So this is the house you were living in while in production. Is this one of the few times the series is not shooting on a sound stage? I mean, the exteriors, sure, but for the most part, isn’t even Mark’s apartment a sound stage?
There’s a little bit of variety, but we have the sets that we go to a lot. Usually they are more interiors. Lumen is a real location. Devin’s house is a real location. This house, I was living in it for the entire season two. And then when we got to the moment, we didn’t start working on episode seven until later in the season, in terms of finding a location. So I was just living in this house, and the crew had come to this house because I lived right next to where Mark’s house was. So, the exterior of Mark’s house? Yeah, two blocks away from where that house was. So I could walk to Mark’s. So I had invited people over for snacks and stuff, even the camera crew. And I invited them over to come and sit by the fire and just hang out during their lunch break. So it was a house that people knew and loved, and the production designer was in love with this house. And, when I was describing what I wanted Gemma and Mark’s house to feel like, he was like, “You realize we’re going to shoot in your house?” And I was like, “Oh my God, I never…” I just went blank for a minute, and then I was like, you’re right. Needed that to happen, or else I wouldn’t have had access to the set I did.
For this particular episode that you directed, is there one scene or moment that you look back most fondly?
I think the Christmas scene, I loved that set so much, and I loved lighting that set as a DP to be able to, so also Dichen’s character is always in very difficult states. There’s a lot of difficult states, a lot of really heavy states. This one, I wanted her to be the angry teenager with Dr. Mauer [Robby Benson], and she got to be a little snappy at him, and she had attitude, and I don’t know, that was fun. And he was hilarious.
I have heard that there were a lot of reshoots and reworkings on this season to make it what it turned out to be. But since you’ve been working on the show, has there always been a, this is the end goal, we know what A plus B equals C equals, or is it still sort of, you feel like Dan, Ben, and everyone are sort of getting there towards the end?
What’s interesting because I think the best work comes when you leave the possibility for change. I feel like that’s the strength of “Severance” and what’s made it a good show. I feel like we’re really supported by Apple in the sense that…first of all, there aren’t that many reshoots. That’s not a real thing. I’ve shot other television work, had to reshoot stuff for other shows that don’t have the same kind of budget, but it just happens.
Yeah, yeah, of course.
Also, this was interesting. It was in the middle of the strike. So some stuff got edited during the strike, and basically, a bit of a realization of like, “Well, this could be better.” So I think when you have a show like that, that’s like your darling show, I think “Severance” is kind of Apple. They love “Severance.” It is like if we can make it better, they have to choose, do we do it or do we not? So there are things like that that happen, and I think that there’s always room to challenge things if they’re not the best they could be. It’s funny. I think people judge it a little bit, which I find this really weird. To me, the most special thing about “Severance” for the industry at large, not for the audiences, but for the industry, is here’s a show that, yeah, it might have cost a lot of money to make this show, but it’s special, it’s new and they took a huge risk on it. So, I don’t know, I feel like I’m excited that that happened. I feel like we should be good. And also just getting the time to do the work that you want to do. Seven was shot at the end, so we couldn’t do any, so no matter what, it was like, “that’s it.”
So you waited a long time to shoot this.
Yeah, yeah. It was almost annoyingly long because you add the strike in the middle, and I was like, “I just want to do this, get it over with.” The last week of shooting was a little scary, just because first of all, those six days of shooting were packed, and I was like, “If there’s something wrong, I won’t get to reshoot it. I’m just going to have to live with it.” But yeah, it turned out great. Some things change in the edit, and that it’s not that far from the script, but you have to be open to that being different.
Will you be directing more episodes in season three? I’m assuming you’re returning for season three?
Well, I don’t really know what’s going on, so it’s like I don’t really have clear answers for that, so I can’t speak to it.
O.K. “Severance” has taken up four years of your life. Is part of you like, “Hey, I love being part of this and this is great, but I’d like to do something else or direct my own feature or show or whatever”? Is that part of your thinking?
Yeah, that’s definitely something I’m working on. I’m learning to be patient. That’s the interesting thing in the industry is when you’re a DP or a technician and you come onto projects, usually when they’re greenlit, and you’re already in that momentum of moving forward as a director. And I think I was comfortable in that. I’m very uncomfortable currently in the directing thing, where if you want your own projects to move forward, you have to kind of invest that time and not know when they’re going. So, I’m in that phase, which is not my favorite, but I’m learning to be patient, and I am trying to get a movie made. So the only thing is, I don’t know when it’s just things have to come together. I really believe in this. It’s an erotic thriller. It’s got a bit of a ’90s touch to it, and I’m looking for scripts, I’m looking for stuff. I’m also trying to write my own things, but it’s going to take me time.
It totally takes time. But one last question for you, and it might be silly, but why does Gemma just not ask for a lawyer? Why does she not say I want to leave? Give me a lawyer.
She might’ve asked on her first days when she was down there. I think she gave up.
O.K.
There was a little thing that was interesting. We never ended up showing it. But on the table where she’s eating, there was a little chip in the table. Someone had a mark of aggression, kind of suggesting that she could have been aggressive at one moment, not really getting, but…
You never know. Well, listen, Jessica, congratulations on all of this. And I will say this, if you do not get an ASC nomination next winter, burn the Clubhouse down because you deserve one.
I’ve never been nominated, but I’ve also never been nominated for an Emmy. So I’m excited. I’m just like, “Woo. We’re going to the event. We’re going to the Emmys!”
“Severance” is available on Apple TV+
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Bluesky
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Threads
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Instagram
Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter
