Chapter 14

The Director, the First AD, and the UPM

THE DIRECTOR

Shana Feste

Shana Feste has been named one of Variety’s ten directors to watch. Her directorial debut was The Greatest, with Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon. Her second film was Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. She is currently working on a retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Before I made The Greatest I was working as a nanny, a tutor, an assistant—whatever would give me enough cash to allow me to keep writing.

The contacts that I made really paid off later in my career. Country Strong was produced by someone I worked as a nanny for. I am signed at CAA [Creative Artists Agency], and I worked as an assistant for an agent there before I made The Greatest. I knew that I wanted ...

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