{"id":1424,"date":"2026-06-05T20:37:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1424"},"modified":"2026-06-05T20:37:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T20:37:41","slug":"beef-director-lee-sung-jin-and-black-rabbit-director-star-jason-bateman-talk-craft-creating-an-aesthetic-and-using-a-real-life-er-visit-as-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1424","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Beef\u2019 Director Lee Sung Jin and \u2018Black Rabbit\u2019 Director\/Star Jason Bateman Talk Craft, Creating an Aesthetic and Using a Real-Life ER Visit as Inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tLee Sung Jin, the creator, executive producer and director of \u201cBeef,\u201d and Jason Bateman, who executive produced, directed and starred in \u201cBlack Rabbit,\u201d sat down with Variety\u2019s<\/em> Clayton Davis to discuss their directing techniques and stylistic choices. Variety<\/em> moderated this conversation in partnership with Netflix.<\/p>\n

Lee \u2013 who directed one episode in \u201cBeef\u201d Season 1 \u2013 spoke about taking on a larger directing role in Season 2, saying he wanted to \u201cpush the surrealism a little bit more.\u201d Bateman, who joined the Director\u2019s Guild of America at the age of 18, mentioned that he grew up acting and began paying attention to sets at a young age, saying \u201cI always hoped and prayed that I would get to a place in my acting career that would allow for me to raise my hand and see if I would be given the responsibility to try [directing] because it\u2019s incredibly complicated and can be in a great way because you have an unapologetic seat at the table with every department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee also broke down the filming of a scene in Season 2, Episode 4 of \u201cBeef,\u201d in which star Cailee Spaeny experiences a medical emergency and grapples with the pitfalls of the healthcare system. \u201cThat episode was based on a real-life ER incident that I went through during the writing of the show,\u201d said Lee, adding that during his 11-hour-long visit, he wrote everything down in his notes app. \u201cIt\u2019s been interesting seeing the reactions because\u2026there were all these comments from France and Germany being like, \u2018This is not real, right? This is comically absurd.\u2019 And every American comment was like, \u2018No, this is us. This is what we have to deal with.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Bateman discussed the opening chapter of \u201cBlack Rabbit,\u201d calling it a \u201clove story between these two brothers trying to figure out how to be better brothers for one another.\u201d He added, \u201cMy opinion as part of the fun as director\u201d is figuring out \u201cwhat does not having your shit together look like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? When you direct the first episode of something, you get to establish an aesthetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair also spoke about the hard work and long hours they put into their respective projects, as well as the work they did alongside their extensive teams to create the final products. The panel wrapped up with Lee and Bateman each complimenting the other\u2019s work; Bateman gave Lee kudos for living up to the hype of \u201cBeef\u201d Season 1, saying, \u201cYou did [it] with such incredibly high stakes, something so high-profile I really enjoyed watching, and you pulled it off on top of it all.\u201d Lee, in turn, praised Bateman\u2019s \u201ccommand\u201d over the \u201cBlack Rabbit\u201d set and his \u201cprecise direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Netflix Film Boss Says Streamer \u2018Won\u2019t Work With\u2019 Directors \u2018Who Still Want Theatrical\u2019 and \u2018We\u2019ve Accepted\u2019 That<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tWatch the video above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Beef” director Lee Sung Jin and Jason Bateman from \u201cBlack Rabbit,\u201d sat down with Variety to discuss their directing techniques and stylistic choices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1356,1357,1358],"class_list":["post-1424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-beef","tag-black-rabbit","tag-netflix-directors-thrillers"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Beef\u2019 Director Lee Sung Jin and \u2018Black Rabbit\u2019 Director\/Star Jason Bateman Talk Craft, Creating an Aesthetic and Using a Real-Life ER Visit as Inspiration - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1424\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Beef\u2019 Director Lee Sung Jin and \u2018Black Rabbit\u2019 Director\/Star Jason Bateman Talk Craft, Creating an Aesthetic and Using a Real-Life ER Visit as Inspiration - 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