The first time proved to be the charm for director Colin Bucksey. His initial primetime Emmy nomination made him the winner this evening for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special on the strength of the “Buridan’s Ass” episode of Fargo (FX Networks).
When SHOOT first connected with Bucksey in July, he quipped that his first career Emmy nomination is part of “a late career flourish.” But there’s some truth in his self-deprecating jest as in recent years he has directed four episodes of the lauded Breaking Bad (AMC) and two for Fargo, also a critically acclaimed show. And at press time Bucksey was in Albuquerque to direct two episodes of the eagerly anticipated Better Call Saul (AMC), the prequel to Breaking Bad.
Better Call Saul takes place in 2002, some five years prior to the starting point of Breaking Bad. The prequel elevates supporting player, lawyer Saul Goodman (portrayed by Bob Odenkirk), to star billing. In Breaking Bad, Goodman served as legal counsel for meth dealers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman (played by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul). In Better Call Saul, lawyer Goodman goes by another name as a small-time hustler looking to make ends meet.
“Terrific writing, a terrific cast—that’s what Fargo, Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad have in common. For a director to have those two components is a blessing,” affirmed Bucksey.
That blessing was evident in the “Buridan’s Ass” episode of Fargo. With a great script and cast, Bucksey was able to turn some measure of attention to the inclement surroundings called for in the story. “The biggest challenge in some respects was creating that snow state. Everything was somehow framed in snow—advancing from snowfall to a blizzard to a whiteout.”
As for how he got the opportunity to direct Fargo, Bucksey conjectured, “My feeling is that my work on Breaking Bad opened the door for Fargo. There are certain similarities of style between the two shows, although I hope I have brought to Fargo a style it can call its own by adding some ‘Colin-esque’ stylistic touches.”
Examples of those “Colin-esque” touches, said Bucksey, entailed “an overall shooting style of wider angle lenses, of dolly shots, of framing, of not using the Steadicam unless you really have to. I’m a Coen brothers’ fan. I know their movies well, including Fargo on which the TV series is based. I tried to preserve some of that feel for the show.”
Helping him in that regard was John Cameron, a co-executive producer on the TV show Fargo, who earlier produced several Coen brothers’ films, including Fargo, Intolerable Cruelty, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou, and The Man Who Wasn’t There. “John was a great resource to ask, is it ‘Coen-y’ enough?” shared Bucksey.
Coming over from the U.K. where he established himself in TV and features, Bucksey made his first stateside mark years back with Miami Vice, which was a hit NBC series and cultural phenomenon.
Among his many other notable credits are Wiseguy, Numb3rs, NCIS, House M.D., and Damages.
Gail Mancuso
Last year, Gail Mancuso became the second woman to win an Emmy Award for directing a comedy series, the honor coming on the basis of the “Arrested” episode of ABC-TV’s Modern Family. (The first female director to win the Emmy was Betty Thomas in 1993 for the “Peter’s Sake” episode of Dream On.)
Last night Mancuso became the first woman director to win an Emmy two consecutive years; this time around for another Modern Family episode, “Vegas.”
Earlier this year, Mancuso became a first-time DGA Award nominee for the Modern Family episode titled “My Hero.”
When SHOOT connected with Mancuso earlier this year, she was working on a TV pilot for TBS, Your Family Or Mine, a show based on a popular Israeli series centering on a married couple who shuttle back and forth from one spouse’s family to the other’s.
Mancuso and TBS have teamed on original comedy before with her serving as director and an exec producer on Ground Floor, a series which was recently picked up for a second season.
Mancuso broke into primetime series directing with Roseanne for which she went on to helm numerous episodes. Her directorial credits over the years include Friends, Dharma and Greg, Gilmore Girls and 30 Rock.
For the latter she won a Gracie Award in 2008 for Outstanding Director of an Entertainment Series or Special.
Now she’s embarking on a new chapter in her career, landing at her first official commercial production company home, joining TWC Films for exclusive worldwide representation in spots and branded content.
