The Three As: Anticipate. Adapt. Advance.
Welcome to Production Muse, a space for getting creative about the business of entertainment. Every month, Nine Muses Production Executive Saralyn Armer addresses the essentials for navigating a career in the arts and shares practical advice for “making it” as a multi-hyphenate artist in the industry.
By Saralyn Armer
Being solution-oriented in production, and life in general, is a must-have skill. I was recently talking with my husband Aaron about a miniseries we were watching called The Offer (Paramount+) about the making of the little indie film The Godfather… maybe you’ve heard of it?
Episode after episode, the producer, Albert “Al” Ruddy played by Miles Teller, is thrown one curveball after another to the point where I was 100% stressed out for him. The anxiety was palpable. Watching how Al solved this never-ending list of problems to get his movie made brought up loads of on-set stories for Aaron (who’s been an Assistant Director for twenty years) and myself. In particular, the series reminded Aaron of his motto as an assistant director: “Anticipate, adapt, advance.”
Getting a production off the ground is a tedious venture, jam-packed with twists and turns, and as much as you anticipate, problems will still happen that you need to adapt to in order to advance. But trust that you will figure out how to pull it off!
Back in 2014, I spent months preparing to direct a short film I wrote that was very close to my heart. The day before production began, the location I had booked weeks in advance called to say, “We double booked the space. You are going to have to move your shoot.”
Rescheduling was… not possible. My lead actress, who happened to be none other than Bryce Dallas Howard herself, was leaving the next week to go shoot a huge film.
The feeling of panic and the literal sense of “it’s now or never” enveloped me. I had a cast and crew of fifty people showing up at 6am, most of which were cast and crew members coming off a Fraturday (if you are unfamiliar with the term “Fraturday,” it’s when you start your work day on a Friday but it bleeds into Saturday. And they are brutal.). And not to mention all the other expenses like equipment rentals, catering, and props that were already in motion.
How did I adapt? I called my producing partner to meet me at the location then jumped in my car — driving in L.A. traffic, on a Friday — to speak with the owner face-to-face. We had to convince this person to honor not only our contract (which he couldn’t have cared less about) but also his word. Brute force is normally not my go-to tactic, but that day I adapted. I used every ounce of charm (and guilt) I could muster through my rising blood pressure to get my movie made. And it worked.
To this day, I am thankful to my producing partner Mitch Yapko, for being by my side as we made Pant Suits. He gets it. There is a reason we collaborate and build a team; it’s to prepare for all possible scenarios so when curveballs are thrown at you, you can lean on each other to figure it out.
In Episode 4 of The Offer, there is a poignant scene between producer Al Ruddy and The Godfather casting director Andrea Eastman played by Stephanie Koenig where Andrea gives Ruddy a pep talk after Al Pacino declines the role of ‘Michael’ in the film. The scene reinforces the fact that if you believe in your vision you will do whatever it takes to get your film made and Andrea’s monologue gives incredible clarity into the seemingly absurd “why” of “why are we in show business.”
“The question you should be asking yourself is, why are we here, in show business? We’re here because this is the life that we’ve chosen, right? …we all ran away from home so that we could join the circus and everything that we say to make it seem like we care about the life that we could’ve had — wife, kids, house, dog — it’s bullshit.
…None of that matters. What you really want in life, in fact, all you want in life, is just for a man named Al Pacino to pretend he’s a man named Michael Corleone. And you’re right to be miserable over this. It is that important. ‘Cause I feel the same way. And we can only be around other people who understand that. Everyone else is just a civilian.”
Production life is just that: a circus. You bring everything with you, you perform impossible feats, then you pack up and go home, only to do it all again the next day. And the people who will understand are right there alongside you.
If you are brave enough to create art, you will be brave enough to solve any problem that arises because you will anticipate, adapt and then advance.
