Georgia Kacandes on Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and Her Career

The former President of Physical Production at Paramount, Georgia Kacandes, is one of the most sought-after line producers and executive producers in the film business. She has worked with acclaimed directors including John Sayles (Eight Men Out, City of Hope, Passion Fish), Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train), Steven Soderbergh (King of the Hill, The Underneath), Martin Scorsese (Casino, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street), Francis Ford Coppola (The Rainmaker, the upcoming Megalopolis), and Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight). 

Ms. Kacandes’ latest collaboration with Quentin Tarantino is the highly anticipated, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, in theaters this Friday. NOIAFT founder, Taylor Taglianetti, had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Kacandes about her career and her experiences making Tarantino’s ninth film. 

You’ve worked with some of the greatest directors of all time (Tarantino, Scorsese, Coppola, the list goes on) and you’ve worked with them multiple times. What is it that you do so well that makes these directors call you back? 

Kacandes: [Laughs]. I listen to them and I build a plan around what it is that they require for their art. So, each of them has only worked, except for Francis who was a producer for a while, on their own movies. So, each have their own approach to filmmaking that is different from a studio. For instance, if a studio has control over a film…these guys have control over their own film. So, the common denominator for me is that each of them have a different way of achieving that so I make it my mission to help them get everything they express to me that they need and then I have to figure out the way to manipulate the schedule, the budget, and to communicate with the crew on how to get what they want within the financial box that they’ve agreed to stay inside. I think that’s the difference…is that I like to approach them based on how they work and what they want versus what the studio wants or whatever a controlling entity might want. 

So, how creative can you get in your role, especially in working with these auteur directors who have a very particular vision…how creative can you get from a financial and a logistical standpoint? 

Kacandes: Oh, you can get very creative. They’re all open to understanding how you’re going to achieve what they want. If you are having difficulty figuring out how to approach something, they all have so much experience that they can guide you to a solution. None of them want to waste money. They want the money to go up on the screen, and that’s what I want, too. You know, basically, the beginnings of my career being low-budget, always helped me because I can always go back to the simplicity of…what’s the best way to achieve this without wasting money? And I, again, want to make sure that all the money is going up on the screen and sometimes, that means explaining that again and again to department heads that want to protect themselves and the director. But they have to step out of their comfort zone and be part of the bigger vision which is getting the director what he wants for the amount of money that you have to work with. 

Now, you’re an executive producer and a line producer on Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and from my perspective, line producing is something that you can learn, but being an executive producer isn’t something that is taught in school necessarily. So, how do you “learn,” per se, to be an executive producer? 

Kacandes: Well, actually I’m a UPM [unit production manager] and an executive producer. The executive producer title indicates, in industry standards, that that’s the functioning of a line producer. I think when you get to a certain level, instead of being called a co-producer or associate producer, a line producer isn’t a terminology that the studios ever use, but you can elevate to getting an executive producer credit and I think that, yes, the UPM part of the job is something that you train for. For years, I worked on a bunch of smaller films back to back to get my UPM days and that’s obviously great production training. Learning how to be a line producer is a little different because you have to cross the line. [Laughs]. You have to be able to speak the director’s language, as well as the production language. In my case, because these are auteur directors, the director’s vision guides how you approach the production, opposed to the other way around. 

You’ve worked almost entirely with male directors. Do you feel like you are ever adding a female perspective that is essential in helping these men achieve their vision?  

Kacandes: I definitely speak my mind if I feel that there is something that is an obvious issue. 

Were there any particular challenges working on Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood that you never faced before, whether that was from a business perspective or a creative perspective? 

Kacandes: Well, times have changed in the last two years. You know, everybody involved, from Quentin on down, is very aware of that. I think that there is no doubt that it does take some changes in everybody’s thinking. That’s something we all discussed a lot in prep, you know, how the world has changed and that we needed to change accordingly. The good news is that today’s issues are out there and everyone is paying attention. You cannot be working in Hollywood now and not pay close attention to those issues. No one. It’s part of the HR of the studio. It’s a great thing. 

Do you mean that in terms of politics or in terms how filmmaking is changing? 

Kacandes: I mean that from all perspectives. It’s really all perspectives. Everybody’s behavior on the set to looking at the script through modern eyes while staying true to the period. I have been critical of some films that I’ve seen lately where you feel like, wow—that took place in the 1940’s and that wasn’t exactly how women behaved back then, from what I understand, unless the story is about someone who broke out of their social restrictions that they may have been working with. I feel like it’s a tricky line to walk, but you have to stay true to the period. You can change that and make a creative decision to not stick to the historical truth, but to me, for me personally as a viewer, I prefer to see a more accurate portrayal of historical events, if that makes any sense. I’m not sure if I answered your question, but yeah, I was talking about both things. We’re in a new era; our behavior is one thing and, creatively, the issues of sexuality and social mores, have to be dealt with through those eyes, but hopefully, they are not changed to the point where it makes them unrealistic and inaccurate for the historical time period. Does that make sense? 

For sure. And did you feel in making Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood that it was a chance to make something that’s among the last of its kind?

Kacandes: In what sense? 

In that, in terms of traditional filmmaking, I read a quote from Leonardo DiCaprio at the red carpet on Monday…he’s saying that the film is “a real throwback to an era of filmmaking that we’re not going to see anymore.” Do you think that this film is kind of one of the last films where people are going to be going to the theaters to really have an experience with an audience? 

Kacandes: I think that is the way we’re headed, for sure. I agree with Leo, yes.  

I also read in a book that you said that a movie should always be made with an audience in mind. Can you elaborate on that thought for this film? 

Kacandes: Yes, I think that every director that I’ve worked with has a very good handle on his audience and understands who their audience is. Sometimes, their audience is themselves. [Laughs]. Quentin, in particular, is keenly aware of his audience. It’s not happening on a level that I’m aware of. It’s not something he discusses on set or anything. He knows who his audience is. I do think that is an important thing. You can see a lot of films that do not have their audience in mind and they miss the mark. I think that it’s important to know who you’re making the movie for. I stand by that comment! [Laughs]. 

So my last question for you is that you’ve had experience obviously on the business side of things throughout your whole career…what’s next? Do you ever want to direct or write a movie? 

Kacandes: I have never wanted to direct and I don’t want to direct a feature! [Laughs]. I prefer the role of being a supporting player in the process because I’m not a creative person in that sense. I don’t have a burning desire. I certainly have my own opinions about things. What I get off on is being able to support people’s visions and whose understanding of the world and whose understanding of this art form well surpasses mine [Laughs]. So, I do feel privileged to work with these incredibly talented people because they are few and far between. 

And your next project is Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon? 

Kacandes: Yes, it is!

Great. Well, I’m really looking forward to it. That’s all the questions I have. If there’s anything else you’d like to add, I’m all ears. 

Kacandes: Since this is an Italian organization, I will say that someone mentioned to me the other day that a lot of the directors I like to work with are Italian so there must be something there! 

We’re a very creative bunch, us Italians. And hey, the Greeks aren’t too different, geographically and in terms of traditions and values. 

Kacandes: Actually Francis [Ford Coppola] always says that he’s part Greek because he’s from a part of Italy that’s so close to Greece and there’s actually a lot of intermingling between those two countries, so that’s true!