The Directors: Kat Coiro
Kat Coiro is an award-winning director, producer and EP. She recently directed the first two episodes of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' for Disney+. Her 2022 Universal Pictures film 'Marry Me' starring Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson and Maluma, is certified fresh with a 92% audience score. 'Marry Me' was simultaneously #1 in theatres and #1 on streaming.
She directed and EP'd Marvel's 'She-Hulk', Tina Fey's 'Girls5Eva' (co-executive producer) and 'Florida Girls'. Before becoming a pilot and studio-film director, Kat worked on many episodic shows, including 'Dead To Me', 'Shameless' and 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia'. She got her start writing, directing and producing micro-budget indies, including 2013 festival favourite 'and while we were here', which she shot in Italy in 11 days for 150k, while eight months pregnant.
Kat trained in the theatre at Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia, Carnegie Mellon University and, briefly, as a fellow in the MFA program at AFI. She was born in New York, lived in Miami and went to boarding school at Interlochen Arts Academy, where she runs a summer program. She has three children and works toward a more sustainable future.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Kat> I’m drawn to the three C’s: character, comedy, and cinematic potential. I know they’re not all hard C’s, but I think it still works!
I always love a character that I can sink my teeth into—that I know audiences will find relatable. I think comedy makes life palatable, and even if it’s buried in drama, humour is essential. And I’m a big believer that just because something is funny doesn’t mean it has to look bad.
I like aspirational aesthetics all around, and bringing the look of a movie theatre quality product to the small screen is always at the forefront of my mind.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Kat> Treatments are the first blueprints of a commercial and allow for a space to really sink into the creative and balloon ideas for the approach. Not dissimilar to a mood board, it becomes a conversation starter for creative collaboration and alignment with clients and agencies.
It’s a place to audition ideas, experiment, and get to the heart of the ad. I use my treatments as a tool for deep diving, working out a plan of attack, and sharing my point of view on how to best bring the project to life.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Kat> I cannot sell something I don’t believe in—full stop. So, if I’m not familiar with a product then I become immersed in it; and not just by Googling previous ads, or reading reviews and customer comments. I will purchase, research, and explore the ethos of a product until it’s something that I understand on a cellular level. It’s always gotta be personal for me, so if I don’t have brand affinity, I will once we get to the starting line.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Kat> Being a director is like being a composer. My job is to bring all the specialised, talented people together and facilitate their harmonisation.
Just like a composer couldn’t choose between a violinist, a cellist, or a percussionist, I would never assign more or less significance to a producer, a cinematographer, or an actor. Without one or another, the symphony simply won’t work.
To me, every single person in prep, on set, and in post is equally important, and my job is to make everyone feel safe, trusting, empowered, and excited to create a fabulous final product. Collaboration is the key to success.
That being said, I am the executor of a vision that has been crafted for months between the client and the agency (aka Mozart), so I will always work with that North Star in mind.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Kat> I’m most drawn to comedy. I find humour to be a balm for the soul and something that makes a lasting impression on audiences. Banter, comedic verbal rhythm, jokes, physical comedy, and lightness are all specialties of mine. I love optimism as well. I feel like the world is a dark enough place; let’s bring a little light into people’s lives in whatever way we can.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Kat> I think that the commercial world still has a lot of work to do when it comes to hiring women. Here I am with the number one show in America and a profitable and fresh studio movie under my belt, as well as countless other successful projects (right now, my problem is I have too many movies in development with stars like Glen Powell, Nick Jonas, Amy Poehler, and Jennifer Garner) and it still feels like a struggle to get hired in the commercial world.
I can’t wait to use all my narrative experience in the short-form storytelling world of commercials; to collaborate with agencies and clients; to make my mark in the commercial world as I have in the long-form world.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Kat> I once worked with a household-name actor, let’s call him JACK, who I’d been warned ‘didn’t like notes.’ Luckily, his scene partner, let’s call her JILL, loved notes so I made sure that I shot directionally. I started coverage on Jill and gave her copious notes, including those I wanted Jack to hear.
