Guest Post: Laura Tremaine, Hollywood Housewife

Laura is the author and creator of the blog Hollywood Housewife, and is also the wife of Jeff Tremaine, the director of the various Jackass movies (most recently, Jackass 3D). She has kindly agreed to write a guest post for Yes/No Films about what it's like being married to a famous director.

I am married to a director. He’s a very good director, even if he does prefer to yell “Go!” instead of “Action!”

Laura and Jeff before this year's
VMA awards

You might think that being married to a director would be all glamour and excitement, but it actually means that he’s fairly bossy. Directors like to be in charge. It’s how they feel the most comfortable. Even when I pull out my phone to catch a little snippet of video of our toddler daughter, my director husband can’t help but give me instruction on the best possible angle.

Being married to a director also means that our house is regularly a place to shoot. Because our personal home doesn’t require permits or a location fee, I have come home more than once to some sort of interview (or worse) happening in the backyard. My husband’s personal director philosophy is, “shoot first, ask permission later.” This rule also applies to his wife, knowing that I probably would not approve the use of a dildo gun in our backyard.

Close proximity to a director is really the best of all worlds in the film industry. It’s creative and prestigious, and recognized as a true talent by those who matter, without having to deal with all that comes with traditional fame (unless you’re very, very well-known). But the down side, of course, is that so much rests on you as the captain. A film set can be a pressure-cooker, and a good director knows that he sets the tone for a project every day, from day one.

I met my husband on the set of the first film he was directing. He is one of those very rare people who - and this is quite improbable - wakes up one day and just decides to direct, and turns out to be very good at it. My husband’s particular body of work is full of scenes that almost look like they weren’t directed. In fact, sometimes people think that his most famous movies didn’t even have a director. But this is a facade. It’s like wearing a lot of makeup to appear like you’re not wearing any. Every form of quality entertainment you’ve ever seen has been directed.

And my husband’s movies are most definitely “quality entertainment.”

You can follow Laura at her blog and on Twitter at @hollywoodhwife.