by Matt Hurwitz

		UPM Randy Turrow, director Bob Bulter, DGA Third Vice President Paris Barclay, DGA First Vice President Martha Coolidge, moderator Kim Kurumada, directors Donald Petrie and Michael Apted. (photo: Terry Lilly) click photo for larger image

The directors were Bob Butler, Michael Apted, Martha Coolidge, Paris Barclay and Donald Petrie. They spoke about their criteria for and process of choosing an AD. All stressed that the first AD should be hired by the director himself, not by the studio, though, as Michael Apted noted, sometimes the studio has some unwanted say in his selection. "The discussion goes back and forth, and a lot of times that's a battle that I have to fight," he said. "But no one's going to tell me who I can and cannot hire as an AD."

All agreed that the relationship with an AD is key to the success of any project. "My approach is that there are four of us who are everything — director, assistant director, cinematographer and production designer," Bob Butler said. "At the end of the day, if three or 31¼2 of us are damn good, it's a victory."

"When I hire my AD, I'm looking for my new best friend," said Apted. "I am looking for a kindred spirit. You are looking for someone who can read you and you can read them."

Martha Coolidge added, "I really want an AD that is flexible and good at understanding, or at least grasping in an interview, my creative process. The AD is my partner, the person that I plan the show with, the person who understands me and my plans."

The best assistant director for the job, according to the panel, is often someone with more experience, in some areas, than the director. "I don't want to have anyone on my team who knows less than me about their area of expertise," said Paris Barclay. "I've got to find people who are better than me — otherwise I'll just suck. If I'm doing a Western, I'm not going to hire anybody who hasn't done a Western before, because I need that help."

Michael Apted agreed: "When I did that Bond film, I insisted that I had an AD who had done a Bond film, because I was way over my head with that one and I needed the experience a particular AD would bring to it."

Should the collaborative relationship between director and assistant director extend to the creative process? Martha Coolidge said, "I like ideas from people. I don't care who gets an idea. This person is making the same movie as I am." Apted disagreed, however, noting, "I want you to be my best friend when we're doing the schedule — but I don't want to hear a word you have to say about this scene or that scene."

The interview process, which for some directors can extend to more than 15 candidates, was discussed in detail. Butler described the interview as "a big blind date." Coolidge added, "I always believe that in any interview, everybody's interviewing each other. It all comes down to the psycho-dynamics of the interview — it's gotta work between the two people." Sometimes a candidate is right, she says — just not right for the particular film or project in question, especially for a first-time assistant director.

Barclay presented a handy laundry list of tips to help any AD candidate. First of all, he says: "If you don't return my call within two days — that's bad." Accuracy in one's résumé is a must ("Sometimes they will actually spell my name wrong!"). Don't misrepresent experience — the director will check. "If you replaced a guy for two weeks, you really should say that, because when we call to check your references and we find out that it's other than we believe from your résumé, you will not get the job." That goes for references too. "I'll look for somebody on there that I know, and I'm going to call them up, because somebody I know is more likely to tell me the truth, as opposed to your personal friend that always gives you a good reference."

Punctuality for the interview is of prime importance. "An early AD is really good; a late AD is really bad!" Barclay said. A candidate should also come to an interview knowledgeable of the director's work and history. "They should never come and ask me, 'Now, what have you done?' Tailor your comments to the

director's experience. I'll count on an AD to be able to 'work me' because then I can trust you'll be able to work everybody else." And lastly, a candidate should be able to answer the "What are your weaknesses?" question honestly. "The wrong answer is, 'I don't have any weaknesses."'

Barclay and others addressed the topic of broadening the landscape by making an effort to include minorities and women in the selection of team members. Though the first choice for an AD should always be the best candidate, preferably someone the director knows well and has worked with before, he encouraged directors, when there is an opportunity to bring on someone else, to make a concerted effort to provide an opening for a new face. He also encouraged ADs to participate in DGA committee meetings and events, if, for nothing else, than to make your face known.

But Barclay warned against asking a director to "hire me because I'm black" or "because I'm a woman. It might be nice, and I will definitely give more people of color and women a shot. But that's not why I'm going to hire you."

Donald Petrie noted that sometimes choosing a candidate by gender can have advantages. "If I know I'm going to be doing a picture with a bunch of testosterone-driven male macho stars, I'll think, 'I ought to get a woman for this one.'" A man, on the other hand, might work best when working with teenagers, since, he says, "They won't mess with dad."

The group discussed with candid honesty and much audience participation, the sometimes sticky relationship between directors, ADs and a show's UPM. Most of the panel described the relationship as, at best, "adversarial" in many cases, though that isn't always the situation. Bob Butler explained it simply: "The business put us in opposition. We're the enemy and we gotta figure out a way not to be." The UPM is typically chosen by the studio, automatically, some of the directors said, setting up the "us versus them" relationship. "There is a dynamic between the director and the UPM. We are on different sides. He's in charge of the money; I want to spend the money," said Michael Apted.

A number of UPMs in the audience, among them Mentor Committee Chair Randy Turrow and veteran John Stuckmeyer, expressed the UPM's experience. John Stuckmeyer noted, "There's no relationship in my movies closer than me and the director and the AD. If it doesn't work, the movie is going to go out the window." He added, "You're worried about, 'Am I going to have a UPM who's going to screw me?' My worry is am I going to have a director I can work with that's going to work within the confines that I'm given by the studio." Clearly, it was decided, more needs to be done to expand the relationships between these key players.

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