We worked with James Gunn on Scream Queens. He was one of our three panelists (the other two were great in their own right, look for posts about John Homa and Shawnee Smith down the line.)
James, a real life producer, writer, and director, lead our ladies through their Director’s Challenge screen tests each week. In our opinion, James Gunn is one of the best experts on any reality TV show, period. Here’s why:
1. He’s Credible.
James has written scripts for major Hollywood movies like Dawn of the Dead
and Scooby-Doo
(grossing hundreds of millions of dollars), is the driving creative force behind the internet sensation PG Porn, and of course directed the horror cult-classic Slither
. Who better to help judge a prospective Scream Queen?
2. James Speaks in Sound-Bites
Maybe because James is a writer, a huge fan of reality TV, or just really smart—whatever the reason, James talks in easy-to-understand, well structured sentences. His ideas are clear and concise, and editing his scenes on every episode of Scream Queens was a breeze.
3. He Criticizes Bad Work
James never had any trouble telling an actress she sucked. Makes for good TV. That said…
4. He Also Gives Good Advice
James’ criticism was almost always tempered with advice to make the actresses’ scenes better. Michelle took his advice and went from near-elimination to almost winning the whole thing. Makes for much better TV than only telling actresses they suck.
5. Easy on the Eyes…
‘Nuff said.
6. Mr. Gunn Knows When He’s Acting Like a Diva
James admits to having occasional “Diva moments.” However, he realizes when he’s being difficult, and, usually about 6 minutes later, will stroll over and say “Sorry about that!” with a mischievous chuckle.
7. Flexible with his Schedule
When it comes to production, s#@! happens. We unintentionally put James in a few situations where his shoot time or day would change with very little notice. While this sometimes lead to a small episode of the type mentioned in reason #6, James never let us down. This is probably because…
8. James Understands the Burdens of Production
Coordinating the efforts of 150-200 people is hard. Couple that with the immense pressure of shooting what feels like 3 days worth of material in 12 hours (typical for a reality TV schedule) and things on a set can get crazy…quickly. Having a reality TV talent who understands that production is hard (since he’s been there himself) was a total pleasure.
9. He’s Relatable
When you watch James on TV, he comes across as a fun guy, someone you’d want to hang out with. He possesses a great sense of humor that draws viewers in. Most importantly, he tends to say what the audience at home is thinking, which validates the way viewers feel.