we're joined by actor and director David Oyelowo (LAWMEN: BASS REEVES, THE WATER MAN, SELMA) to discuss his career and his craft. A television-addicted latchkey kid in his youth, David later spent several years with the Royal Shakespeare Company before embarking on his career on the screen with ch...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 70 - ZACH BRAFF - ACTOR / WRITER / DIRECTOR Actor, writer, and director Zach Braff (A GOOD PERSON, GARDEN STATE, SCRUBS) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Zach fell in love with the arts at an early age, booking one of his first on-screen roles in Woody Allen's MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY and later cutting his teeth in production while PA'ing on music videos in...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 69 - CORD JEFFERSON - WRITER / DIRECTOR Writer and director Cord Jefferson (AMERICAN FICTION, WATCHMEN, THE GOOD PLACE) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Cord tells us why he never considered a career in the arts and how he wrote his way onto a journalism beat after college. After transitioning into writing television and s...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 68 - JAMES CHINLUND - PRODUCTION DESIGNER Production designer James Chinlund (THE BATMAN, THE AVENGERS, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Reflecting on his childhood, James recalls to us noting the relationship between crowds of worshipers and the inner sanctum of the Cathedral of St. John in New York while squirreled up above in its atti...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 67 - ED MCDONNELL - PRODUCER On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, producer Ed McDonnell (SICARIO, PRISONERS, INSOMNIA) joins us in a lively conversation about his craft and his career. After producing a play at age 12 in his neighbor's garage, he survived two brief stints in Washington and on Wall Street before leaving it all behind to work in Hollywood. While charting h...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 66 - OLIVER STAPLETON - CINEMATOGRAPHER On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, cinematographer Oliver Stapleton (THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, THE GRIFTERS, MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE) joins us in conversation. In addition to his career as a cinematographer, Oliver is also the Co-Head of Cinematography at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the UK. Oliver credits his l...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 65 - REED MORANO - DIRECTOR / CINEMATOGRAPHER On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, director and cinematographer Reed Morano (THE HANDMAID'S TALE, I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, MEADOWLAND) speaks with us in a career-spanning conversation. We learn how after being drafted into the position of family documentarian, Reed soon found herself drawn towards the world of filmmaking. R...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 64 - ELLEN LEWIS - CASTING DIRECTOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Episode, casting director Ellen Lewis (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, GOODFELLAS) joins us to talk about all things casting—of which we knew very little before speaking with her. A disciple of veteran casting director Juliet Taylor, Ellen shares with us how they were first introduced and...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 63 - RIAN JOHNSON - WRITER / DIRECTOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, writer and director Rian Johnson (KNIVES OUT, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, LOOPER) speaks with us about his career, and, in a pleasant change of pace, he even asks us a few questions! Rian first shares his childhood memory of attending a screenwriting seminar with his father and how that experience h...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 62 - DECLAN QUINN - CINEMATOGRAPHER Cinematographer Declan Quinn (HAMILTON, LEAVING LAS VEGAS, MONSOON WEDDING) speaks with Team Deakins on this episode of the podcast. A first generation immigrant from Ireland, Declan first reflects on his youth bouncing between America and his family's home country. We then ruminate on Declan's decision to spend part of his early career in Ire...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 61 - DALLAS FILM COMMISSION On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we sit down with two members from the Dallas Film Commission: Tony Armer, the commissioner, and Andrew Vela, a project specialist. We pepper Tony and Andrew with questions throughout the episode. What does a film commission office actually do? How do offices differ at the state and city levels? How do they...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 60 - DAVID LOWERY - WRITER / DIRECTOR Team Deakins speaks with writer and director David Lowery (PETER PAN & WENDY, A GHOST STORY, AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS) on this episode of the podcast. David credits his early childhood obsession with STAR WARS (despite having not seeing the films at the time) for his lifelong obsession with filmmaking, and he walks us through his early caree...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 59 - KELLEY DIXON - EDITOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, editor Kelley Dixon (OBI-WAN KENOBI, THE GOLDFINCH, BREAKING BAD) joins us for a conversation about all things editing. Kelley starts by sharing her experience working in the MGM/UA mailroom and delivering script pages to the editorial department where she quickly found herself helping cut scenes. Kelley lat...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 58 - ERNEST DICKERSON - DIRECTOR / CINEMATOGRAPHER Director and cinematographer Ernest Dickerson (BOSCH, JUICE, MALCOLM X) joins us in conversation on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Having been exposed to photography as a young man by his uncle, Ernest first keyed into cinematography after watching David Lean's OLIVER TWIST and later attended graduate film school at N...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 57 - FRANKLIN LEONARD - FOUNDER OF THE BLACK LIST Franklin Leonard, the founder of The Black List, joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast for a fascinating conversation. Franklin, a Harvard-educated military brat, starts by recounting his many travels across continents and industries before finding his footing as an assistant in the motion picture literary departme...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 56 - RYAN WHITE - DIRECTOR Director Ryan White (GOOD NIGHT OPPY, THE KEEPERS, ASSASSINS) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast to discuss his career and the field of documentary filmmaking. Born and raised in Dunwoody, Georgia, Ryan later enrolled in Duke University where he found his calling to direct documentaries after watching Agnès Varda's THE GLEANERS AND I....

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 55 - JOHN SAYLES - ACTOR / WRITER / DIRECTOR / NOVELIST Actor, writer, director, and novelist John Sayles (MATEWAN, BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, LONE STAR) joins Team Deakins on this episode of the podcast for a discussion covering his long career in filmmaking and in fiction writing. A true multi-hyphenate, John first describes his postgraduate journey from working in an Italia...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 54 - BILL HADER - ACTOR / DIRECTOR / SHOWRUNNER Actor, director, and showrunner Bill Hader (BARRY, INSIDE OUT, THE SKELETON TWINS) joins Team Deakins to discuss his multi-faceted career in one of our funnier conversations. Reared in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bill describes how he first rode into town despite an early setback being rejected from film school for being "too entertaining." W...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 53 - JENNY BEAVAN - COSTUME DESIGNER Acclaimed costume designer Jenny Beavan (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, CURELLA, A ROOM WITH A VIEW) joins us for a conversation about her craft on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Hailing from England, Jenny shares how she fell in with the famed Merchant Ivory troupe, and she describes spending her early formative professional years traveling...

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 52 - AVA DUVERNAY - WRITER / DIRECTOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we sit down with writer and director Ava DuVernay (WHEN THEY SEE US, 13TH, SELMA) for a lively conversation about her career and her craft. Ava credits her early love for cinema to her classic-film-loving, night-shift-working aunt, and she describes the lightbulb moment while on location of Michae...