S2E18: “Who’s The Boss?”

Film sets are a fascinating place to work. They definitely reflect the nature of the people working on them – especially at the top. But who’s really in charge of any set? Who’s the boss?

Most sets are like bee hives. And, while everyone thinks the director is queen bee, on the set itself, it’s really the first assistant director – the first AD – who’s running the joint. Now, they’re not the boss – they work FOR the boss. If it’s a feature film, the boss is the director. If it’s a TV show however, the bosses are the writer-producers. The first works for them.

They will see to it that the day’s work comes in on time and on budget.

That means when shit goes awry, the first person the shit’s gonna hit is the first. It’s a hard job and it requires a special kind of person.

Like our very good friend Tony Adler – no relation to Gil.

Personal History

Now – as you’ll hear, Tony and I go back a long, long way – to the Vassar College Drama Department. Boy, do we have stories.

Tony’s had a long, amazing career. He’s got some huge features in his bio: “Ragtime” and “American Beauty”. He’s worked on TV series like “Grace and Frankie”, “Heroes”, “Empire” and “Halo”. And, he’s worked with pretty much everyone in Hollywood from Milos Foreman to Steven Spielberg to Dustin Hoffman to Sam Mendes to David Hemmings.

Want some great stories from the sets of movies and shows you love? Tune out the world for an hour and enjoy a little movie making madness. Some of the best stories coming from any movie set happen ON the set.

And the first AD – our good friend Tony –  knows them. Where this episode’s concerned, if you want to know “who’s the boss?” It’s Tony!

Photo 36125862 / Director © Kts | Dreamstime.com