6 Assistant director gets big break with Cannel ACH WEDNESDAY, thousands of Wiseguy fans tune in for their weekly dose of crime and intrigue and heart-throb Ken Wahl. One North Vancouver resident, however, will be watching for more than just entertainment value. Before the first episode of Wiseguy he has directed airs on T.V., Peter Marshall will fly to Stephen J. Cannell’s L.A. studios to go over the episode's final cut. Marshall, 38, is the first assistant director to work his way up to director with Cannell Films, and the break could mean a huge ca- reer boost. Last month the Canadian got his EVELYN JACOB spotlight feature first crack at directing an episode of Wiseguy, the 1989) Emmy- nominated crime series, after only three short years as first assistant director for Carnell. With hundreds of assistant directors vying for the more prestigious job of director, the position wasn’t simply handed to him — Marshall had to earn it. Part of his success has been at- tributed to the fact that he never allowed his desire to direct get in the way of his job as first assistant director, He waited until the time was right and then) made his move. “Alex Beaton (vice-president of Cannell Films) knew that | wanted to direct, but } didn’t push it,”’ says Marshall. With 10 years’ experience as a documentary film-maker under his belt and five years as first assistant director for T.V., Marshall is con- fident he has what it takes to pull off his new job. “If you can do T.V. you can do anything,’”’ is his personal philcso- y. “t's like a sausage factory — you have to be sharp and fast. There is so much change in T.V., but you have to call with the pun- ches.” Luckily Marshall wasn’t thrown into the deep end of the pool when he sat in his director's chair and picked up = the — bullfhorn. Wiseguy, now in its third season, has a well-established vision, and the major casting is done in L.A. What he is responsible for is making sure his audience doesn't switch channels, “There are no rules in film- making, only sins. And the cardi- nal sin is dullness,” he says quoting legendary film director Frank Capra. ‘The biggest challenge is tell- ing a damned good story. Uf they turn the channel, then that’s it.” A native of Regina, Marshall first hooked up with Cannell three years ago in Calgary during the filming of Stingray. When ihe show's first assistant director decided not to follow the crew to Vancouver, Marshall pounced on the opportunity. One month later, he was assistant director of [.J. Starbuck, amd in October 1987 he moved to Wiseguy. For Marshall, the transition to T.V. drama from documentary filmmaking was a natural pro- gression in a love affair with film that began at age 16. “t wanted to be a_ history teacher, Then one baring day in Regina | was rummaging through my father’s cupboard and found an old camera. He gave me some film and showed me how to load it. That pot me haoked — it was that simple. “Thad no idea what | was do- ing. | got hooked on the visual image. | decided | wanted to be a director of photography — and enrolled in’ Ryerson Polytechaical Institute.” One of his first professional jobs was as a production assistant fora Certs breathmint commercial. “1 was the guy holding the bay for people to spit their Certs into,” he says grinning. Fed up with directors who “didn't know anything.“’ he began writing and eventually landed a job assistant directing 13, 10-minute oif documentaries for CTV. For the next: 10 years he worked as a producer, writer and director, winning wo awards for his docu- dramas on aeromedical transpor- tation. As first assistant director, Mar- shall has worked on Canadian rock singer Corey Hart’s music video, a number of TV. dramas including Booker, and three feature films: The Experts, The Fly Two and, most recently, Bird ona Wire. Having now directed an episode of Wiseguy, Marshall hopes his T.V. success willl serve as ao stepp- ing stone to the world of feature films — directly. 13 - Wednesday, January 3, 1990 - North Shore News -) » NEWS photo Mike Wakefield PETER MARSHALL has paid his dues as assistant director, and is now getting a shot at the big times. He directed his first episode of the popular series, Wiseguy, last month. Bice ~