Director for the first episode

[RAMA]

Generally speaking, directors are not considered the auteurs as they are with feature films. They don't get to put a stamp on their product nearly as much as filmmakers do. However, from time to time, director's on TV stand out. In Star Trek, we had David Carson, Rob Bowman, Corey Allen. We can assume if it's 2 hrs that it will cost $10-15 million and will have some scope. We've seen examples of movie directors directing episodes of Dr Who, or cable/streaming shows. John Woo directed a Lost in Space pilot. Knowing that, is there still a director you'd like to see direct the pilot?

 

[benjaminh]

I hope that Nicholas Meyer himself will write and direct the premiere. I'm hoping for a production budget of more like $25 million. The DS9 premiere, Emissary, cost c. $12 million, but adjusted for inflation that would be about twice as much today. The Voyager premiere, Caretaker, had all sorts of production problems, but apparently it ended up costing over $20 million back in 1994-95, which would be close to $35m today.

I think CBS is going to want something that's close to movie-quality in terms of sets, FX, acting quality, etc., and that costs pretty big bucks even for TV these days. I think they'll want an "event" to help launch All-Access, even though as we know the first episode will be broadcast.

 

[benjaminh]

Other possibilities that come to mind: LeVar Burton, Roxann Dawson, David Carson, Avery Brooks....?

 

[RAMA]

The Expanse is $5 million per episode and it already looks movie quality. They won't spend $35 million on a ST pilot, but with the technology today I'm sure they can stretch a $15 million budget.

I hope that Nicholas Meyer himself will write and direct the premiere. I'm hoping for a production budget of more like $25 million. The DS9 premiere, Emissary, cost c. $12 million, but adjusted for inflation that would be about twice as much today. The Voyager premiere, Caretaker, had all sorts of production problems, but apparently it ended up costing over $20 million back in 1994-95, which would be close to $35m today.

I think CBS is going to want something that's close to movie-quality in terms of sets, FX, acting quality, etc., and that costs pretty big bucks even for TV these days. I think they'll want an "event" to help launch All-Access, even though as we know the first episode will be broadcast.

 

[Sir Rhosis]

My (very uneducated) guess would also be that Meyer will direct it.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Joss Whedon.

 

[Harvey]

Nicholas Meyer has directed exactly one project in the past 25 years -- Vendetta, a television movie that aired in 1999 (almost 17 years ago).

I'd love to see him behind the camera, but I'm pretty skeptical that CBS is going to sign off on Meyer directing the premiere episode.

Then again, I'm shocked to see him on board as a consulting producer and a member of the writing staff, so I suppose we'll see...

 

[eyeresist]

I was originally sceptical of suggestions that Kurtzmann might direct the first episode, but if we bear in mind he is going to direct the latest version of The Mummy, I think he may well claim producer's privilege and direct the Star Trek debut for "practice".

 

[benjaminh]

I was originally sceptical of suggestions that Kurtzmann might direct the first episode, but if we bear in mind he is going to direct the latest version of The Mummy, I think he may well claim producer's privilege and direct the Star Trek debut for "practice".

Hmmm. I realize there's nothing I can do about it, but I would feel mixed about that. He was one of the big producers of Fringe, and ultimately I felt that show—although it had some good points—also had some serious flaws.

 

[benjaminh]

The Expanse is $5 million per episode and it already looks movie quality. They won't spend $35 million on a ST pilot, but with the technology today I'm sure they can stretch a $15 million budget.

You're right that The Expanse looks very good. And I think you're probably right that $15 million might be closer to what they'd be willing to spend. The Fringe "pilot movie," which was produced by Kurtzman (among others) had a production budget of c. $10 million back in 2008. It was pretty spectacular, even if ultimately the series was somewhat flawed. Anyway, $15m does sound like a good guess.

CBS likes their shows to look glossy and professional, but they don't like to break the bank doing it. And so I think they'll probably keep a fairly tight reign on costs so that they don't go out of control.

 

[AviTrek]

The director on the pilot is generally someone involved with creating the show. I'd expect it to be one of Kurtzman, Fuller, or Myers. Of the three Myers is the only one with significant directing experience.

I hope that Nicholas Meyer himself will write and direct the premiere. I'm hoping for a production budget of more like $25 million. The DS9 premiere, Emissary, cost c. $12 million, but adjusted for inflation that would be about twice as much today. The Voyager premiere, Caretaker, had all sorts of production problems, but apparently it ended up costing over $20 million back in 1994-95, which would be close to $35m today.

I think CBS is going to want something that's close to movie-quality in terms of sets, FX, acting quality, etc., and that costs pretty big bucks even for TV these days. I think they'll want an "event" to help launch All-Access, even though as we know the first episode will be broadcast.

Comparing pilot budgets for this show to others will be tricky. Since the show was ordered to series there is no need to produce an expensive front loaded pilot. All the fixed cost sets will likely be amortized over the season rather than being front loaded into a pilot. The more relevant comparison is the average cost per episode over the season compared to the average costs of other shows.

 

[benjaminh]

....Since the show was ordered to series there is no need to produce an expensive front loaded pilot. All the fixed cost sets will likely be amortized over the season rather than being front loaded into a pilot. The more relevant comparison is the average cost per episode over the season compared to the average costs of other shows.

TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise all went directly to series as well. But they wanted to launch each show with a bang, with an almost movie-like premiere episode. And so we have Encounter at Farpoint, Emissary, Caretaker, and Broken Bow, each of which was, with commercials, 2 hours, and had an extra large budget. I think they will probably do something similar with this show.

 

[EnderAKH]

Some people I would like to see:
Cary Fukunaga
Thomas Schlamme
David Nutter
Jack Bender
Michelle Maclaren
If you could tempt him back from Star Wars, Rian Johnson

 

[PRStoetzer]

TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise all went directly to series as well. But they wanted to launch each show with a bang, with an almost movie-like premiere episode. And so we have Encounter at Farpoint, Emissary, Caretaker, and Broken Bow, each of which was, with commercials, 2 hours, and had an extra large budget. I think they will probably do something similar with this show.

Though if the show is in a serialized format, there's no real need for a 2 hour premiere since the story doesn't need to be resolved by the end of the episode.

 

[Hutchy01]

Honestly even though it would be related to his films, I'd love to see JJ Abrams do the episode as he is one of the best modern Sci-fi directors

 

[AviTrek]

Though if the show is in a serialized format, there's no real need for a 2 hour premiere since the story doesn't need to be resolved by the end of the episode.

Since the show is premiering on CBS before moving to CBSAA, there is arguably more of a need for a 2 hour flashy premiere than the other shows had.

 

[dbcooper]

Fuller might use one of the directors from Hannibal, such as Vincenzo Natali or David Slade. There were some very talented directors on that series.

 

[dbcooper]

Btw, David Slade is listed as a director of his American Gods series too.

 

[intrinsical]

Jonathan Frakes

 

[STEPhon IT]

James Cameron.