AE:
The writing was just so terrific on that show…
JB: It was. By the end of the first season I
was a producer on that show, as well. I worked on Popular
for two years, and then I had good recommendations from them,
so I went and worked on other shows.
AE:
Walk me through how you go about directing an episode. Do you
just get handed the script and told what to do?
JB: Basically. The way TV works as a director
is that it’s an eight-day shoot for a one-hour show, and
five days for a half-hour show. That’s pretty much industry
standard. On a one-hour show you have eight days for pre-production,
as well, which is where you cast the parts just for that episode,
scout locations, and talk to the writers about what they want.
They go through the scenes and tell you what they want to convey
in each scene--because the writer’s the real boss in TV.
It’s 50% writer, 50% director, whereas in features it’s
90% director, 10% writer.
AE:
What’s your approach to directing an episode?
JB: My philosophy is that the writers know what
they want, and I really try and please the writer-producers. If
you notice that there’s ten million producers on a television
show, it’s because they’re not producers, they’re
writers. They just get producer credit.
AE:
Which TV show that you've worked on is your favorite?
JB: Popular, definitely. The cast was
hilarious, and really fun to be around. Tammy
Lynn Michaels is still a friend of mine, as is Leslie Grossman,
who plays Mary Cherry.
AE:
They should have created a spinoff with those two...
JB: I know! Maybe someday. Although Tammy Lynn
Michaels’ new sitcom was picked
up by NBC…I think a sitcom’s going to be better
for her because she’s a mom, and wants to spend time with
the kids, and sitcoms require less time on the set.
AE:
I’m kind of bummed she has a supporting role in the series,
though; it should be just all about her!
JB: I know, but it’s just like Karen on
Will and Grace – she’ll have all the funny
lines.
AE:
Do you think the fact that there are more openly gay women
in TV now is a reflection of society’s increased tolerance…
JB: Definitely. Although I think entertainment
is even ahead of the curve a little, but ultimately, the
whole business environment in general is more open to being
out at work. In front of the camera, though, it’s
still like the 1950s.
AE:
Do you think the proliferation of lesbians behind the scenes
will create more lesbian characters on the screen?
JB: Yes, but I think TV’s still very
conservative, because it’s big business, and the network
execs have the power, not the creative people.
AE:
Do you think the lesbian characters on cable shows like
Nip/Tuck are going to drag network TV along when
it comes to lesbian content?
JB: Cable TV shows have to be riskier in
order to attract a different audience than the 50-year-old
white middle class people who are watching network TV. So
in an effort to get a larger audience they’re reaching
out to different communities, which I think is great. |
 |
And
with the whole new gay channel MTV is starting…they’re
realizing that gay people have money. Lesbians especially watch
a lot of TV, I think. We’re a great audience for them.
AE:
Do the number of men still far outweigh the number of women in
TV?
JB: Oh god yes. It’s all totally men, totally
white. Very male-dominated. It’s a very lucrative business,
and anything that’s lucrative is going to be very male-dominated.
Whereas the nonprofit sector, like social work, where you make
no money, is all women. TV is very competitive and very lucrative,
you mostly get hired through word-of-mouth, who you play golf
with, etc.
There’s
definitely a gay network, too, though, that’s always been
very good to me, like Ryan Murphy being an out executive producer,
and I worked with Darren Star this year.
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