Episode 109: A La Carte With Morgan Patterson

Morgan Patterson is a longtime location manager who has worked on such varied films as “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Iron Man 3,” “The Nice Guys” and “Death at a Funeral.” He talks all about the juggling his job requires on the latest A La Carte conversation. Morgan discusses growing up in Westchester County north of New York City with parents who were immigrants from South Africa, beginning his career getting hands-on experience doing editing and post-production, starting as a location manager in the Catskills on the 2006 drama “Stephanie Daley” and beginning work in Los Angeles on “Drillbit Taylor.” Morgan describes how he scouts based on what’s in the script, what goes into modifying a location to make the space work for a shoot and then returning it to its original state, and coordinating with various departments on their needs. And of course I had to ask him about working with Tom Cruise on the upcoming “Top Gun” sequel. His best advice: Knowing how to talk to people is half the job. This was a really interesting one, especially if you’re curious about the nuts and bolts of filmmaking. Enjoy.