Justin Baldoni on radical empathy and directing “Clouds

Sabrina Carpenter, Fin Argus, Justin Baldoni, and Madison Iseman on the set of “Clouds”

The Slate Leading With Empathy

Justin Baldoni breaks down his filmmaking style and the power of being “radically sincere”

By Benjamin Lindsay

The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit your questions.

DIRECTOR, PRODUCER,

actor, and filmmaker Justin Baldoni (“Jane the Virgin”) joined us on Instagram Live to talk about his new feature based on a true story, “Clouds,” which hit Disney+ on Oct. 16. The film miraculously launched the titular song by its subject,

FILM

A Wedding Goes Awry for Lopez + Hammer

By Casey Mink

JENNIFER LOPEZ AND ARMIE HAM-

mer have signed on to star in “Shotgun Wedding,” an action-comedy from Lionsgate. The feature, which will be helmed by “Pitch Perfect” director Jason Moore, follows a man and a woman who gather their at-odds families for a destination wedding, only for the festivities to turn dangerous when the party is taken hostage. The project features a script by Mark Hammer and Liz Meriwether, and a roster of producers that includes Lopez, Benny Medina, and Ryan Reynolds. Production is set to begin at the top of next year. Zach Sobiech, back to the top spot on iTunes seven years after its release. (We suggest you bring tissues to watch the cancer drama.) Plus, we dove into how Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios launched its Six Feet Apart Experiment, which gave filmmakers funds and access to create films during this unprecedented time in Hollywood.

Baldoni’s directorial style on “Clouds” stems from his experience as an aspiring actor.

“I remember auditioning, I left feeling like I didn’t matter. On sets at times, the way that directors would talk to me, I just didn’t feel for a lot of my career that anybody valued or appreciated my contribution, especially when I was a day player or wasn’t a part of the main cast. I think what that does for actors-turned-directors is it gives us empathy, which I think is the key to every job. You can’t be in a position of power and not have empathy and compassion and understanding and true knowledge of what everyone else is doing. I try, in many ways, to lead from the bottom up and not from the top down, because I think making a movie is about galvanizing a crew and a cast, and being in the trenches with them.”

His own Wayfarer Studios has mentored first-time filmmakers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nothing was getting made, and one of my team members said that we should shoot a movie during quarantine. And it just gave me the idea; I saw it as clear as day. I was like, ‘Well, forget about us doing it—what if we empowered five new filmmakers to do it?’ And everyone was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’ And so we started the Six Feet Apart Experiment. We gave five filmmakers $50,000 to make their own movie and then provided them with a ton of extra support. And we had this national competition, and we picked five…. All of them were first-time filmmakers, four of them were first-time female filmmakers, and it’s been an amazing process to support them.”

Finding your self-worth as an actor can be complicated.

“Our business masterfully makes us all feel less than, no matter how successful we are. That’s the first thing I’ll tell people: You have to know that’s going to happen. There’s no job, there’s no movie, there’s no amount of success, there’s no role that will ever leave you feeling satisfied. You will be on a constant quest for perfection and to be seen and valued if you allow your jobs and the people in this business to dictate your self-worth.”

Want to hear more from Baldoni? Watch our full interview at backstage.com/ magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.