MICHAEL BEGLER - Showrunner of PERRY MASON starring Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance, Shea Whigham, Hope Davis
04/06/23 • 37 min
Michael Begler is showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Perry Mason, which debuted as HBO’s most-watched series in nearly two years upon its premiere in June 2020. The critically-acclaimed show stars Emmy-winner Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance, Katherine Waterston, Hope Davis. In the second season of the Emmy-nominated series, the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered. Power, social justice, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and what it truly means to be guilty, are among the issues raised by the series.
Begler’s previous series include the Peabody Award-winning The Knick, starring Clive Owen, directed by Steven Soderbergh, writing/producing credits also include comedy series The Tony Danza Show, The Jeff Foxworthy Show and the film Big Miracle starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski.
“I call it the percolating trauma inside him, and I think that it's a combination of things with Matthew Rhys who plays Perry Mason. Again, it's holding onto this trauma that happened a dozen years ago in the war, that this is not something that he has really dealt with. And I think that you can't take that lightly. It doesn't go away with time. It doesn't heal. It's still inside you, and it's still informing who you are. And I think that was important in coming into season two because here is a man who's now thrust into this whole other battle. He's now an attorney. And how does he put lives in his hands?
So he is gone through this in season one, and now we're coming into season two knowing that he's haunted by the fact that he thought he saved somebody. He put Emily Dodson's life in his hands only to have her commit suicide. So now he's wrestling deeply with the flaws in himself and his character that these soldiers put their lives in his hands in the war.
Emily Dodson put her life in his hands in the trial. And now he's going to take on these two boys who could swing on a noose. Does he want that? Does he have enough inside him? And that's why we play with the imposter syndrome because he doesn't know if this is who he really is. And does he still have that fight inside him?
And so I think that's the sort of push-pull I think that you're alluding to inside and that he's trying to hold it in and trying to hold it all together. And we do see those moments when he can't hold it back. When he punches the guy in the face in episode four when he steals the horse. These are things that he needs to release that valve because it's so much he's trying to hold onto to get to the result that he wants to win the fight because he hasn't fully won a fight yet. And that's hard.”
www.imdb.com/title/tt2077823
www.instagram.com/perrymasonhbo
www.imdb.com/name/nm0066764
www.creativeprocess.info
www.oneplanetpodcast.org
IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Michael Begler is showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Perry Mason, which debuted as HBO’s most-watched series in nearly two years upon its premiere in June 2020. The critically-acclaimed show stars Emmy-winner Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance, Katherine Waterston, Hope Davis. In the second season of the Emmy-nominated series, the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered. Power, social justice, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and what it truly means to be guilty, are among the issues raised by the series.
Begler’s previous series include the Peabody Award-winning The Knick, starring Clive Owen, directed by Steven Soderbergh, writing/producing credits also include comedy series The Tony Danza Show, The Jeff Foxworthy Show and the film Big Miracle starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski.
“I call it the percolating trauma inside him, and I think that it's a combination of things with Matthew Rhys who plays Perry Mason. Again, it's holding onto this trauma that happened a dozen years ago in the war, that this is not something that he has really dealt with. And I think that you can't take that lightly. It doesn't go away with time. It doesn't heal. It's still inside you, and it's still informing who you are. And I think that was important in coming into season two because here is a man who's now thrust into this whole other battle. He's now an attorney. And how does he put lives in his hands?
So he is gone through this in season one, and now we're coming into season two knowing that he's haunted by the fact that he thought he saved somebody. He put Emily Dodson's life in his hands only to have her commit suicide. So now he's wrestling deeply with the flaws in himself and his character that these soldiers put their lives in his hands in the war.
Emily Dodson put her life in his hands in the trial. And now he's going to take on these two boys who could swing on a noose. Does he want that? Does he have enough inside him? And that's why we play with the imposter syndrome because he doesn't know if this is who he really is. And does he still have that fight inside him?
