“Daisy Jones and the Six” executive producer and director Ningha Stewart had a tall order making the second half of the limited series, but she drew inspiration from a surprising place when it came to tackling these final episodes. James Ponsoldt directed the first five episodes of the adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, but where the first half of the show featured the rise of the band, Stewart’s episode found him on top of the world. This dichotomy is reflected in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” and Stewart told TheWrap in a recent interview that she kept going back to the gangster drama for inspiration.
“I felt like in ‘Goodfellas,’ it kind of works like two movies. The first half of the movie, they all have this sense of innocence, and the second half, they’re about as successful as they can be,” Stewart said. Said.” They have the drugs, they’re selling all this stuff, they’re making all the money, but they’re falling. They have started fighting among themselves, they have started disintegrating. The way the second half of ‘Goodfellas’ worked, the second half of ‘Daisy’ should also work.
The series follows the rise and fall of the titular band who fantastically come together to create one of the greatest albums in rock and roll. Their fame burns brightly, but is also short-lived as issues within the band eventually bring them to break up.
TheWrap spoke with Stewart, who directed the Hello Sunshine Project episodes “Little Fires Everywhere” and “From Scratch,” about his vision for “Daisy Jones and the Six” and what viewers might expect from that finale. Left wanting more afterwards.
Read the full conversation below:
How was the conversation between you and James Ponsoldt about his episode and yours?
Ningha Stewart: In Block One they’re a small, scrappy band from Pittsburgh, with a different style and visual language because Daisy and Billy’s worlds haven’t met yet. In Block Two, they are the biggest band in the world and the two have this volatile and passionate relationship. It was really like resetting to episode six and actually making it my movie. You wanted it to feel like once Daisy and Billy get together, everything changes.
What references did you bring into block 2, knowing it would be different from block 1?
I saw a bunch of movies, just found this one perfect for me. But the one I kept going back to was really “Goodfellas”. I felt like in “Goodfellas,” it kind of worked like two movies. The first half of the film, they all have a sense of innocence, and in the second half, they are as successful as they can be. They have the medicines, they are selling all this stuff, they are making all the money, but they are falling. They have started fighting among themselves, they have started disintegrating. The way the second half of “Goodfellas” did, the second half of “Daisy” should work. There’s crazy drug use and random decisions like marrying a stranger. There’s a lot going on in that second second block.
How did your background music videos play into the direction of the final episode of “Daisy Jones and the Six”?
In music videos, you also come up with a concept. I knew how musicians move and work and especially when they become really famous. Many times actors, because of the nature of their profession, they audition, even when they are talking to you, it looks like they are auditioning. in front of you. With musicians, you’re auditioning for them, and so it’s always about looking out for that and making sure they feel like the rock stars in the room. I’ve worked with guys like Jay Z and 50 Cent and Kanye and there’s no conversation you have with Jay Z that you don’t feel like you’re on audition. You feel like in the beginning, in the first half, they were auditioning for Teddy Price. In the second half, people are auditioning for him.
Is there any beauty in making the show a limited series?
My favorite things are the things where you keep thinking about the characters afterwards and we just asked each other questions like, “What do you think happens when Graham watches the documentary? What does he think when he sees What did Karen say about that?” me and scott [Neustadter] Let’s make up our own versions of what happens in the afterlife. We talked about the “triangle of sorrow” and how interesting it was, because you wonder “what happens at the end of the movie?” We’re both saying that we love the show, like, when it’s over, you’re still thinking about those people and what they’ve been through and what their lives look like now because this relationship How is it, you can’t talk to someone for 10 years, and you wonder, like, what is that person doing now? Like what’s up with them? And when it stops, it’s not a relationship when there’s a certain ‘and that’s the end,’ it’s not a relationship, but I wonder what happened to Daisy to the missing years. Now do I think there’s a lot of material out there for another great series? Yes. But I also thought it was perfect.
Daisy Jones and the Six is now streaming on Prime Video.
