On March 29, the Focus on Women Committee’s (FOWC) virtual meeting featured the discussion, Flashback - Four UPMs Look Back on Their Careers. In a conversation moderated by UPM Lyn Pinezich (The Good Nurse), four experienced UPMs from the Eastern region — Joan G. Bostwick (A Simple Favor), Ilene S. Landress (The Nevers), Canella Williams-Larrabee (The Crowded Room) and Alison C. Rosa (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) — revealed what skill sets led them to the production management path from careers as varied as Assistant Directing, Location Managing, Production Coordinating and Accounting.
During the conversation, the panelists discussed how their paths started with examples as varied as being a Director’s Assistant to being a DGA Trainee. They dug into how being a woman has factored into their work and how pregnancy and/or motherhood has not prevented them from taking work or showing up to do the job. Each of the panelists emphasized the fact that they are part of the Director’s team with the ultimate goal of being there to serve the Director’s vision, not be the “bean counters” in the office. Their advice to fellow UPMs was to be on set and see how it runs so that they can provide the best help to getting the departments what they need.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
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 Joan G. Bostwick
Bostwick’s production management credits include feature films such as Koyalee Chanda & Matt Stawski’s Blue's Big City Adventure, Jennifer Gelfer’s The Second Sun and Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor; and episodes of the series Billy & Billie and From NY, I Love You. Her resume also includes work as an Assistant Director on features such as J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year and Michael Almereyda’s Marjorie Prime and Tesla; and episodes of Nurse Jackie, White Collar and New Amsterdam. She has been a DGA member since 1996 and currently serves as an alternate on the Eastern AD/UPM Council.
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 Ilene S. Landress
Landress’s production management credits include feature features such as Mira Nair’s The Perez Family and Jon Avnet’s Up Close & Personal; Todd Haynes’ mini-series Mildred Pierce; and episodes of The Nevers, Girls and the The Sopranos. She has also worked as a Production Accountant on features such as Ron Howard’s Far and Away, Barry Sonnenfeld’s For Love or Money and Robert Redford’s Quiz Show. She has been a DGA member since 1995. |
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 Canella Williams-Larrabee
Williams-Larrabee’s production management and production supervisor credits include feature films such as Jingyi Shao’s Chang Can Dunk and Dayna Hanson’s Confession; Susanne Bier’s mini-series The Undoing; and episodes of The Crowded Room, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Raising Dion, Evil, Almost Family and NCIS: New Orleans. She has been a DGA member since 2019 and currently serves as the Chairperson of the Eastern AD/UPM Council, a Co-Chair of the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee, a member of the DGA Negotiations Committee and is a second alternate on the DGA National Board. |
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 Alison Rosa
Rosa’s production management credits include feature films such as Stefano Sollima’s Without Remorse, Steve McQueen’s Widows and Peter Landesman’s Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House; the mini-series Black Bird; and episodes of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Limitless and The Wire. She also has extensive credits as an Assistant Director including M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs, Michael Mann’s Miami Vice and Jon M. Chu’s Step Up 2: The Streets; and episodes of Covert Affairs, VEEP and The Americans. She has been a DGA member since 1995 and currently serves on the Eastern AD/UPM Council, previously holding posts as 1st Vice Chairperson, 2nd Vice Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer. |
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 Lyn Pinezich (moderator)
Pinezich’s production management credits include feature films such as Tobias Lindholm’s The Good Nurse, Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, Ron Howard’s Hillbilly Elegy and Ryan Murphy’s Eat Pray Love; and episodes of series such as Iron Fist, Condor, Power and Royal Pains. She has been a DGA member since 1996 and currently serves on the Eastern AD/UPM Council, previously holding posts as Chairperson and 1st Vice Chairperson. She also serves as the AD/UPM Representative on the Focus on Women Committee and is a member of the DGA Negotiations Committee. |
About the Committee:
Originally a sub-committee of the Eastern Directors Council, in 2020 the Focus on Women Committee (FOWC) was designated an official and permanent committee of the DGA National Board for women members residing in the Eastern Region. The Committee would like to remind members that while their events are designed with a special focus on women Directors, all DGA members are welcome to attend.