BELOW THE LINE PODCAST

Season 13 starts off with a look at “Black Hawk Down”, Ridley Scott’s 2001 epic war film. My guests are Senior Military Advisor Harry Humpries and LA Production Coordinator Kimberley Ann Berdy, and the first half of our two-part discussion focuses on pre-production: sending the actors to military training camp, purchasing helicopters that production could actually destroy, and getting everything to Morocco in time for filming to begin.

“The First Lady”, now finishing its inaugural season on Showtime, takes the audience behind the scenes through a century of Presidential history. Makeup Department Head Carol Rasheed talks about designing First Lady looks that typify each historical period while remaining timeless. Oh, and we also talk about Barack Obama’s ears. 

“Roar” is a show with something to say, and Production Designer Todd Fjelsted talks about reinforcing that message through all eight episodes of this Apple TV+ anthology series. Budget and schedule always complicate production efforts where anthologies are concerned but — as Todd explains — this project also offered a degree of freedom that’s unusual in the Industry.

Storytelling is more than just what the script describes, and today we’re talking with Cinematographer Shawn Peters about how his work on Apple TV+’s “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” helped shaped the look of the limited series. We also talk about Shawn’s unusual career path, and - for listeners who stick around to the end - how collaborating on set is like being in a relationship.

Costume Designer Helen Huang returns to the podcast to talk about “Station Eleven,” the 10-episode miniseries that aired on HBO Max last winter. This was probably my favorite tv series of both 2021 and 2022 (so far), and it was interesting to speak with Helen about designing for a post-apocalypse where hope is not dead.

Of all my work in Hollywood, 2003’s “Big Fish” was one of my favorite projects (I was the 2nd 2nd Assistant Director). For this episode, I’m joined by screenwriter John August, who I met when he visited us on location in Alabama. John talks about working with Tim Burton and the challenges of being a writer on set. Oh, and did you know there was a Broadway adaptation of the movie? I had a few questions about that as well.

2020’s “Promising Young Woman”, despite its limited budget and short shooting schedule, is a tour de force. My guest today, Production Designer Michael Perry, talks about approaching each set with either “masculine” or “feminine” intentions, and how those intentions subtly contribute to the overall story. 

“The Walking Dead” will wrap it’s 11-season run on AMC later this year. The series is filmed just outside Atlanta, and my guests today — Best Boy Grip Frankie Zamora and Grip Nicole Higgins — talk about their work on Season 10 of the show. Do Grips on Walking Dead work much harder than the Electric Department? Listen and decide for yourself.

Taylor Sheridan’s “1883”, currently available on Paramount+, is a prequel to the hugely successful “Yellowstone” series (four seasons of which are exclusively available on NBC’s Peacock streaming service). My guest today is the Lead Editor, Chad Galster, who shares stories about how his long relationship with Taylor informs his work on this standalone, attention-getting series.

2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is both a continuation of and an homage to the original Ghostbusters story. Not only can fans see the tribute on the screen, they can hear it in the soundscape. Today I’m joined by Production Sound Mixer Steve Morrow, Supervising Sound Editor Perry Robertson, and Re-recording Mixer/Supervising Sound Editor Will Files to explore how the iconic sounds of the original are an integral aspect of the new film.