Clayton Townsend was a guest at the tenth edition of the MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo. The celebrated producer was the protagonist of the Keynote Interview with Clayton Townsend: Mastering the Craft of Epic Cinema and TV.
During his career Townsend has produced some of the most unforgettable works of recent decades, such as legendary director Oliver Stone’s films Born on the Fourth of July and Assassins Born. On the TV series side, however, he brought to life the recently Emmy award-winning Ripley.
The series filmed in Italy allowed Townsend to explore the Bel Paese and recognise the skill of the Italian workers: “I had a wonderful experience in Italy. I always hope I can come to a place and get into the spirit of how films are made in that ecosystem.” The celebrated producer added: “The success of Ripley is largely due to the craftsmanship of the Italian artists, actors and artisans involved in the series. I couldn’t have done it anywhere else. Nor would I have wanted to do it”.
Going more technical, Townsend recounts the attention to certain aspects of production and post-production, which in the case of Ripley earned the EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani at the Primetime Emmy Awards 2024: “In Ripley a large part of the CG has to do with the boat scene in the third episode: we had decided that we really had to shoot in the water, but I insisted that this would not be possible. We finally changed the schedule and shot in a swimming pool surrounded by greenery (…). Ripley’s post-production took two years, because we wanted to make sure the scene looked authentic and didn’t lose the thread.”
