Check out my new web series – Flavors – https://youtu.be/cWOF1tpyjy8 and subscribe to our youtube channel http://tinyurl.com/theLBSisters .
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Check out my new web series – Flavors – https://youtu.be/cWOF1tpyjy8 and subscribe to our youtube channel http://tinyurl.com/theLBSisters .
If I’m idle, something is wrong. It is rare that I have not scheduled myself to fill every waking moment of the day…some might say over scheduled. I jest that my gravestone will say: ”Wait, I’m not done yet!” My life is about getting shit done. Why? In a profession where I am not punching…
I started a Lean In circle recently with a directing colleague I met at the Warner Bros. directing workshop. I’ve been examining just when it is that I do or don’t “lean in” and take my place at the table where I belong. I decided to start with something simple: the way I drive. I…
I know it when I see it onscreen. I can’t help but notice it when I’m near two people who have it. It’s palpable when I have it with someone else. And I’m not talking about that urge to jump into bed with someone. Although chemistry, I’m sure fuels that in all of us, in…
“With fear, learning stops,” Bob Koherr, a fellow sitcom director, reminded me and a room with other DGA members recently. I’ve blogged about fear before—how it can be your friend. But Bob’s statement prompted me to think about fear again and reexamine how I overcome it. I realized that I have several strategies to draw…
“Ask a busy person . . .” It makes sense. A busy person already has a reputation for saying yes. And odds are he/she will again. But I want to talk about the reflex of saying no. Why do people do that? Who wants the rep of being the negative one? You say no to…
I hate asking for help. I don’t know if it’s not wanting to impose, not wanting to be beholden, or just fearing that someone might say no. But I learned a great lesson when I was recently producing three Santa Monica Cares shorts, about services that help the homeless, a project co-sponsored by the DGA’s…
I was directing a scene . . . an homage to Abbot and Costello’s fabulous “Who’s on First.” (And if you’ve never seen that skit, stop reading this RIGHT NOW watch it! I mean it—watch it NOW!) Amazing, right? Back to my class. The actor playing Charlie couldn’t get the emphasis correct on his second…
I hate censorship, but as a teacher at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, I have to use good judgment in the classroom. That’s why I had to pause and think for a second when I was teaching a comedy directing class and one of my students wanted to give an example that would illustrate the…
My dad loved to say, “Shit or get off the pot.” And that is how I feel about being a good director. Not long ago when I was in San Francisco judging the Californian Indie Film Fest I was blown away by the determination of the participating filmmakers. Their guerilla filmmaking techniques yielded award-winning movies…
This is sometimes a problem of mine. On one hand, I feel being blunt is simply being honest; on the other, I am aware that it can appear . . . insensitive. My friend Suanne says I hold the record for the shortest phone calls EVER. True. If you’ve been on set with me, you’ve…
I owe a lot to fear. I’ve won an Emmy, directed award-winning webisodes, and given speeches to rooms full of people who don’t speak a word of English, all motivated by terror and a healthy sense of self. The more hairy and audacious the challenge, the more willing I am to give it a try.…