Matt Shakman on The Consultant and What It’s Like Working Within the Marvel Machine
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The post Matt Shakman on The Consultant and What It’s Like Working Within the Marvel Machine appeared first on Consequence.
After beginning his career as a child star, Emmy-nominated director Matt Shakman has become a go-to for projects that might be a little unusual — which is just how he likes it. “I love things that are unusual — I personally am drawn to them as a viewer and I love to be drawn to them as a filmmaker too,” he tells Consequence.
It’s that instinct which led him to The Consultant, the strange new Prime Video series about what happens when a mysterious executive (Christoph Waltz) takes over a video game company, and begins playing mind games with the staff.
The series goes down some dark and twisted avenues, but his cast loved the journey: “He was one of the biggest draws for me,” says Consultant star Nat Wolff. “I feel like everything he touches turns to gold — he’s just a brilliant director and he is a really, really kind man.”
“I’d scrub toilets for Matt Shaman,” Aimee Carrero agreed, calling out how just after she was cast in The Consultant, she’d booked a play at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. “Matt Shakman just so happened to be the creative director of the Geffen Playhouse, and so he worked all of this magic and was able to make it work for both. And that just goes to show that he really values your art, and he really wants everyone to feel good and everyone to feel like they’re a big part of this.”
Brittany O’Grady chalks it up to “the environment that he creates. Sometimes you don’t have a lot of time on TV, but he makes it so that he can direct you in the right direction in a kind, swift and very intelligent, insightful way. And he’s just cool.”
Below, Shakman explains how he approached directing the pilot for The Consultant — knowing that other directors would be finishing the season — and if there’s potential for a second season in the mix. He also details what it’s been like returning to the MCU to work on the upcoming Fantastic Four, and how everyone involved manages to stay on the same page, creatively.
To start things off, this is not the first time you’ve hopped into a show as the director of the first episode. Talk to me about what that process is like for you, since you’re not just directing an episode — you’re establishing a world.
I love doing the first episode of a show for that reason. You get to assemble the cast, the department heads to build a visual guide to the show, but also set the tone of the show. And I really am drawn to things that have complicated tone.
This one in particular was a challenge in that way, because it’s unlike anything else that I have read or really seen. It has a great mix of thriller and comedy and drama and it’s a little bit unnerving. So it was a great experience to build it. This one in particular came [to me] very early on. So I was a part of putting together the cast and setting it up and finding our partners at Prime Video. So it was a real labor of love from the beginning.
When you were filming the pilot, did you have a sense of laying down breadcrumbs for directors, especially knowing where the story goes? Were you building in things for other directors to maybe pick up on?
Nothing too specifically? We shot this as a pilot so there was some time off before Episodes 2 and 3 started shooting. And so there was time for the directors to see what had been shot and what the template was. And then I was able to talk to some of the directors as well about the approach.
We knew we had to build this world and we wanted to see what would happen as Patov came into it, and how his influence would be felt in the design of the space over the course of a season. [The office starts] as this Gen Z playground with lots of gaming tables and ping pong and all that, which changes through the influence of this old world work ethic coming into the space.
The Consultant (Prime Video)
Talking about the space itself, though — you’re building in a lot of different tools for future directors to use, in terms of the different levels, and the way the offices face each other.
Yeah, I mean, one of the major characters in the story is the office. It’s a story of hierarchy, the idea that managers are up top, the worker bees are down below. There’s this central staircase which represents ambition, but also the bowels from where Patov climbed out, potentially. And then he has his office floating out over the space where he can watch everything. We kind of were referencing old British prisons, they called them panopticons, where the guards would sit in the middle and they could see all the prisoners all around. It’s that same idea that you’re always being watched. There’s windows on all sides of that office and there’s nowhere you can go and not be watched
For sure. So I know that the show ends in a relatively definitive manner, having seen all eight episodes, but every time I watch a limited series, I do have to ask — is there a second season? Do you think there could be a way to continue the story?
Yeah, we’re all excited for everyone to see this season of course, and see how the response goes. But yes, there’s definitely room for more storytelling
Would you want to direct in a second season?
