Get a peek behind the curtain as we delve into the making of the opening scene from Season 3, Episode 1 of the hit Max comedy series, Hacks. Join creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky as they unravel the creative process behind the laughter.
Hacks Cast:
Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald and Laurie Metcalf
Stream Hacks Season 3 now on Max.
Hacks Cast:
Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald and Laurie Metcalf
Stream Hacks Season 3 now on Max.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Christopher McDonald, and we are here in Las Vegas
00:03 shooting the opening shot of Hacks, Season 3, at Caesars.
00:07 The opening drone shot was actually the very last shot
00:13 that we shot of our whole season.
00:15 From concept to execution, I would say that this has been about 18 months.
00:19 I think the most gratifying thing about something like this
00:22 is that there's no CGI.
00:23 We are flying a drone into the front door of Caesar's Palace.
00:26 Well, the challenge with any drone shot, I think,
00:28 is coordinating multiple different people.
00:30 Someone who's operating the actual drone flying it,
00:33 me who's operating the pan and the tilt,
00:35 and the guy who's catching it.
00:37 The toughest thing is having a smooth transition
00:39 from flight to hand-carried, hopefully very seamlessly.
00:43 Background and action!
00:46 It comes from on the strip, and then it gets caught
00:49 and walked through the entire casino.
00:51 Some of the people you see in the casino noticing Debra Vance
00:55 are not extras, they're actually patrons of the casino.
00:58 We did have a couple patrons.
00:59 Literally almost hit the camera, but it seems like...
01:01 It seems really real.
01:03 Yeah, there's like a chaos and a frenzy.
01:05 It is real, yeah.
01:06 We reveal that it's not actually Debra.
01:09 It is a drag queen amongst a sea of Gorgina drag queens.
01:13 It is, of course, supposed to mimic the first shot of the pilot
01:16 where we're behind Debra on stage,
01:18 and then you eventually reveal who it is.
01:20 It was really celebratory for our cast and crew to get it.
01:24 People were ready to party. I think some people did.
01:26 I think people stayed on the gambling floor.
01:28 [MUSIC]
01:31 (whooshing)
01:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]