Robin Wright said serving as a director on House of Cards helped prepare her to direct an episode of Ozark’s upcoming fourth and final season. Wright starred as Claire Underwood on Netflix’s acclaimed political thriller series, House of Cards, as well as directed 10 episodes scattered throughout the show’s six seasons. She also recently made her feature directorial debut with Land, a film about a grieving lawyer who isolates herself in the unrelenting wilderness of the Rocky Mountains.
Now the actress/director is moving into Ozark territory to direct Laura Linney and Jason Bateman as the hit Netflix original drama series comes to what should be a dramatic conclusion. The show follows Marty Byrde (Bateman), a financial advisor who’s forced to uproot his family and begin laundering millions of dollars in the Missouri Ozarks after a meeting with a Mexican drug cartel goes horribly wrong. While filming has reportedly begun on the show’s forthcoming season, little is known about the plot and no official release date has been confirmed. But Netflix did announce that the show’s fourth and final season will feature 14 episodes and will be split into two seven-episode halves, making it the longest season to date.
Wright is set to direct one of the 14 installments, and in a recent episode of Collider’s podcast, Collider Ladies Night, she said her time behind the camera on House of Cards prepped her for the role. House of Cards has a clear style that Wright said she had to adhere to as a director, meaning she had to stick with certain lenses and avoid handheld camera among other restrictions. But she also had to figure out how to incorporate her own stylistic flare. Similarly, the actress/director said she’ll need to emulate Ozark’s distinct, blue-hued style while also infusing her own artistic vision as a director.
Check out Wright’s full quote below:
It’s interesting because being on House of Cards, we had to adhere to a canvas. There was a style to that show. We could only use certain lenses, we couldn’t use handheld camera, never use steadicam. And so you felt this structure of kind of being confined, but it’s a great way to learn when you go, ‘Ok, I can’t step outside the toy box there. Okay, how am I going to shoot my style without breaking the style of the show?’ This is going to be the same, I think. And now that I understand, ‘Okay, how do I adhere to the Ozark style but still bring mine as a director?’ Yeah, we’ll see how it goes!
If Wright’s work on House of Cards and Land is any indication, she’ll definitely rise to the challenge. Her experience working on a dark Netflix original series that centers around corruption will certainly serve her well in the role of director and should also serve Ozark well as the show looks to nail its ending. If season 4 continues to focus more on Wendy (Linney) than Marty and more on Darlene (Lisa Emery) than any other antagonist, incorporating a woman’s perspective from behind the scenes will likely help maintain the authenticity of the characters.
But no matter what storyline she’s given, Wright has the skills to craft a complex, standout episode. Hopefully, the writing of season 4 is on par with that of season 3 so that Wright’s artistry can truly shine. Season 3 was Ozark’s strongest thus far, but with the heightened stakes, the higher episode count, and the new faces behind the camera, season 4 has the potential to be the show’s best yet.
Source: Collider
Originally from https://screenrant.com/house-cards-robin-wright-direct-ozark-season-4/