Interview with Anthony Dominici, Executive Producer of LEGO Masters
Posted by MeganL,
Our week of LEGO Masters coverage continues. Anthony Dominici, the executive producer of LEGO Masters, was gracious enough to spend some time with us. Dominici, who has also produced shows such as Extreme Makeover Home Edition and The Amazing Race, chatted with us about the contestant search, working with Will Arnett and his own personal relationship with LEGO.
What was the thinking behind bringing the show to the United States at this moment in time?
I personally love working on positive and creative television projects--TV shows that families can watch and experience together. These kinds of shows are timeless, like LEGO is timeless. It is always a good time for this kind of show because people want to be inspired. This show will hopefully inspire people in a few ways, from seeing someone’s building ability or hearing their personal stories, and hopefully seeing those stories in what they build. Before this, I used to produce Extreme Makeover Home Edition and got the chance to help build homes for deserving families in need across the country. That was a super rewarding experience and I’ve felt similarly working on LEGO Masters.
How was the search process for finding contestants?
Our casting team went deep and looked at everyone we could. We looked in every nook and cranny. There are so many LEGO fans and incredible builders out there! It's really awesome how many different kinds of people build LEGO, so we really encouraged our team to find builders everywhere, to expand and find friends of friends, maybe people who aren’t very public about it but who are incredibly talented, people who build for their community center or just post online. I think we ended up with a great cast of contestants.
What were the logistics like working on LEGO Masters?
I’ve worked on all different types of shows like The Amazing Race where we’re sending teams all over the world and planning all the trips, challenges, and doing all the paperwork to Extreme Makeover Home Edition where we're building an entire house in week. But I think LEGO Masters literally has the most moving parts! We have 3.3 million of them in our brick pit to be exact. It is crazy to think that our builders will use them all, but they do! Behind the scenes, after the teams make these epic builds, we have to replenish the brick, we have to take apart some things, we have to sort it back to where it goes and that takes forever! We also had to figure out the timing of it all. We worked with our LEGO experts and the judges and even LEGO fans to test how long it takes to build this thing or that, or how much time was needed to make something really big and had to factor that into a limited production schedule to make the most of it.
What have been both your favourite and hardest moments working on LEGO Masters?
The hardest part is honestly when a team you love goes home… because they put so much hard work into it and we’ve gotten to know them so much! We’ve had eliminations where I’ve been crying along with them. I’m not afraid to say that. We’ve had many heartfelt moments on the show, but If I as a producer can connect with them and what is happening on an emotional level, it’s a good show, and I can hopefully translate that same experience to the audience. The most fun part is working with Will.
How is it like working with Will Arnett?
Will is incredible. He is so funny. Every day he comes and brings his A-game. He’s a great host, and this might be one of his first times hosting a show. He is willing to try anything, and that is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced as a producer because what more could I ask for? He is really into LEGO, he’s loyal to the brand, he’s already part of the LEGO family from the LEGO Batman movie, and he puts his heart into it. That's who he is. He's a creative and funny guy every moment of the day, and I see that the most when he is interacting with the teams.
What is it like having Nathan Sawaya working on the show?
Nathan is incredible. He’s been doing all the behind-the-scenes building for us and has been a great partner. Aside from the contestants who are building as quick as possible, Nathan and his team have been building things for us sometimes with even less time. For example, if we use a prop made out of LEGO or the contestants need something to inspire them, he’s the one who has built it. He built the LEGO Masters logo on the door, he built the trophy, and he built an incredible layout for our first episode I can’t wait for everyone to see. You could say he’s our LEGO artist in residence. There were times when we would have a last-minute idea and call Nathan and say, “Hey, we need a prop in the background” and it would be on set the next morning! It’s uncanny how quickly he can put things together.
Do you have a personal history with LEGO?
I was a fan of LEGO growing up. Literally some of my earliest memories are building LEGO trucks and cars with my brothers. Now I have a nephew and every time I go home to New Orleans we’ll play with LEGO and it is the most fun thing ever. I just gave him a LEGO Millennium Falcon for his birthday so we’ll work on that together. I love LEGO because it’s like the most malleable thing you could play with and if you can imagine something, you can create it. It is so engaging and an incredible way to be fun and creative.
Aside from LEGO sets with instructions, do you build anything on your own?
I like building my own LEGO stuff and challenging my nephew to see who can build the tallest tower or build the fastest race car. I’m trying to bring that same kind of experience and feeling to LEGO Masters, but take it to the next level by blowing it up and making it as big as possible. I think a lot of people will connect with that and building their own LEGO creations.
What does LEGO Masters offer viewers who might not enjoy LEGO?
If you can dream it, you can do it. The most important thing is seeing these amazing people and their imaginations and how they bring creativity to life—how they can dream something and then build it. Honestly that’s the coolest thing about the show and about LEGO. But it is also exciting. We showed a quick glimpse in the trailer of someone’s creation falling apart after who knows how many hours it took to build, and it was heartbreaking. It just shattered! It is an emotional moment since they put so much effort into it, but even more exciting to see them work twice as hard to recover. The builders have also thrown us producers a few exciting curveballs that we are excited for everyone to see.
Will there be a season two of LEGO Masters?
I certainly hope so because this has been the most fun show I’ve ever worked on. I’ve worked on some awesome shows before but this one is so creative and so fun. I love the people, I love this crew, I love working with Will. And I love the LEGO judges Amy and Jamie. The more we work with the them and the builders, the more ideas we get for new challenges. I already have four or five in mind for next time if we get there. LEGO Masters has been an unbelievable experience that I hope is a hit with the audience so we can keep on sharing this creativity with the world.
Thank you so much for talking to us!
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11 comments on this article
Really enjoying these interviews. Thanks for this.
"Behind the scenes, after the teams make these epic builds, we have to replenish the brick, we have to take apart some things, we have to sort it back to where it goes and that takes forever! "
I think most of us know this struggle!
You guys should interview Jang about the affect COPPA has finally had on his channel.
@vizzitor I know what you mean. I frequently get to a point where I can't build much more until I take something else apart (but the problem comes when I really like the thing I need parts from. Well, sacrifices must be made. I'm currently in the process of scrapping 75105 as I need parts from it).
@vizzitor said:
"Behind the scenes, after the teams make these epic builds, we have to replenish the brick, we have to take apart some things, we have to sort it back to where it goes and that takes forever! "
I think most of us know this struggle!"
^ This. In our LUG, we often agree that one of the most underrated and challenging aspects of collecting and building your own creations is staying up to date on your organization & sorting. When you get a light bulb going off in your head for a particular idea, you can't waste time searching for the right pieces. If they aren't readily available, the motivation to build can leave as quickly as it came.
Organization helps differentiate the collectors/builders from the hoarders. It can also alleviate stress associated with owning a vast amount of material plastic.
It really comes down to managing a clean collection and taking the time to organize your parts when you decide to take something a part. I've found by doing so, you can really take your hobby and passion for LEGO to the next level.
I know there have been some articles on here about organization and storage solutions, but I'd love to read more in the future.
Interesting as these articles are, I’m curious why the US version of this show is receiving so much coverage on brickset.
As a top-tier fan media site we were invited to the set in Los Angeles last month while filming was taking place. Megan was able to attend so she went.
The other production companies did not extend the same invitation to us. Simple as that...
@MonsterFighter said:
"Interesting as these articles are, I’m curious why the US version of this show is receiving so much coverage on brickset. "
As great as Brickset is I too think this is too much advertising for a show most people in the world aren't even going to see because it only airs in the US. It's not as if these articles did anything valuable other than give free promotion to this show - which by the way is just another copy of the UK original I believe.
@AustinPowers said:
"a show most people in the world aren't even going to see because it only airs in the US"
Speaking of which, is it going to be available outside of the US? Preferably on the web, like on YouTube? I'd like to watch, but have no access to any US channels.
@Huw , those of us in the US are greatly appreciative of these articles.
I have never before seen anyone complain about an interview with Jamie Berard--usually people are asking for more one-on-one conversations with designers.
For all the people commenting "Who?" on the Will Arnett article: Google, Wikipedia, and IMDB are your friends. This is a major star for the Lego company, someone who's been nominated five times for Emmy awards, which are the highest honors for actors on television.
If similar LEGO-related press opportunities were available to Brickset in other parts of the world, I know Huw, Chris, and the other team contributors be the first to bring them to we loyal readers.
Brickset also covers conventions and other events that most of us won't be able to attend. It's interesting to me to hear about this stuff even if I can't personally watch or go there.
@vizzitor:
I have no idea what that's about. Most members of my LUG would probably agree that I have the most disorganized collection of loose parts in the entire club (they're largely stored in whatever they came in, which includes a lot of set boxes). I also tend to build small, and almost never disassemble my creations. The oldest MOC I own was probably built in the early 90's. I still own everything that I posted on Mask of Destiny, and continue to display stuff like the SW/TMNT characters and the dragons.
The irony is that my MOCs are hands down the most organized in the club. A lot of what I've built for display in club layouts are cars. It took several years to build up enough to supply an entire layout by myself, and tearing any of them apart would simply delay that accomplishment. On the other hand, since it only takes about 200pcs to make a decent 6-wide car, it's also not a particularly huge investment in parts to build another one.