And so I think that's the sort of push-pull I think that you're alluding to inside and that he's trying to hold it in and trying to hold it all together. And we do see those moments when he can't hold it back. When he punches the guy in the face in episode four when he steals the horse. These are things that he needs to release that valve because it's so much he's trying to hold onto to get to the result that he wants to win the fight because he hasn't fully won a fight yet. And that's hard.”
www.imdb.com/title/tt2077823
www.instagram.com/perrymasonhbo
www.imdb.com/name/nm0066764
www.creativeprocess.info
www.oneplanetpodcast.org
IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
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Highlights - CHAYSE IRVIN - Award-winning Cinematographer - Blonde starring Ana de Armas, Beyonce: Lemonade, Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman
“In certain ways, I'm using my intellect and or making these connections, but then I'm also trying to do things such as... So the whole concept of subjectivity in a film is you're representing a particular character's point of view, but there's another way to express that. It's through mise-en-scène. So you can express a character, you could have a complete tableau and create the proscenium classical frame, but maybe it's the green on the wall that expresses her inner desire or the warm light. So you create these metaphors that are actually expressing the psychological experience of the character through the physical space.
For me, the more risky things, the more things that defied expectations are really important to me. I guess it even goes down to just novelty. How do you create a need or a yearning? And the spectator, you create a particular rhythm and then you change that rhythm, and then it's almost like you try to sensitize your spectator to these ideas by defining a particular rhythm that you've set for them.”
Chase Irvin is a Canadian American cinematographer making waves in the film industry. Chayse has received immense critical acclaim for his vision and style. He has worked on features, shorts, and visual albums, most notably in his collaboration with Director Kahlil Joseph on the film Beyoncé: Lemonade. He lensed Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, which received 6 Academy Award nominations, winning for best adapted screenplay. Chayse’s first feature film Medeas won the prestigious Best Cinematography Debut at the Camerimage Film Festival in 2013. Hannah, starring Charlotte Rampling, won a Silver Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival. Chase is a member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. His latest films are Netflix’s Blonde starring Ana de Armas and A24’s God's Creatures starring Emily Watson.
www.creativeprocess.info
www.oneplanetpodcast.org
IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
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Highlights - MICHAEL BEGLER - Showrunner of PERRY MASON starring Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance - THE KNICK starring Clive Owen, dir. Steven Soderbergh
“I call it the percolating trauma inside him, and I think that it's a combination of things with Matthew Rhys who plays Perry Mason. Again, it's holding onto this trauma that happened a dozen years ago in the war, that this is not something that he has really dealt with. And I think that you can't take that lightly. It doesn't go away with time. It doesn't heal. It's still inside you, and it's still informing who you are. And I think that was important in coming into season two because here is a man who's now thrust into this whole other battle. He's now an attorney. And how does he put lives in his hands?
So he is gone through this in season one, and now we're coming into season two knowing that he's haunted by the fact that he thought he saved somebody. He put Emily Dodson's life in his hands only to have her commit suicide. So now he's wrestling deeply with the flaws in himself and his character that these soldiers put their lives in his hands in the war.
Emily Dodson put her life in his hands in the trial. And now he's going to take on these two boys who could swing on a noose. Does he want that? Does he have enough inside him? And that's why we play with the imposter syndrome because he doesn't know if this is who he really is. And does he still have that fight inside him?
And so I think that's the sort of push-pull I think that you're alluding to inside and that he's trying to hold it in and trying to hold it all together. And we do see those moments when he can't hold it back. When he punches the guy in the face in episode four when he steals the horse. These are things that he needs to release that valve because it's so much he's trying to hold onto to get to the result that he wants to win the fight because he hasn't fully won a fight yet. And that's hard.”
Michael Begler is showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Perry Mason, which debuted as HBO’s most-watched series in nearly two years upon its premiere in June 2020. The critically-acclaimed show stars Emmy-winner Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance, Katherine Waterston, Hope Davis. In the second season of the Emmy-nominated series, the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered. Power, social justice, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and what it truly means to be guilty, are among the issues raised by the series.
Begler’s previous series include the Peabody Award-winning The Knick, starring Clive Owen, directed by Steven Soderbergh, writing/producing credits also include comedy series The Tony Danza Show, The Jeff Foxworthy Show and the film Big Miracle starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski.
www.imdb.com/title/tt2077823
www.instagram.com/perrymasonhbo
www.imdb.com/name/nm0066764
www.creativeprocess.info
www.oneplanetpodcast.org
IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
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