Madchen Amickwasn’t planning to direct theRiverdaleseason 4 finale.
“There was a little extra pressure.”
Amick has been directing since 2015, beginning withone of her daughter Mina Tobias' music videos.
Credit: Kailey Schwerman/The CW
Now it will have to stand as the conclusion and Amick warns that it ends on a cliffhanger.
In the photos above and below, EW has an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Amick’s directing days onRiverdale.
MADCHEN AMICK:I moved to L.A. at 16, and gotTwin Peaksat 17.
Kailey Schwerman/The CW
I have to keep busy and focused on staying in front of the camera."
I have to give credit to my husband and my daughter.
She asked me to direct her music video, and I was honored and jumped right in.
Kailey Schwerman/The CW
Ive done a few music videos.
Ive directed and produced a docuseries pilot.
They were super-supportive and excited.
Kailey Schwerman/The CW
So it was this season that Roberto said, “You want to direct this season?”
And I was like, “Yes!”
Riverdalehas a very specific, highly stylized aesthetic.
It was easy for me.
I know the show so well, inside and out.
I really enjoy the storytelling and the filmmaking part of it.
That was a great template that was already in place, and I wanted to honor that.
And just push the visual boundaries as much as possible.
It was nice to hear he wanted something that was inspired.
When you directed the episode, it wasnt meant to be the season finale, but now it is.
Thats a lot of responsibility, just because I want to get it right.
There was a little extra pressure.
Did it lead to any last-minute adjustments or changes in the storytelling?
The episode that I shot was the last episode that we completed as far as filming.
We were halfway through 20 when production stopped, so I was editing when production stopped.
At that point, we didnt really know that the season would be done.
Theyll have to adjust some storytelling with what they had planned at the end of this season.
As far as my episode, it pretty much stayed intact the way it was written.
There was a new layer that came into the story that now serves as an interesting cliffhanger.
You also appear as Alice throughout the episode.
What was it like having to pull double duty?
Im not gonna lie, it was a huge challenge.
I was really struggling.
Man, it was rough.
I was full-on thinking of shots and directing my other actors, so it was a big challenge.
Would you say its a satisfactory end to the season?
So lots of really, really fun stuff.
So thats the big tease.
What can you say about where those relationships and feelings are headed?
MightRiverdalebe exploding some of its most beloved relationships?
[Laughs] Why?
Why were they upset?
No, but dont they always teeter on that?
I think Roberto loves to torture the fans, quite frankly.
Now that filming has ended early, does that alter their plans?
Will we get any hint of where F.P.
and Hermione were originally headed?
As far as the episode I directed, there wasnt really anything different happening for their characters.
It was the same story line going on.
But with technically three more episodes they had planned, Im assuming they had plans.
Nobodys ever really gone onRiverdale.
Does it feel weird to know Alice was going to be the last one left?
And what might that mean for her going forward?
She seems so happy with FP, its really sad to imagine that ending.
They were finally doing good.
I dont know what Roberto has planned, but yeah, poor Alice.
Shes really going to be alone now.
Maybe shell just be ruling the town, who knows?
Maybe we need to start a new campaign, Mayor Alice.
homies not around on a consistent basis, its definitely going to be really sad.
Im absolutely going to miss them, but I know that wont end our friendship.
Earlier in the season, we had evidence Chic and Charles are working together.
We hadnt gotten into that for my episode.
I think that was in the next few, so she hasnt experienced the betrayal yet.
I know shes really resilient, but theres been a lot of betrayal in this womans life.
I think Alice is going to need some therapy next season.
And not of the Farm variety.
Real, good old-fashioned traditional therapy.
No, I dont.
Im assuming something brings them back to the town of Riverdale.
Can you point to moment or visual choice that you felt defined your identity or artistic choices?
We get to go into and reenact Jugheads fantasies and his writing.
I wanted to push the envelope in those scenes.
Jughead is all about classic storytelling, so my inspiration was Alfred Hitchcock andCitizen Kaneand that kind of stuff.
How much were you influenced by the visual artistry of working with David Lynch so early in your career?
He was my mentor from the very beginning.
I didnt really know too much about filmmaking until I worked onTwin Peakswith him.
He showed me you think outside the box and do things that feel and look right to you.
Thats always been in there as my base, to just not be afraid of taking risks.
