The filmmaker says he felt “really quite emotional through the whole thing.”
Warning: This episode contains spoilers for season 4, episode 3 ofSuccession.
“There was an incredible intensity throughout the whole shooting period.”
Justine Lupe and Alan Ruck on ‘Succession’.David M. Russell/HBO
Or were you part of the brain trust that came up with that?
MARK MYLOD:I’d love to say it was all my idea, that would be a lie.
There was this idea that it would happen early in the season, in a very unexpected way.
Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook on ‘Succession’.Macall B. Polay/HBO
It was Jesse’s idea from quite a way back and we were working our way towards it.
Yes, very much so.
That’s exactly what it was.
Brian Cox and Matthew Macfadyen in ‘Succession’.David M. Russell/HBO
You see an elderly gentleman who’s so lonely that he’s seeking camaraderie from his employee.
There’s an underlying sadness to that that’s quite bleak.
Were you at the read-through for the episode?
‘Succession’ director Mark Mylod.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
Yeah, the read-through was intense.
And this one was a doozy!
It was, without doubt, our most emotional table read.
[We were] losing a colleague as well as losing a character.
It was a tough day at the office, but lovely also.
What was it like shooting the scenes with the trio of younger siblings?
Massively intense and oddly beautiful.
There was a real sense of unity and purpose going into this.
So that’s what we did.
And that’s what we did.
He took my legs out, figuratively, shooting that.
I didn’t expect to be so moved.
I thought they were both exquisite in that, I really did.
I’ve got to tell you, I’m rooting for those two crazy kids!
[Laughs] Me too!
It’s odd, isn’t it?
What was it like shooting the scenes on the plane?
It ended up being a beautiful dilemma for Jesse and I in the edit.
There was an intensity to it that I didn’t expect.
What was the thinking behind Logan almost not being onscreen for his own demise?
Yeah, absolutely no doubt about that.
We’re not above that certainly.
And this just seemed right to us as well as dramatically surprising.
There were key decisions to make of how much we would see or not of Brian’s character.
It felt intense and it still does remembering it.
[Laughs] He’s going to pop out the coffin at some point!
It’s a very good point.
I refuse to comment further.
The episode did screen over Easter weekend as well.
But I’m not going to ask you to comment on that.
[Laughs] Yeah, I’m not going to do a John Lennon and compare us to Jesus.
My theory is that someone killed Logan andSuccessionhas been a slow burn whodunnit.
[Laughs] That’s another way to go!
Feel free to use these ideas.
They’re all logged!
As you mentioned, Brian Cox was number one on the call sheet.
Who was number one after he left?
Have you directed more episodes this season?
Yes, we’ve got all 10 episodes in the can now.
I’m really proud of all of them.
It was obviously pretty intense and emotional doing that after five, six years together.
Successionairs Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