This accomplished two things.
First, it showed Jack that I knew my stuff and helped build his confidence in me.
Second, it allowed me to slip Jill notes that I wanted Jack to hear.
By the time I got around to shooting Jack, he delivered a fantastic performance and I was able to honour his strange preference. A lot of my craziest experiences have had to do with celebrities and their sometimes unusual preferences, but I go in with the attitude that there are no difficult actors, just actors who need to be handled delicately and personally to bring out their best performances.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Kat> There is a pearl, a soul, and a heart at the centre of every idea that must be protected. It’s the core theme, the driving force, the intended message. While everything else around it—jokes, lighting, camera angles, performances, etc—can change, that centre must remain—steady and strong and unflagging. I can be flexible and collaborative about everything superficial as long as the spark at the centre of the flame remains the same and the theme of the piece runs true.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Kat> I had a total of seven women and/or women of colour shadowing me on all nine episodes of 'Matlock', which I directed this season. As an EP on that show, I insisted on bringing diversity into each department at an entry level so that in a decade, our crews will look radically different.
I work with the DGA and their mentoring squad to bring more diversity into the world of directing. I have worked for 10 years with the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, which aims to incorporate the stories of disabled people into the zeitgeist.
One in four people in the United States have a disability of one kind or another (that’s over 70 million people!), but they are rarely, if ever, represented on screen. If you look through my work you will see that I often incorporate the disabled population organically, seamlessly, and subtlety onto the screen. It’s very important to me!
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working?
Kat> Because I focus on character and comedy, I am able to work across genres and formats. I consider myself a modern-day Rob Reiner.
That guy made 'Spinal Tap', 'The Princess Bride', 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Stand by Me', 'Misery', 'All In The Family', and 'A Few Good Men' in the course of a decade—not to mention being a prolific commercial director!
He didn’t box himself in; he told stories that sparked him and had mass box-office appeal. From 'Matlock' to 'Marry Me', that’s what I’ve done and what I want to continue doing.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Kat> Having worked at Marvel on the most VFX-heavy television show in history ('She-Hulk') and at Disney on a very VFX-cantered children’s show ('Spiderwick'), I consider myself a visual effects expert!
On the pilot for 'Matlock', I even worked as the VFX supervisor in an effort to cut costs. I love using modern technology to tell stories, and I adore the ease and flexibility of virtual shooting. I find it to be cost-effective, creatively fulfilling, and very efficient. While I haven’t worked much with AI yet, I consider it a tool to be harnessed, not a threat.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Kat> 'Matlock' has been a career highlight. Working with Kathy Bates is a masterclass every day, and since I directed nine episodes including the pilot and the finale and produced 19—that was a lot of days.
I feel like the show is a culmination of my superpowers because of its tone, which blends gravity and humour and relies on fantastic performances. Not your grandmother's procedural, 'Matlock' has been credited with “bringing back broadcast” and had one of the quickest re-ups for a second season—picked up after just the first two episodes aired.
'Marry Me' was my first studio film. Working with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Lopez, a surprising pair, and finding their unique chemistry was really fun and taught me a lot about working with superstars. I loved the musical element of the movie and got to flex a whole new muscle as I staged full dance numbers at Madison Square Garden in front of a live audience!
Drawing from classic rom-coms of the past like 'Roman Holiday' and everything Preston Sturges, not to mention 'Notting Hill', 'When Harry Met Sally' and 'Love Actually', I loved leaning into and embracing the tropes of the rom-com while infusing the film with a modern sense of humour.
Just meeting Tina Fey would’ve been a dream fulfilled, but working alongside her to craft the pilot for 'Girls5Eva' was beyond. Her and showrunner Meredith Scardino’s brains move as fast as lightning, and my job was to catch lightening in a bottle!
I cut my teeth on 'Always Sunny' and 'Modern Family'.