Oh, definitely. Yeah. I mean, I love working with this creative team, the actors — Christoph and Nat and Brittany and Aimee, and of course working closely with Tony. It’s great. And he’s a brilliant writer. So yeah, would love to.
Is there a reason you only directed the pilot for this season?
Yeah, I mean, it was a wonderful opportunity to get it started, and then be able to pass the baton to other talented filmmakers. I had a few other commitments I was juggling, as well.
That’s kind of where I was leading to. Because I’m curious, when you get a project like WandaVision, how does that affect how your place within the industry. Like, did the offers that you were getting post WandaVision feel a lot more interesting?
Definitely — I think WandaVision was so different stylistically and so different tonally that it did open up a lot of different offers for things that were unusual. Also similarly, at the same time I had done the pilot to The Great, which is another show that is very unexpected in its tone and very funny, but also can turn into something quite horrific. And it’s dramatic and it’s a period show, but sort of not really. So that was also an interesting project for inspiring other things to kind of come my way. But I enjoy doing lots of different things. I’m a restless sort of spirit, so I love to be being challenged by something different.
The Consultant (Prime Video)
How are you finding the film world these days? Just in terms of what kind of projects you’re able to get moving?
Great. I’m back with Marvel Studios now working on Fantastic Four, which has been great. And those are characters that I love and a world that I love since I was a little kid, so it’s really wonderful to be spending lots of quality time with them.
What have you found to be the secret to working within that machine?
No secret. They’re just lovely people who are all passionate filmmakers and you’re all heading in the same direction the whole time. Everyone’s making the same movie and there’s an appetite for taking risk there, which I really respect. No matter how big or successful I think they’re always trying to be surprising and try something new. So it’s lovely to work there.
Of course. I mean, when you talk about everyone’s making the same movie, is there a way to make sure that it happens? Because I feel like honestly most of the worst movies we see are because it’s the opposite situation, where people aren’t thinking that way.
It’s true. It’s tough. [Marvel]’s a very unique place because, your producer is your studio head and you’re working closely with Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito and Victoria Alonzo, and it’s really a small family there where it’s easier, I think, to all get on the same page about what you’re making, which is great. And even though there’s a lot of risk involved and budgets are big, I think it comes from a place of passionate storytelling rather than a place of fear. Once you start spending a lot of money, it’s easy for fear to come in there. But that’s not the way that they are. They lead first strongly with passion, which I think is great.
I’d imagine that the scariest part is just having the release date out there. [Fantastic Four currently has an announced release date of February 14th, 2025.]
No, that’s great. You know what you’re heading towards. I work well with a deadline.
So, looking forward, do you foresee trying to hit a balance between film and tv? Just in terms of the projects you take on?
It’s funny, you know. The world has blurred together — film and television and limited series. There’s so many ways to tell a story that for me, it’s less important about where it’s going to be viewed and more about what the story is and who the characters are. And as I mentioned, I’m a bit restless. I like doing different things. So the opportunity to tackle new worlds and new characters, new tones, new styles — that’s really what I would gravitate towards
If you were given the opportunity to direct a film versus every episode of a limited series, like right now, which one do you feel like you’d be more inclined towards?
Oh, that’s a wonderful problem to have. You know, I think it really just depends on the project. There’s something beautiful about a limited series because you have eight episodes or 10 or whatever it ends up being to tell that story. You are able to develop character more. You’re not following the structures of a screenplay, where in two hours, you have to do a lot. Whereas in limited series, you have a little bit more time to breathe. So that’s very appealing too.
But I’m still a kid who grew up going to the movies every week a couple times a week. And to be in a theater surrounded by everybody taking in that film on the big screen is still where my passion lies. So being able to do that is a dream.
The Consultant is streaming now on Prime Video.
Matt Shakman on The Consultant and What It’s Like Working Within the Marvel Machine
Liz Shannon Miller
Popular Posts
Eagles Kick Off 2023 "Hotel California Tour" with a Few Surprises: Review, Photos, and Setlist
Richard Belzer, Actor Who Played John Munch on Law and Order: SVU, Dead at 78
Artist Uses AI to Imagine What Dead Musicians Would Look Like Today
New Book Reveals Mark Lanegan Co-Wrote Nirvana's "Something in the Way"
