There’s an Emmy prognostication theme of sorts emerging in our most recent installments of Chat Room. Last month (SHOOT, 5/17), we interviewed Allen Coulter who directed the final two episodes of season one for the Netflix series House of Cards, which figures to be among the Emmy contenders this upcoming awards season. And now we catch up with director Richard Shepard, who won an Emmy and a DGA Award in 2007 for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series on the basis of the pilot for Ugly Betty. Fast forward to today and his ongoing involvement in Lena Dunham’s acclaimed HBO series Girls could very well again register with Television Academy voters.
Last year, Dunham won the DGA Award for her direction of Girls, which additionally earned four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, Comedy Director (Dunham), Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Dunham as Hannah Horvath) and Writing for a Comedy Show (Dunham).
In season one of Girls, Shepard directed a pair of episodes, including the first which Dunham wrote and turned over to a director other than herself. For season two, Shepard has helmed two more episodes, including “One Man’s Trash” which centers on a two-day fling between Dunham’s character Horvath and a 40-something doctor portrayed by Patrick Wilson.
Shepard’s credits beyond Girls are extensive, including the well-received feature The Matador which he wrote and directed, as well as episodic directing for 30 Rock, Criminal Minds and the pilots for Ringer and Golden Boy as well as the lauded documentary short I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale.
SHOOT caught up with Shepard to discuss Girls, collaborating with Dunham, his theatrical feature endeavors–including the forthcoming Dom Hemingway starring Jude Law–and his availability for commercials and branded content via production house Honey Badger.
SHOOT: How did you get the Girls gig to begin with?
Shepard: Completely through connections. My girlfriend [Jennifer Konner] is the executive producer of the show. I met Lena before Jennie was even on Girls. I knew Lena well and when Jennie came on board, they were deciding on who should direct some episodes. Lena was a fan of my movies so that helped me get the opportunity.
SHOOT: What’s the nature of your collaborative relationship with Dunham?
Shepard: I really enjoy working with her. I was the first director to direct material she had written–the norm had been for her to direct her own work. She gave up some control and was an incredibly collaborative boss, Without a doubt, working on Girls has been one of the highlights of my career.
Having worked on the first season, when I got a script for the second season, I felt comfortable enough to speak candidly to Lena. I didn’t love the script but agreed to direct it. I told Lena that and as it turns out she didn’t love the script either. She said she would write a new one that night. “Good luck with that,” I thought. We were shooting two weeks later. Amazingly she came up with a brilliant script. I suddenly went from a script I wasn’t particularly happy with to one I absolutely loved. It was an interesting story centered on Lena’s character and an older doctor, their brief affair, all occurring in the doctor’s Brooklyn brownstone. What made it that much more interesting to me is that only her and the doctor know what happened. None of the other characters are witness to any aspect of the relationship between the two.
The whole episode had a short story feel, lending itself to a cinematic approach which is how I got to direct it. Lena, Jennie and [exec producer] Judd Apatow had faith in me and what we could do with this episode. We had a full day of rehearsal which is unbelievable in a TV schedule. It was an intimate, hand-held episode, the first where Hannah’s sex life–a major part of the series–is connected with a more positive emotional feeling.
SHOOT: The other major project you’ve been involved in most recently is Dom Hemingway, a theatrical feature film which you wrote as well as directed. Give us a better handle on the movie and its storyline.
Shepard: It’s a dark comedy and I was lucky enough to work with Jude Law who liked the movie so much he was willing to do it for much less. It’s about an almost despicable character you can’t help but love who shoots himself in the foot at all times while somehow trying to straighten out his life. Jude’s performance is amazing. And I’m happy to say we just sold the movie to Fox Searchlight.
I’ve been very fortunate to toggle between the TV and feature worlds. TV pilots pay well and give you a little bit of wiggle room to maneuver your film career a bit. It at least gives you the power to say, “No.”
For me, it’s been a great year–working on Girls, Dom Hemingway and Golden Boy, a cop drama which I enjoyed even though it just got canceled [by CBS].
SHOOT: I see that you also have representation for commercials and branded content via production house Honey Badger. Have you done any spots or branded projects as of yet?
Shepard: John Benson [exec producer of Honey Badger] is a fan of my work and a friend. From the outset, I let him know that I would be completely unavailable for a year. I haven’t done any commercials or branded content yet, but I’m interested in the challenge of those kinds of projects. My schedule just got a little more accommodating so hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to do some interesting shorter form work at some point. When you see a Wes Anderson or a Roman Coppola-directed commercial, it’s a work of art.
SHOOT: What’s next for you?
Shepard: I am directing two more episodes of Girls for season three, which is exciting. I have a new deal with Fox Television Studios for my TV projects. And I have a small production company which has a pilot for the CW Network in the works.
