Ed McDonnell is an investmend banker turned producer. Since 2004 he is the head of Maple Shade Films he is known for the movies Catwoman, Prisoners und Sicario. His conversation with Team Deakins was published December 13th and is all about the topic of producing and what you need to be successful in it.
“Read the Room” is what Ed calls one of the most important things when being a producer. In the podcast he tells this story about how he got fired for not reading the room when discussing a script with his team. He was then feedbacked that his criticism was not constructive but selfish. For me, this story (even though it was short) seemed like the most important thing he said during the episode. Giving constructive criticism and feedback is not easy, I know that from my own experience. But it is as valuable as it is hard. Especially in films I think so many people are working hard and giving their all for a project that it is even more important to think before you speak. It’s also something that I myself would like to practice more and implement in my own future work life.
Another thing Ed mentioned in the talk was how some years ago his work also included planning talents’ travels all over the world for film premieres and such. This reminded me that making movies is fun and all but I surely never want to be so famous that I am needed in three continents at the same time. Traveling a lot for or thanks to filmmaking sounds like a really nice thing but thinking about all the logistics and costs (and carbon footprints) that come with that just makes me not want to do that ever. Of course, there will be situations sooner or later in which I am faced with this logistical nightmare but if I can, I want to postpone that as long as possible.
The episode continues with some funny anekdotes from Ed’s life as a producer. However, there was not really a lot of new insight into the field as I have listened to several podcasts by now and somehow know the drill a little. However, that also tells me that big productions almost always work the same, which is also a valuable insight.
