Rob Cowan

Executive Producer

ANNE IS A VERY GOOD PEOPLE MANAGER. SHE IS ALSO GREAT AT MANAGING LARGE TEAMS – A KEY ATTRIBUTE FOR GOOD UPMS.

I went to film school in Canada and worked for a while in Vancouver for a commercial company, where I learned all the different crafts. I’ve been in Los Angeles for 25 years now and have worked freelance for the last eight to 10. My relationship with studios and directors is vital for work.

I came onto Aquaman at a very early stage, working on design and development with Australian Director James Wan. I’d worked with him on two of The Conjuring movies.

After making San Andreas on the Gold Coast, it was a nobrainer to come back for Aquaman as it had everything we needed. Village Roadshow Studios are world-class: the outdoor water tank is one of the best in the world. Plus, the climate, the space with nine sound stages to work in, and the crew, are top notch.

We’ve had a ton of building to do and the craftsmanship is second to none. Ninety-nine per cent of the crew is local and cost-wise and talent-wise that makes a big difference. I don’t know where in the world we’d have gone if we didn’t come here.

Almost without exception I’d prefer to hire someone local as my unit production manager. They know the lay of the land, they know the crew, and they know the local infrastructure as well.

I had a great time working with Anne on San Andreas, which was as equally challenging [as Aquaman] and in some ways harder, as it was a shorter shoot. So the trust was there.

Aquaman is a big show and there’s lots going on. Anne is a very good people manager. She is also great at managing large teams – a key attribute for good UPMs.

I work closely with the director when we’re on set, so Anne is a great backup to keep everything between the scenes running smoothly. From day one we knew where we stood.

One of the things I like about working with Anne is that she’s very solution oriented. On set there’s always something that’s on the verge of being difficult. There’s problem solving every day and Anne is very forward thinking, trying to anticipate if something may go awry. And we have a similar sense of humour which helps.

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Anne Bruning

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