Westworld: Post Show Recap with Josh Wigler & Jo Garfein · Westworld TV Reviewers Josh Wigler & Jo Garfein

Mrs. Davis Director Alethea Jones Breaks Down Season 1

·28 min·1 clip

Jones says the constipator had only “two numbers,” and it sometimes worked for Betty but not for Chris Diamantopoulos.

1. Westworld: Post Show Recap with Josh Wigler & Jo Garfein speaks with Mrs. Davis director Alethea Jones about Season 1 and three of her episodes. 2. Josh Wigler and Mike Bloom host the conversation, and Jones matters because she directed episodes that include the Excalibur battle, the rodeo, and the constipator scenes. 3. The episode asks how Jones made Mrs. Davis feel coherent while jumping between Spain, the Vatican, Los Angeles, and flashbacks. 4. Jones says she shot half of the series in Spain, where Spain doubled for Scotland and the Vatican. 5. She says the rodeo material in episode 3 was shot in Los Angeles, separate from the Spain work. 6. She describes getting to the edit and realizing she had forgotten the rodeo sequence because so much time had passed between the different locations. 7. Jones says she first wanted the job after reading the pilot and closing it with the feeling that she could not pitch what she had just read. 8. She says she was already working on Rise of the Pink Ladies in Vancouver when the script arrived. 9. Jones says Damon, Tara, and Owen knew her earlier work, including Lodge 49, Made for Love, and Watchmen. 10. She says she initially declined Mrs. Davis because Pink Ladies kept shutting down for COVID and she did not want to be delayed. 11. Jones says she had only one and a half days between shows before starting Mrs. Davis. 12. She says tone meetings with Damon and Tara were highly specific, with many questions about the rest of the series. 13. Jones says she was read in gradually and later learned that “the holy grail was Jesus’s skull.” 14. She says the constipator prop had only two versions and sometimes worked for Chris Diamantopoulos but not for Betty. 15. Jones says Chris auditioned over Zoom, then immediately tried different Australian accents when the team asked for one. 16. She says Chris later suggested the Vegemite bit himself, and she brought Vegemite from home to set. 17. Jones says the weirdest shows require the most earnest directing, plus extra inserts so the audience can see the strange object or action being discussed. 18. She says she likes handling transitions carefully, including rain-machine and flower surprise ideas that were not scripted. 19. Jones’s tone is conversational and detail-heavy, with Josh and Mike pushing specific production questions and Jones answering with practical set anecdotes. 20. People who like behind-the-scenes TV craft stories and weird-comedy production details will get the most out of this episode.

As heard by us

A smart behind-the-scenes chat that makes Mrs. Davis's weirdness feel carefully built.

Josh Wigler and Mike Bloom keep the conversation centered on how Alethea Jones approached Mrs. Davis, moving from tone meetings to the direct line she had with Damon and Tara.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

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Want the inside story on how Mrs. Davis kept its weirdness on track?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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