“You don’t get the chance to do something of this scale very often — in fact, almost never,” “The Americas” executive producer Mike Gunton said of NBC’s ambitious nature documentary series.
Narrated by Tom Hanks and scored by Hans Zimmer, the 10-part production is one of the largest in scope in the nonfiction genre — 180 expeditions spanning five years and 1,000 crew members and specialists, along with the use of new technology, including drones and high-resolution film cameras. “If I was a betting man, I would say we have captured more data on this series than any other project that’s ever existed.”
Highlighting wildlife ecosystems of 10 different regions within North and South America, from the Atlantic Coast to Mexico to Patagonia, “The Americas” shines a spotlight on parts of the world — and animal behaviors — never before seen on television. NBC, it turns out, was more than willing to back the series despite not being known for nature programs more commonly featured on the BBC, NatGeo and PBS.
“The Americas“ is enormous in scope. How were you able to pull it off?
MIKE GUNTON You’ve only got one shot at this and it’s tricky — the logistical challenges, the different politics, the different ways people operate in these different countries and also the variety of types of habitat. We wanted to make sure we were filming on the ocean, under the ocean, in jungles, in deserts, in coral reefs, you name it. You couldn’t do this without the knowledge, the backup and the goodwill of extraordinary scientists who spend their lives studying these creatures and are so generous in enabling the way they tell us the things they’ve discovered. Not just the stuff they would write in a paper but little observations they’ve made in thousands of hours watching these animals.
What struck me is how you were able to come up with intriguing storylines, from zooming in on honeypot ants to being side by side with sharks. How much footage did it take to create a segment?
GUNTON It’s very difficult to answer because it depends on the story and the location. We don’t just grab our cameras and go to a cool place; we are incredibly focused on the story we want to tell. We know what we want to achieve, but you can’t write a script and hand it to the animals. What you have to do is use your experience, camera technology and the skills of the directors to effectively make it feel like [the animals have] read the scripts to get the story that you want to tell. The real joy of this, which is unique in almost any form, is that nature will always add her own little grace notes, her own surprises. And that’s what makes it so exciting, even if you’ve done it for 35 years.
Is there a moment you did not expect to catch on film?
GUNTON One of the sequences that I think is utterly mind-blowing is the sequence in the West Coast episode of the blue whales. We filmed a sequence with not just one or two, not three, but four whales together, and they weren’t just cruising around. They were barrel rolling, frisking around, and then at one point, one of them leaped clean out [of the water] — and these animals are about the size of a jumbo jet, so imagine the power required to do that. It was all shot in the most incredible way with drones.
What was the most challenging region to film in?
GUNTON We went to southern Chilean Patagonia — Torres del Paine [National Park] is an amazing place — to film pumas. Pumas are phenomenally good at hiding. They also move very quickly. You’re not allowed to go in off-roading vehicles, so you have to follow them on foot. Our crews are doing 30 miles a day with cameras on their backs chasing after these pumas, not just to get a shot of a puma in the distance but incredibly intimate, relatable behavior.
How much of The Americas uses drones versus traditional camera work?
GUNTON There are sequences where they’ve been on your wish list for years. For example, the opening sequence of the Andes episode is a story of a spectacled bear who goes into the mountains to give birth and nurture her cubs to stay safe from predators. There comes a point where Mum has to bring the cubs down because they can’t feed on milk anymore, so they have to descend. It’s like a free solo in reverse, and it’s a one-off event. It’s impossible to do with a human being and a camera. The only way to do it is with a drone. So the pressure is on that drone pilot to get the shots — not just the one shot but a wide shot, detailed shots of the mother’s face, the shots of the cub, the moment the cub slips. All that brings the drama to it.
How did you get Tom Hanks to be the voice of the series?
GUNTON He wanted to see what we were doing, so we showed him the first episode. It was quite nerve-racking, showing a double Oscar winner your work, especially a rough [version]. At the end of it, he said, “I was born to narrate this.” It reminded him of when he was younger, the excitement about seeing the wonders of nature. He enjoyed the fact that you were learning without anybody telling you you’re learning. We felt privileged but also responsible to show how wonderful it was but equally that it’s precious and fragile — and I think Tom felt that as well.
What do you think The Americas will do for nature documentaries moving forward?
GUNTON In the grammar of the genre, this was an opportunity to shift the tone, the storytelling, the intimacy, the engagement for the audience. Friends and colleagues have said this feels different. The way it’s shot, the way the stories are told visually and the way Tom tells the stories feels accessible but not in a dumbed-down way. The center of gravity is unashamedly celebratory, but we haven’t shied [away from] reminding people that these places, though they’re awesome and beautiful, they are also fragile. That’s my biggest message.
This story first ran in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Read more from the Race Begins issue here.
