Can a Small Screen Director Handle "Catching Fire"

With everyone guessing who could be the director, most of them are only dreams for a fantasy world.

…most Hollywood directors of note 1) won’t be interested in doing an inherited, major blockbuster without any breathing room (just like Ross), 2) a lot of the names being mentioned are already busy on other projects, 3) Lionsgate can’t afford (or won’t pay) for what smart, high-profile directors would ask for a run-and-gun assignment and 4) plenty of bigger directors like to do original material, or will at least want their own re-write (and there’s no time!).

Maybe we are looking for a small screen director - as in someone normally working in a television show. TV directors work with short time frames, working with others scripts, and have skill with special effects. Some ideas?

 Jack Bender, Emmy-winning executive producer on Lost and most recently, AlcatrazAs the overseeing director on both series, Bender made both of those shows look like they were big screen, cinematic every week.  Lost, in particular, challenged Bender to use every trick in his directorial arsenal shooting on location in the jungles and on the beaches of Hawaii eight months a year. Wait a minute…the Arena in Catching Fire takes place in jungles and on a beach! How convenient! It also helps Bender directed the hell out of a plethora of character moments on Lost that are exactly like the ones found in Catching Fire between Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy and more.
Jon Cassar, Emmy-winning executive producer on 24 and most recently, Terra NovaA master of action and pathos, Jon Cassar was one of two primary directors on 24 that shot two episodes back-to-back every 15 days on 24. All together, Cassar directed 59 episodes of Jack Bauer’s tense hours, as well as the TV movie, 24: Redemption. Capable of directing everything from the most vulnerable Jack Bauer moments to the most jaw-dropping action sequences, Cassar would bring some real energy to Katniss Everdeen’s Arena moments from the quiet to the epic. It also doesn’t hurt that Cassar spent 2011 shooting Terra Nova in the wilds of Australia, that show about dystopian humans in the jungles of the past running from a lot of CGI creatures. Sound familiar?Tim Van Patten, Emmy-winning director of The Pacific, Game of Thrones, and Boardwalk EmpireA former actor-turned-director, Van Patten is a much sought after talent who knows how to do gritty drama and action – both needed in Catching Fire. As any actor will tell you, it’s always great to have a former actor behind the lens as there is an inherent shorthand and empathy with directors that know both sides of the camera. With the Catching Fire cast already locked and incredibly high-caliber to boot (not to mention sure to be smarting from Ross’ loss), someone like Van Patten would help bridge the gap and get the trust of his cast quickly.

 What do you think of the idea of a small screen director? I think it is really smart!

Source: TV Geek Army