‘Magnum P.I.’: Perdita Weeks Talks Directing Action & How Series Ends for Miggy
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There are only a few episodes left of Magnum P.I., and after Zachary Knighton stepped behind the camera for last week’s, it’s Perdita Weeks‘ turn as director with the December 13 “Extracurricular Activities.”
“Honestly, I would’ve taken any episode,” Weeks tells TV Insider. “I just got really lucky. It was written also by my favorite writer that we had on the team, Katie Varney, and we got on really well. I knew that we would — [we’re a] similar age — and I really, really enjoyed working with her. It was Eric Guggenheim’s idea, I imagine, to pair us up. It was just really, really fun. It was actually quite collaborative because there was a large sequence in it, which we kind of devised together because we weren’t sure what was going to be available on the day that wasn’t on the page at the beginning. I’m really glad they gave me action.”
Weeks is referring to a motorcycle chase scene, one that comes about during the case that sees her character, Higgins, and Magnum (Jay Hernandez) be hired by a dean at the University of Oahu to quietly investigate a professor who has been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female grad student.
“I absolutely loved” directing and filming that action sequence, Weeks shares. “I really lent on the stunt team. They’re so brilliant, so experienced. Eric Norris has done every kind of chase sequence imaginable, [and] has used every kind of bit of kit. And the producers were really generous and allowed me to get the drone out. I think we shipped, from the mainland, a particular kind of car that would allow us to have the motorbike on the back, on the low loader.”
She’s also sure to note the hard work the crew put in — they filmed the motorbike sequence over three Saturdays — and the support she received. “Everyone really god behind me, which I was very, very grateful for,” she says. “Everyone was really, really helpful. It was super collaborative because, of course, we know the crew so well by this point, so we’re incredibly lucky. And that is just such an advantage, having a shorthand with your crew before you begin.”
Both Hernandez and Knighton, who have directed episodes of the drama, “were very, very helpful in giving ideas and what shots I could afford to drop and just big picture stuff,” adds Weeks.
Weeks also got to direct some great character work in the other storyline of the episode, which sees TC (Stephen Hill) and Katsumoto (Tim Kang) take Cade (Martin Martinez) and Dennis (Lance Lim) on a father-son camping trip. That “was just right up my street,” she says. And because of how much she loved that and the action sequences, she’s hoping to direct a combination of the two again in the future.
“I want to do it all,” says Weeks. “The combination is really fun because you’re flexing so much of your brain. It’s utterly exhausting. But it’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a film set, and acting’s pretty fun, so that says something,”
This final season has seen Magnum and Higgins finally together. They’ve talked about kids. They’ve said, “I love you.” What’s the next big milestone for them? “They probably move in together,” suggests Weeks. “I think Higgins would probably move into the guest house, maybe give it a bit of a redecoration, and then have 12 kids, obviously.”
As for how the series ends for the couple, “I think it’s very sweet,” she says. “I think people will like it. Well, I hope people will be content with it because it is the end.”
Magnum P.I., Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC
