With season 3 of the celebrated series “Conversations in L.A.” premiering March 15th on Amazon, we would love to introduce and arrange an interview with veteran stage actress, Anne Marie Cummings, the 2018 Emmy nominated actor/writer/director behind the 5x Emmy nominated series. “Conversations in L.A.” is revolutionary because it is the only single-shot (no cuts, highly choreographed with continuous camera movement) drama series. After years as a theater actress, writer and director in New York, Anne Marie decided to sell everything, move to Los Angeles and create, write, direct and star in a TV series. Inspired by the immediacy of theater, she created “Conversations in L.A.,” shooting each episode as a one-shot, meaning continuous camera movement, meticulous choreography, no cuts and theater-scale rehearsals.
This one-shot series is a triumph of television, and has been hailed as “The BIRDMAN of TV.” It follows ‘Michelle Macabee’ (Cummings), an unemployed woman who’s depressed over the death of her dog, but when she meets the handsome and much younger ‘Gus Borrero’ – they have an unexpected connection they discover is worth fighting for, despite the challenges of their age difference, their pasts, and the strong opinions of friends, family, and everyone else they have conversations with in LA. For season 3, Anne Marie casted guest stars Lou Diamond Phillips and Justin Kirk (weeds). For Season Three, Anne Marie’s DP Sebastian Heinrich learned Anne Marie’s detailed blocking for 20-to-30-minute episodes, then, while working with the actors (or sometimes stand-in’s) on location, they together created the angles, frame-by-frame. The next step in the process is to select the camera settings that would best suite the actor and camera blocking. During the final phase before filming, the finishing touches were to determine the pace and rhythm of camera moves alongside the actors. It is truly an exhausting and detailed dance between the camera and actors.
WATCH
SEASON THREE TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/306548646
BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF EPISODE SIX – really shows the camera style: https://vimeo.com/306296168
LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS ON WORKING WITH ANNE MARIE: https://vimeo.com/299355318
Anne Marie Cummings moved to Los Angeles three years ago after spending 30 years in the theatre as a professional actress working with Tony-award winning directors, playwright, director and artistic director (her last theatre company was in Upstate New York and moved from a theatre stage into a movie theatre where she began to film her own plays and the plays of well-known playwrights). She attended the highly acclaimed drama program at Carnegie Mellon University and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. “Conversations in LA” first came to life when Cummings sold her house in Upstate New York and with those funds, moved to Los Angeles to invest in her vision where she merges theatre onto film.
For additional information and behind the scene access, please seeCONVERSATIONSINLA.COM. We look forward to arranging an interview with you and can be reached here at agpr@andersongrouppr.com or at 323-655-1008 to schedule.
Thank you!
James & Lilyan
