#331: Jason Winer

June 17, 2024

 

Director Jason Winer stops by the bungalow and discusses starting out in improv, his overall deal with 20th Century Fox, actor networking, and more!

 

 

00:00 – Introduction.
01:58 – Jason slates his name.
02:10 – Directing a pregnant Julie Bowen in the Modern Family pilot.
04:32 – Dealing with unexpected situations as a director.
09:25 – The lack of new comedy television.
11:24 – Starting out in improv comedy at iO Chicago.
15:10 – Studying performance at Northwestern.
17:16 – Surviving in LA as an actor partly via selling MTV the show The Blame Game.
20:15 – Transitioning from in front of the camera to behind it.
28:50 – Working with or against perfectionism.
32:25 – How does improv background effect directing.
35:00 – Getting a meeting about Modern Family.
37:40 – Editing improvised scenes.
40:27 – Jason’s overall deal with 20th Century Fox.
44:49 – Eric Andre needs to act more.
45:43 – How involved is Jason in casting.
51:00 – Finding new talent on crews like producers, casting, costume, etc.
54:44 – The prep a director does for an episode.
1:00:08 – Who took a chance on Jason.
1:01:26 – Keeping up relationships with directors and actor networking.

 

Jason’s IMDb and Instagram @jasonwiner.

 

Jason Winer and Mike Elder