On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, producer Ed McDonnell (SICARIO, PRISONERS, INSOMNIA) joins us in a lively conversation about his craft and his career. After producing a play at age 12 in his neighbor’s garage, he survived two brief stints in Washington and on Wall Street before leaving it all behind to work in Hollywood. While charting his quick rise from assistant to executive, Ed shares the most important lesson he learned after being fired for failing to read the room during a meeting over an early draft of BEVERLY HILLS COP. Ed also discusses how he takes scripts out to directors and collaborates with them to tell the best story possible, and we later consider why we always prefer projects that promise ample amounts of collaboration over other opportunities to simply act as functionaries. Towards the end, we discuss the nature of sequels and also reflect on the value of the oft repeated question: “Do you really need that shot?” - This episode is sponsored by Fiilex Instagram: @fiilexled