Posted in: Paramount+, streaming, TV | Tagged: exclusive, interview, Laysla De Oliveira, Morgan Freeman, nicole kidman, Paul Cameron, Special Ops: Lioness, zoe saldana

Special Ops: Lioness Director/DOP Paul Cameron on Pulling Double-Duty

Director & cinematographer Paul Cameron (Westworld) discusses working on Paramount+ & Taylor Sheridan's spy thriller Special Ops: Lioness.

Paul Cameron has a special gift behind the camera bringing a director's vision onto the screen with his over four decades of work as a cinematographer. Some of his featured work includes thrillers like Collateral (2004) for Paramount, Man on Fire (2004) for 20th Century Studios, and Disney's Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). It transitioned to his work on the directors' chair in HBO's Westworld and Paramount+'s Special Ops: Lioness. Cameron spoke with Bleeding Cool about how he got involved with the Taylor Sheridan spy thriller, working with the ensemble cast that features Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman & Morgan Freeman and coordinating with other directors on the series. The series focuses on Force Recon Marine Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) is tasked with befriending the daughter of a suspected terrorist who is being surveilled by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Special Ops: Lioness?'

Cameron: I got a call from John Hillcoat, who I've known for quite a while, and wanted to shoot some movies. When he gave me a ring, the project came up quickly about a year ago. After pitching the show pilot idea, he said 'We can get the best together, jump on a plane, go to Baltimore, and start." They came together quickly. I found out shortly after that John was the only hired director on the show, so I was able to talk to Taylor [Sheridan] and put the opportunity to build to direct a couple of episodes as well.

You also got to work on some of the other aspects as a cinematographer, could you tell me about wearing the multiple hats on the show?

This was a great opportunity to jump on a show like 'Special Ops: Lioness' because you jump on the earlier worldbuilding part of it. We took limited steps, and the opportunity of working with John as the cinematographer was great. We developed a lookbook and a style for the show that we went on to do. Shortly after doing the first episode, we got into block shooting because of the schedules with Nicole [Kidman] and Zoe [Saldana]. It was challenging to jump from DP to director on any given day. I've been shooting for a long time, so it's more of a challenge jumping on as a director and then as a cinematographer. I enjoyed the opportunity in those days. I was directing, and I was appreciative.

Was there any other aspect of production that was particularly difficult, or was there a consistent ebb-and-flow aside from working around Nicole and Zoe's schedules?

The challenge on this show was a lot of it takes place in Washington, D.C., and we were situated in Baltimore, not that far from Washington, which is not the easiest place to film. We had to make a lot of Baltimore locations work for D.C. and get the establishing and aerial shots. It came together, but it's always a challenge when you're not in the exact place. The other opportunities that show also shot quite a bit in Spain and then over in Morocco. I enjoyed going over to Morocco, I had some things directed there, and I had several scenes shot for John Hillcoat on episodes one and two over there. I enjoyed directing and shooting for episode one and the finale as well. It was what seemed to be jumping on a show for a few months and ended up being the better part of seven months. That was a challenge unto itself.

How do you describe the order of how you shoot coordinating with the other directors?

When the show started, we dug in on episodes one and two with John directing, and then as Anthony Byrne was starting episodes three and four, we started prep on five and six. That's when Nicole came. There were some weeks where we were basically three directors working on block-shooting scenes with Nicole and Zoe to get them together and get their schedules finished. It all kind of came together naturally. John, Anthony Brynne, and I had a good handle on the story & production and were able to jump in and out and do what it was necessary to get things done out of sequence. It was a seamless flow.

Can you tell me about the other cast that was like to work with, like Laysla, Dave [Annable], Jill [Wagner], and Morgan?

Laysla's fantastic. She's a young Canadian actress who did her work professionally and prepared. She did a wonderful job with the material. Stephanie Nur, who is also a younger actress, has done a few shows with Taylor in other things. She was fantastic coming into the show. We had Mike Kelly, who you know predominately from 'House of Cards,' and he was fantastic to work with. Mike is an incredible actor and wonderful to collaborate with. He had a lot of dialogue, a lot of fake monologues, and he nailed it all. I also had the pleasure of working with Jennifer Ehle, who is also an amazing actress, an absolute pleasure, and a challenge to work with for all. Of course, we had Morgan Freeman was beyond a dream to work with. He was incredibly well-prepared and a joy to work with and collaborate with. His time was very limited in production, but he was fabulous to work with.

Special Ops: Lioness streams Sundays on Paramount+.

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