IN GOOD COMPANY ( Above left ) The White Lotus co-producer David Bernad , Jennifer Coolidge , Mark Kamine and Mike White take abreak ; ( right ) in On Locations , Kamine shares stories accrued from acareer working in TV and film .
IS IT CHALLENGING TO BE AWAY FROM HOME SO LONG ? For the last 17 years , since Ifinished Sopranos , I ’ ve almost never worked inNew York . FaceTime helps , and my wife Tana comes along for weeks at a time , sometimes the entire shoot period . And taking alot of time off between jobs to catch up with home is pretty necessary at this stage .
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SEASON 3 OF THE WHITE LOTUS ? As Mike said , it ’ s supersized . We ’ ll do eight episodes , all over Thailand . There ’ salot more locations , alot more cast , and Ithink it ’ ll make for some people , like ithas for me , a really very thoughtful introduction to aculture and way oflife that is unique and lovely . And , of course , it ’ ll have alot of insensitive and oblivious wealthy Americans along for laughs and strife .
YOU ’ VE WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS FOR OUTLETS INCLUDING THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE WALL STREET
JOURNAL , ASWELLASANOVEL CALLED NOT SO FAST . WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE READERS TO TAKE AWAY FROM ON LOCATIONS ? It ’ sthe story of how someone ( me ) gets into the film business and figures out how to survive in it and balance family life and friendships with ajob that demands long hours and applies its share ofstress . Film work islike alot of other demanding careers . Youneed to manage your time , get along with or around the people who are above you , and figure out what ’ s
important to you and what isn ’ t . The added attraction in this case ishaving that happen during the making of agreat TV show and afew fine and not-so-fine movies and shows , with appearances and some thoughts on or stories about some very famous people .
WHATDREW YOU TO MONTCLAIR ? People liked to refer to Montclair , where we lived from 1994 to 2011 , as Park Slope West . And that seemed to suit us , though my wife , who grew up on Long Island , was always proud to tell New York people we met that we lived inNew Jersey . Iwas the one who always added Montclair , hoping they ’ dheard of it and knew it was kind of New York-ish .
JENNIFER COOLIDGE THANKED YOU WHEN SHE WON HER EMMY AWARD IN JANUARY . DID YOU INTERACT A LOT ON LOCATION ? Agood amount , yes . Onthe set , always , because I ’ m pretty much always there and so whenever she was working , there was some pretty lively banter , and at dinners now and then . She ’ s ahoot , of course . She ’ s way smarter than she plays . That ’ sabenefit ( and , when the people are not so nice , adeficit ) of the producing job — alot more interaction with everyone across the production , cast and crew , about all the stuff that happens when you ’ re away from home for months ata time . Anyway , it was amazingly kind of her to mention me with Mike and Dave ( Bernad ). Iowe her ! n
THE WHITE LOTUS : COURTESY OF FABIO LOVINO / HBO ; BOOK : COURTESY OF STEERFORTHPUBLISHING
12 SPRING 2024 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE