On March 22, DGA members gathered in the Guild’s New York Theater for the Eastern Region Special Projects Committee’s panel discussion, Under Cover: An Evening with the Directing Team from The Americans. The evening featured Actor/Directors Noah Emmerich and Matthew Rhys, Director/Executive Producer Christopher Long, UPM/Executive Producer Mary Rae Thewlis, UPM/Co-Producer Tyson Bidner and 1st AD Charlie Foster speaking about what it takes to bring the the acclaimed FX Network series to the screen. Director David McCoy Barrett served as moderator.
Created by former CIA agent-turned-author Joe Weisberg, The Americans tells the riveting story of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell), two deep-cover KGB agents in an arranged marriage who masquerade as a typical couple during Reagan-era Washington, DC. As they carry out difficult and dangerous missions, their neighbors, coworkers, friends and even their own children are unaware of their covert activities. As the Cold War escalates, their situation becomes even more precarious with the arrival of a new next-door neighbor, FBI agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), who is part of a new agency division tasked with rooting out enemy agents on U.S. soil.
The evening kicked off with a welcome from Eastern Region Special Projects Committee member Gary Donatelli who spoke briefly about the work of the Committee before turning the podium over to Director David McCoy Barrett, the moderator of the discussion.
Barrett and the panelists engaged in an informative discussion where they shared their experiences of crafting the Emmy Award-nominated series from its beginnings in 2013 to its ultimate finale scheduled for the 2018 season. After the discussion, the audience viewed clips from the show and the panelists took questions from the audience.
You can listen to the panel by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.
VIDEO FROM THIS EVENT CAN BE FOUND IN THE GALLERY BELOW.
About the Panelists:
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 Actor/Director Noah Emmerich
On FX’s critically acclaimed drama The Americans, Emmerich plays FBI Agent Stan Beeman, the next-door neighbor to Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) who are actually KGB agents in deep cover. Emmerich joined the DGA in 2014 when he moved behind the camera to make his directorial debut with the episode of The Americans “Walter Taffet” in 2015. He also directed the episodes “Clark’s Place” in 2016 and “Lotus 1-2-3” in 2017 as well as episodes of the Showtime series Billions.
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 Director/Executive Producer Christopher Long
Long is an Emmy-nominated Producer/Director now working on his third season of The Americans. In addition to his work on The Americans, hisdirecting credits include episodes of Midnight Caller, The Man in the High Castle, Zoo, Dirt, Gilmore Girls, Weeds, Monk, Without a Trace, Supernatural, Smallville, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and The Mentalist. Long has been a DGA member since 1996.
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 Actor/Director Matthew Rhys
On The Americans, Rhys plays Russian spy Philip Jennings, who must masquerade as a typical suburban homeowner and businessman while carrying out missions from The Kremlin. A DGA member since 2009, Rhys has directed three episodes of The Americans — “Tchaikovsky” (2018), “The Committee on Human Rights” (2017) and “The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears” (2016) — as well as episodes of the series Brothers & Sisters and the documentary short Patagonia: Dyddiadur Matthew Rhys O'r Môr i'r Mynydd.
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 UPM/Co-Producer Tyson Bidner
Bidner has over 20 years of experience in film and television. In addition to serving as both a Producer and a UPM on The Americans, his UPM credits include episodes of the series The Looming Tower, Iron Fist, Falling Water and The Blacklist, as well as Location Manager credits on Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, Joel & Ethan Coen’s True Grit, Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, and Sam Mendes’ Away We Go. A DGA member since 2002, Bidner also served as a 2nd AD on Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha and Mistress America, and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s DGA and Academy Award-winning feature, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
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 UPM/Executive Producer Mary Rae Thewlis
Thewlis has been a Producer/UPM for the last five seasons of The Americans. Prior to that, she was a Producer/UPM in the Law & Order family with five years on the original series and ten years on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. A DGA member since 1993, Thewlis has served on the National Board since 2005, briefly serving as the Guild’s Fourth Vice President in 2017, as well as six consecutive terms in various elected positions on the Eastern AD/UPM Council including Chair and 1st Vice Chair. She also served on the DGA Negotiations Committee, is a Trustee of the DGA Pension and Health Plan, the New York Assistant Directors Training Program and the DGA Foundation. In 2016, she was honored by the Guild with the Frank Capra Award, given for outstanding service to the Guild and lifetime career achievement.
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 1st AD Charlie Foster
Foster entered the DGA Training Program in 2003 where he worked as a DGA Trainee on the DGA and Emmy Award-winning series, The Sopranos. After graduating the Training Program, in 2005, he joined the Guild as a 2nd 2nd AD on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit before returning to The Sopranos for their final season in 2007. His resume also includes episodes of Gossip Girl, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Affair, Manhattan, Mercy Street, The Deuce and Tony Kaye’s independent feature, Detachment. He joined the directorial team of The Americans in 2013 where he served as a 1st AD for four seasons and as the Assistant UPM in its final season this year.
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 Director David McCoy Barrett (moderator)
Barrett is a television/film director and producer who has directed over 100 episodes for more than 43 different television series including: Star Trek: Discovery, Zoo, Under the Dome, Arrow, The Mentalist, Once Upon a Time, Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles, Cold Case, Smallville, Fastlane, FreakyLinks and Pacific Blue. He is currently a Director/Producer on the CBS crime drama: Blue Bloods. Barrett has been a DGA member since 1998.
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About the Committee:
Special Projects is the educational and cultural arm of the Directors Guild of America. It provides opportunities for creative exchange with programs for members and industry colleagues to celebrate the history and achievements of its members, advance their professional skills, and prepare them for the technological changes of the future. The Eastern Region Special Projects Committee is chaired by Raymond DeFelitta. The Committee Members are Ted Bogosian, Gary Donatelli, Daniel Hank, Dennis W. Mazzocco, and Susanna Styron.