Every step of the development and production process has its own unique hurdles to overcome. Whether it’s adjusting the tone of the script for an actor who’s just been cast or scaling back on locations due to budget constraints. In this sense, the project you envisioned when you began this process may be very different from the one that ends up on screen. Making sure that the best version of whatever you set out to make is the one that ends up being the final product is a huge part of what being a producer is all about and what keeps Pinky Promise founder Jessamine Burgum focused as she shepherds work from Scarlett Johansson, Andrea Arnold, Gia Coppola, and more.
The producer behind Johansson’s directorial debut “Eleanor the Great,” which recently had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes, Burgum understands how to collaborate with top talent. Another one of her projects being released this year, “I Don’t Understand You,” features comedic hitmakers Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells. During her recent episode of “What No One Tells You,” she told IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking that though it started as more of a horror project, involving Kroll and Rannells meant adding more levity throughout different stages.
‘You’re Actually Making Three Movies’
“There’s a script, there’s the production, and then there’s the post,” said Burgum in breaking down the three spaces where a film is made. “I’m not the first person to say this nor will I be the last, but I will always reinforce the truth of that statement.”
Using “I Don’t Understand You” as an example, Burgum explained how the original script was “90% horror, 10% comedy.” Her and her team at Pinky Promise absolutely loved it, but the minute they brought Kroll and Rannells onto the project, the tone of the material quickly started to shift.
“We’re shooting on location in Rome, having the time of our lives,” Burgum told IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking. “Nick and Andrew are just so funny that in real time we started realizing behind the monitor that we’re making a movie that’s probably going to look more like 50% horror, 50% comedy.”
Of course, once they got to the edit, Burgum and the team’s perspectives changed once again, realizing the film would be better off “landing around 90% comedy, 10% horror.” Rather than view this as an issue or an error in the way they made the film, Burgum recognized these kind of changes speak to a project that feels alive.
“There’s something to letting the movie in the process tell you what it is,” she said. “And necessity is the mother of invention. You look at the end product and it’s a result of all the little things that had to go exactly right in order to end up with that thing. And the movie is better for it.”
Watch a clip from Burgum’s episode of “What No One Tells You” below.
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“I Don’t Understand You” releases in theaters on June 6 from Vertical.
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