John Badham on Directing

Veteran director John Badham explains the elements of action and suspense and dissects the essentials of any good scene from any genre. Badham’s list of “12 Questions You Must Ask Before Stepping On Set” is an absolute must in any filmmaker’s toolbox. Whether actor, director, cinematographer, production designer, or any other creative, Badham gives you the tools to deconstruct and solve scenes that either don’t work or need sharpening. Continuing the work begun in his best-selling book I’ll Be In My Trailer, Badham shares more insights into working with difficult actors, rehearsal techniques, and getting the best performance from your cast. ohn Badham, BA, MFA Yale University, DHL Columbia College, is a director and producer of theatrical films and television including Saturday Night Fever, WarGames, Short Circuit, Blue Thunder, Heroes, Criminal Minds, The Shield, Nikita, Psych. The Library of Congress recently selected Saturday Night Fever to be added to the National Registry of Films. Badham’s book I’ll Be In My Trailer, the Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors is used as a textbook in film schools worldwide. His films have been nominated for five Academy Awards and two Emmy Awards. He has won three Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Grand Prize from the Paris International Science Fiction Festival. His areas of expertise are working with actors, action, suspense and fantasy films. As Dodge Professor of Film and Media at Chapman University, he teaches intermediate and advanced directing.