She gravitated in part to TWC because of her prior favorable experience at the house which produced webisodes she directed several years ago introducing Breyer’s Smooth and Dreamy ice cream for agency Mindshare. For the “Dreamy”-themed web fare, new live action featuring Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) was meshed into classic movies such as Gone With The Wind and King Kong.
The director’s ad experience also spans other collaborations with Mindshare in recent years, including: several episodes of the Suave/Sprint digital series In The Motherhood starring Chelsea Handler, Jenny McCarthy and Leah Remini; and Skin Season, a series of digital shorts for Vaseline featuring Sarah Chalke of Scrubs and Roseanne fame.
Mancuso’s big career break as a director was on Roseanne. She was working on the show as an assistant director when its staff director had to leave for another project. Mancuso recalled asking Roseanne if she could direct the upcoming episode. In typical Roseanne fashion, the series star repled, “Well go ahead.”
The next season Mancuso was hired as a full-time director and wound up helming more than 50 episodes of the show.
“I owe a lot to Roseanne,” affirmed Mancuso. “She believed in me and ended up hiring me for the next two seasons.”
From the Roseanne series on, Mancuso has formed strong working relationships with the actors she directs. “Relationships with actors are important and they cross over to anything you’re shooting. I’ve experienced that in the advertising work I’ve done. I’m a filmmaker. I love to tell stories. And this [diversifying into advertising] is an extension of that.”
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Winning the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series was Cary Joji Fukunaga for the “Who Goes There” episode of True Detective (HBO). Fukunaga directed all eight episodes of season one for the series which was developed, packaged and produced by Anonymous Content. Fukunaga is additionally repped by Anonymous for commercials and branded content. And Anonymous’ Talent & Lit Management division handles Fukunaga for features and TV.
In a prior installment of SHOOT’s “The Road To Emmy” series, Steve Golin, managing partner/founder of Anonymous, said that all the elements fell neatly into place for True Detective, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as Louisiana State Police detectives who in 2012 are called upon to revisit a homicide case they worked in 1995. As the inquiry unfolds in present day through separate interrogations, the two former detectives narrate the story of their investigation, reopening unhealed wounds, and drawing into question their supposed solving of a bizarre ritualistic murder in ‘95. As the detectives are pulled back into a dark world they believed they’d left behind, they learn about the killer–and each other.
“We connected with Nic [Pizzolatto] who had written a book called ‘Galveston,’” recalled Golin. “I read his script for True Detective and I loved it. We optioned the script, hired him to write a second script, then he wrote a bible for the show. At that time he was a staff writer on the second season of The Killing. We hired him.”
Anonymous’ talent management agency also secured Pizzolatto as a client. Golin meanwhile gave Pizzolatto’s script to director Fukunaga. “Cary just seemed like the right guy to tell this story,” said Golin. “He met Nic, they decided to work together, sent the script to Matthew [McConaughey] who came aboard and then he brought Woody [Harrelson] into the picture.”
Anonymous Content shopped its True Detective package to such outlets as HBO, Showtime, Netflix and Starz. “There was a lot of interest but we ultimately decided that HBO was the best option,” said Golin, adding, “It’s hard to quantify the alchemy that goes into a successful series but this [True Detective] just had it.”
Fukunaga incidentally has moved on from True Detective to direct a feature film about child soldiers in Africa. Though Anonymous is not directly involved in the project, the company was helpful in some key respects, including securing Idris Elba, an Anonymous talent agency client, to portray the film’s warlord character. Fukunaga’s prior feature credits include his directing the 2011 film Jane Eyre and writing and directing Sin Nombre, which won a 2009 directing award at the Sundance Film Festival.
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This is the final installment in a 12-part series that explores the field of Emmy nominees and winners spanning such disciplines as directing, cinematography, editing, animation and visual effects.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 11, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 10, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 9, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 8, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 7, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 6, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 5, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 4, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 3, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 2, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 1, click here.
To read Primetime Talent, Pre-Road To Emmy feature 2, click here.
To read Primetime Talent, Pre-Road To Emmy feature 1, click here.
