Star Wars: Visions Memories 08

Opinions, eh? Who needs 'em? Work with any creative team, and you're going to hear a lot of opinions.  For anyone that's a real challenge and especially a new director like Paul, because his heart is so big that he wants everyone to be happy. You can build a safe, happy creative space... but not everyone gets their way. And that's okay. That's as it should be. 

We faced that with the scripting of course. We had notes from everyone, whether welcome or not. So I'm very used to it. But when processes widen out and you get more people involved, you add more voices. Sometimes that's a challenge for sure. It can become very overwhelming and it risks you making decisions to keep the peace rather than because they're right for the film.

What worked out really well for us was Paul finding the specific people who would align with his vision, help him find it sometimes and, sure, challenge it now and again but then accepting when a decision is made and doing their job incredibly well. One of the most important collaborators on Screecher's Reach was Almu Redondo, the art director. She is an incredible talent. Her art is just out of this world. But she is also practical and understands visual storytelling on such a deep level. 

Almu worked so closely with Paul and really helped him bring this story to the screen. Her work on it is all over the final product and she very deservedly picked up an Emmy for her production design on it. 

And Almu was also great at filtering some of those loud voices. She could put a shape to things in a way that I think really helped Paul. It made him feel more confident in the visual choices and when encountering opinions that didn't quite work for him. 

One such instance was in designing the Sith Mother. Initially, she was written as being a black-robed Sith Lord. Instead, Almu brought Paul a beautiful design in white. The Lucasfilm team weren't sure about it at all. And I agreed with them. The reason for black and a traditional Sith look was simple: so that we would know immediately that she was evil. That Daal going off with her was not a good thing. If she doesn't look evil, how will we know? From a storytelling perspective, it just made sense to me. 

Thing is though...

Paul liked the white.

I think he was probably hit with a lot of opinions around that time. Certainly Almu could build a very good case for white. Some of us could offer story reasons why we wanted to go with black. We all had our reasons, all well thought through and often well articulated. But here's what's important:

Paul... liked the white. 

Sometimes that's all that matters. 

And we went with the white.

Rarely have I been so happy to have someone go with a choice that wasn't mine. The white costume with the red worked so well. We still could feel she was evil but, instead of it just sitting there on the surface, it was hidden. It was sinister. It was unsettling, like we knew it was beautiful but something was wrong.

That design nailed it.

Paul just liked it. I've directed so much over the years and, in truth, often decisions come down to this one thing. Sure, listen to the opinions if they can help inform a decision. Don't be closed-minded. But then make your choice. Not everyone on that team is going to get their way. I didn't in this instance. 

And it was absolutely the right call. It taught me something I already knew but needed to remember: good direction isn’t about pleasing everyone - it's about making a choice and standing by it. 

More soon but, if you enjoyed Star Wars: Visions, well, you're in for a treat because Volume 3 is out today! A whole new volume from visionary Japanese directors. Watch it now on Disney+!