Inside Television 586
Publication Date: 1-13-12
By: Hubert O’Hearn
The Pro’s Pro
I have a theory. Television directors are like baseball umpires. When the show or the game is over the average viewer should have no idea of the name of either. Flamboyance takes away from the story the audience wants to see. Movies are different. Ever since Cahiers du Cinema in France and Andrew Sarris in America among others, came up with the auteur theory in the 1950s directors have increasingly and visibly waved their hands, shot off fireworks and held up twinkly signs saying Hey Look at ME!
This week I spoke with a man who knows both sides of the directorial experience. Guy Magar, age 63, has directed thousands of hours of television programming plus several feature films including the cult favourite Retribution and the movie that largely launched the career of Matt LeBlanc, Lookin’ Italian. He authored one of my favourite Hollywood memoirs, Kiss Me Quick Before I Shoot which is in equal parts the story of his rise in Hollywood, becoming a pro’s pro among directors and the story of his beloved wife Jacqui’s battle against leukemia. The latter was ultimately successful thanks to groundbreaking stem cell treatment.
What is perhaps most gratifying about Guy is his willingness to pass on almost 40 years of professional experience to new filmmakers, primarily through his Action/Cut series of weekend seminars, also available on DVD through www.actioncut.com . So what is actually involved in directing a television show like The A Team, La Femme Nikita, or a soap opera like Capitol?
‘There are two parts to directing. One is learning how to tell a story visually, through pictures. Film schools do a great job of that. The other part is working with actors. That’s the part they don’t teach you. I started taking acting classes when I was in New York and I continued to do so in L.A. I needed to know how actors work as individuals and how to communicate with them.’
What else is there that film schools don’t teach the students? It seems that there are no end of people who produce great student films then vanish. ‘I’ve seen that happen to so many. As I mention in the book, there were only 3 of us left in town from my 100 graduating class at the AFI a decade later. You’re right, it’s not just talent…you gotta be a great networker – and super self-motivated – to meet the right folks to SHOW your film to…the right folks mean the very few people who can help you move forward with your career if they like what you show them. As you may recall from my book, it took me sneaking past the guards at the black tower at Universal Studios breaking into an executive’s office who had seen the film, thought I had the talent, but wouldn’t take my calls…I was desperate and needed to confront him and find out if he really did think I had some talent…and if so, to help me get into Universal. And I got lucky.’
Action/Cut is an outstanding seminar program given that it works directly from the dailies which Guy has saved over the years. He teaches how to put a scene together - any kind of scene, from action to comedy to love scenes. And if you learn and then do your job perfectly, maybe you’ll be the next Martin Scorces or maybe you’ll be the next pro’s pro - the guy (pun intended) the industry knows to call when they need the job done right.
Be seeing you.
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