Show Notes
We do a deep dive case study into producing Tenzing with Liz Watts, one of Australia's most successful producers — we get into working with a cross-cultural cast and crew, the detail required to stay on top of budgets, and the creative philosophy that held the whole production together.
This is Part 2 of our conversation with Liz Watts. Part 1 was released last week.
Host: Emile Sherman
Producer: @jonahprimo on Instagram, Jonah Primo on Letterboxd https://boxd.it/cjFIF
Composer: @Adiescar
Artwork: @studiostromberg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Sandbox: A See-Saw Podcast On Creativity
Today we are delighted to be speaking with Tenzing Director Jennifer Peedom. We get into the balancing act between truth and drama, what filmmaking in extreme cold is like (and why we chose not to use a green screen), why it's an “anti-conquering” film, and Tenzing’s life as an outsider in his own community.
Today we sit down with Liz Watts, Head of Film and Television, Australia at See-Saw Films. Liz is one of Australia's most successful producers, with credits including Animal Kingdom and The King. Since joining See-Saw, she's executive produced Apple Cider Vinegar for Netflix, produced The Royal Hotel, and led us up a mountain with See-Saw's upcoming Apple Original film, Tenzing.
BAFTA winning casting director Nicky Barrett returns for part two, pulling back the curtain on how movies actually get cast: where star power, financier lists, and directors who need "director-proof" actors collide with the search for something real. The conversation widens into acting styles across cultures, the messy politics of authenticity casting, and closes on a genuinely unresolved question: can an AI performance ever have charisma, or is that something only a human being pretending to be someone else can give you?
"It's not who fits where — it's what is the world we're making." BAFTA award-winning casting director Nikki Barrett joins the show to talk about what makes a great actor, casting as world-building rather than list-filling: the difference between naturalism and truth on screen, why she's drawn to anthropological projects and non-actors, and how the best actors find the "safety to take risks.”
Joe Locke shot to fame playing Charlie Spring in See-Saw's beloved coming-of-age series Heartstopper — and now, with the release of Heartstopper Forever, that story comes to a close. Host Emile Sherman is joined by See-Saw co-founder Iain Canning to sit down with Joe and look back on the whole journey: what it was like stepping onto set as a newcomer to acting, navigating a whirlwind rise to fame, and what it took to bring Nick and Charlie's story to its conclusion. They also dig into what the show has come to mean to fans around the world. This is a warm, reflective conversation to send off one of the most-loved series of the past few years.