On November 20, the Focus on Women Committee’s (FOWC) meeting included the event, Location Managers: Bringing the Director's Vision to Life. In a conversation moderated by Location Manager/FOWC Co-Chair Ellen Athena Catsikeas, Location Managers Patty Carey-Perazzo, Christie Mullen and Lauri Pitkus discussed their experiences working with legendary Directors as well as top Production Designers and Cinematographers.
During the conversation, Pitkus spoke about how good scouting is key to a smooth production, citing the difficulty of not always having enough prep time to scout and confirm locations before the start of principal photography.
Carey-Perazzo discussed how the ways in which Location Managers work with one another have changed over the years, noting that while contacting one another to share photos or information was unusual 15 years ago, now it has become much more common to ask questions such as "Has anyone shot at the Met, and what did you pay?" and get that information.
Mullen shared her views on on-set collaboration with Directors, DPs and Production Designers, explaining that their creativity and artistic responsibilities are what motivates her to do everything she can to bring their visions to life.
See video from this event in the gallery below.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
 AUPM/Location Manager Patty Carey-PerazzoPatty Carey-Perazzo has 25 years of experience working in feature film and television Locations Departments. Her credits include the Best Picture Oscar-winners A Beautiful Mind and Oppenheimer, as well as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Greatest Showman, and Doctor Strange. Patty is also a two-time DGA Award-winner as a member of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer team and Adam McKay's team for the pilot episode of HBO's Succession. A creative at heart, Patty has taken her turn at writing, and her series Half Life won New York City's #GreenlightHer screenwriting and pilot competitions. Patty also works as an AUPM with credits in The Walking Dead universe and most recently on the Netflix series You. |
 Location Manager Christie MullenChristie Mullen, originally from the Mississippi, has worked in New York City since 1995 as a Photographer, Photo Producer, Location Scout and DGA Location Manager, first shooting and producing Magazine Print Ads and Fashion Catalogues, and then as a DGA Location Manager on Feature Films. Over the last 23 years, she has scouted and managed locations for Films and TV shows including The Good Shepherd directed by Robert DeNiro, Something's Gotta Give (writer/director Nancy Meyers), HBO's The Newsroom (writer Aaron Sorkin), On The Rocks with writer/director Sofia Coppola, and 14 Feature Films written and directed by Woody Allen, including Vicky Christina Barcelona, Blue Jasmine, Irrational Man and A Rainy Day in New York. She has been a DGA member since 2004 and serves on the DGA Location Manager Committee. |
 Location Manager Lauri PitkusLauri Pitkus is a DGA Location Manager with over three decades experience working primarily in the New York Metro region. Recently she worked with Doug Liman on the Apple TV+ feature film The Instigators shooting New York for Boston and with writer/showrunner Brad Inglesby (Mare Of Easttown) on the new HBO limited series Task filmed in the outskirts of Philadelphia. Past projects include the TV series The Gilded Age (HBO), The Undoing (HBO), Orange Is The New Black (NETFLIX), Nurse Jackie (Showtime) and the feature films Oceans 8, The Post, The Goldfinch, The Bourne Ultimatum, Draft Day and Oblivion. She is currently in production on Season 3 of The Gilded Age working with DGA directors Michael Engler, Deborah Kampmeier and Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Lauri joined the Guild in 1998 and has served three terms on the Eastern AD/UPM Council. |
 AUPM/Location Manager Ellen Athena CatsikeasEllen Athena Catsikeas is an AUPM and Location Manager with 25+ years experience in Film and TV. She started her diverse career in Europe, assisting a prolific UPM on features in Greece and becoming a First AD on commercials. She translated screenplays into English to help directors secure EU or US funding, including Brides starring Damian Lewis, working closely with the Screenwriter and Martin Scorsese's Director of Development. This culminated in her work with NBC on the Athens 2004 Olympics earning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Team as a Supervisor (Production). Upon her return to the US, she proudly worked her way up in Locations to LM with acclaimed directors Shari Springer-Berman & Bob Pulcini (The Extra Man), Rebecca Miller (The Private Lives of Pippa Lee), Don Roos (The Other Woman) and on films such as Urge, Paranoia, Violet & Daisy as well as TV pilots. Ellen's AUPM credits include Tesla, To Dust, Trouble No More and Mr. Harrigan's Phone. She serves on the Eastern AD/UPM Council (2013 - present), was Co-Chair of the LM Committee (2020-2024) and is current co-chair of the Member Education and Focus on Women Committees. |
About the Committee:
Originally a sub-committee of the Eastern Directors Council, in 2020 the Focus on Women Committee (FOWC) was designated an official and permanent committee of the DGA National Board for women members residing in the Eastern Region. The Committee would like to remind members that while their events are designed with a special focus on women Directors, all DGA members are welcome to attend.
