We recently connected with Ezra Buzzington and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ezra, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

Since corporations (and the corporate mindset) have taken over the making of what used to be called “entertainment” and is now referred to unironically as “content”, artists have been given an even shorter end of what was already a short stick. Hollywood moguls of old (Warner, Mayer, Goldwyn, Zanuck, Laemmle, etc.) were just as dedicated to the bottom line as our current “leaders”. The one difference is they understood the importance of the artists’ place in the hierarchy of creating film and television. They were not beholden to the quarterly reports and Wall Street. What we have now is a major constriction of our industry brought on by the perfect storm of “streaming wars”, corporate takeovers/mergers and bottom-line chasing. Literally a corporate mentality that results in the squelching of untested voices and new takes on art and entertainment. And when you consider that MGM and its entities are a miniscule part of new owner Amazon’s marketing budget (acquired primarily to push the sale of materials available through Amazon’s online marketplace), it speaks even more clearly to the priorities that have Louis B. Mayer rolling in his mouldering grave.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been a working artist and actor since the age of nine. I have 70 movies listed on IMDb (most recently Spielberg’s “The Fablemans”) and dozens of TV shows (most recently “Bookie”). My background in the theatre provided me with a solid foundation of aesthetics and vision for entertainment. I’ve founded (in tandem with others) two “fringe” theatre festivals and advised on a third. I started noticing the slow death of theatre and the arts in general about 15 years ago and have been trying to save it since.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Some say it’s a right brain/left brain enigma. I can see how difficult it must be for number crunchers and other non-creatives to imagine what it is creatives do exactly and/or how they go about the act of creation. I don’t know how to explain it other than to go all mystical which I don’t want to do. For many creatives (writers, actors, directors, etc.) it can be a dreamlike state that requires complete openness allowing for no resistance. As a writer, the most important thing to do is sit down and write. The second most important thing to do is allow for words to come and avoid self-censorship. Every writer knows that after a certain point, the characters begin to literally speak through the writer. It’s like channeling. And the smart (read: experienced) writer knows to get the hell out of the way. The world of the creative is all gray areas. Not black and white. This is difficult, I would imagine, for someone who depends on specifics to get their work done. An actor must be willing to take a blind leap into a real (not imagined) world of the character and, depending on the situation, give themselves over completely to a world they’ve learned as much as they can about, but simultaneously understand that they know nothing. It’s a leap of faith that relies on instinct. A non-creative worker examines their world in a completely different way. Facts, not fantasies. This makes cooperation between the two disciplines difficult but necessary in the entertainment world.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

When I direct, I make sure everyone understands that while I am in charge of making final decisions, I can only make those decisions based on what ideas my team brings to me. I am, literally, nothing without them. Building an ensemble can be tricky but the most important job for a director. It’s a constant dance involving the switching of many hats. Some actors require constant confirmation, some want to be left the hell alone. Some crew members work from a place of envy or jealously and must be allowed their insecurities while being given the understanding that, while they are as valuable as any other crew member, they are there to serve the larger vision of the creative head. The best way I can describe a director’s job is a story from the theatre: A pair of famous actors go on tour. They are in St. Louis and rehearsing while the theatre’s maintenance crew are preparing the theatre for that night’s performance. The actors on the stage are having a very difficult time with a particular bit of business. They just can’t make it work. They look out at the house where a janitor is mopping up the back aisle. “Excuse me, sir…?” One of them asks. “Yeah?” He answers. “Which of these two choices works best for you?” They show him their ideas. When they’re done, they turn to him and ask: “Which one should we use?” . The moral is: a director’s is simply the one holding the mop. Let them run their ideas. Clean up what doesn’t work. And thank them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ebuzzington/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ezrabuzzington
• Twitter: Twitter is evil. I don’t use it.

Image Credits

Photo by: Justin Rain