Paul Hoen is, without a doubt, the most prolific director of Disney Channel Original Movies. With 15 titles in the DCOM library alone and over 20 years at the Disney channel under his belt, Hoen continues to branch out into new genres and subject matter. His latest project, Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2, came out earlier this year, and he shows no signs of stopping any time soon. His work as a director at the Disney Channel has resulted in many of the most iconic entries into the DCOM library including, The Luck of the Irish, Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off, and Jump In!. In the past few years, Hoen has also directed 26 episodes of the Disney Channel original series, Andi Mack, which had its finale last summer. It was truly an amazing opportunity to have a director with his experience answer some of our questions about the Disney Channel and the world of television more broadly as well.
DCOMers: How did you start working with the Disney Channel and how has that relationship evolved since?
Paul Hoen: “I first began working with Disney on a show called Kids Incorporated. I worked as a script supervisor and during the last season I was able to direct a few episodes. After that I continued working for that same company and did several episodes of a Nickelodeon show called The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Journey of Allen Strange and some others. All of these shows were shot single camera and on film. Disney was interested in doing these types of shows and many of the executives moved from Nickelodeon to Disney at the time, and so I was invited to do shows for Disney. The channel also saw the value of doing longer form films and started producing a lot of them. Because of the quantity of the films they wanted to make the executives saw value in taking a director from series and seeing how they would do on longer form films. They understood that these films were challenging from the perspective of kid hours, and the budgets they wanted to hit. So fortunately, I got lucky and they choose me for a small film called [The] Luck Of The Irish.”
DCOMers: Your first DCOM, The Luck of the Irish, is perhaps one of the most iconic films released under the banner. Consequently, it has gone on to achieve a sort of cult status that has positioned it with other DCOM greats. What impact, if any, did it have on your career and how do you look back at the film now?
Paul Hoen: “I remember reading the script and thinking that it was really good. Of all the films I have ever done for Disney that script needed the least work. I also got really lucky with the casting, especially Henry Gibson. When I turned the cut in people liked the movie enough, but they weren’t all that impressed until they released it and it did very big numbers for them. Of all the films I have done I enjoy watching that film the most. It seems to take on a life beyond my part in it, and that’s why I enjoy watching it.”
DCOMers: What, if anything, does the Disney Channel Original Movie mean to you? How would you describe the content that gets released under the banner? What is that content capable of achieving/what do you hope to achieve?
Paul Hoen: “Through the years we have had our creative battles but as I get older, I feel very fortunate. I feel fortunate first for being able to direct so many different kinds of movies, in places all over the world, where I have met lifelong friends. I also feel that although the movies have their limits in regard to their depth of subject matter, they are at their heart a message to kids to celebrate who you are as a person without fear. Fear as it relates to your parents, to your peers, and to the larger societies we all belong too.”
DCOMers: We’re very interested in Jump In! for a few reasons: 1) It marks a shift in the appeal of DCOMs, using the star-power of Corbin Bleu as an attraction rather than relying solely the premise of the movie itself; 2) There is an increase in production value, possibly because of this star-power; 3) It actually had a pretty large impact, because after that movie came out so many elementary schools (including our own) started teaching double dutch and even selling jump ropes. How does a movie like Jump In! compare to an earlier movie like Tru Confessions?
Paul Hoen: “Just to in order here and to acknowledge that yes, the DCOM is constantly evolving. Obviously, these films are audience tested and the channel gets feedback via ratings and focus groups. So green-lit movies must fulfill mandates that the channel sets. Tru Confessions was also showcasing Shi LeBeouf’s talents, but yes, more and more films had their cast mandated by their studio talent they wanted to build and nurture like Corbin in Jump In!. I feel so lucky that I was asked to do that movie and they didn’t immediately choose and black director as I think would be the case now a days. From a technical standpoint it was a very difficult movie to pull off casting all those double dutch teams and finding actors who could pull off all of the double dutch. It is incredible that in that movie there is no CGI or face replacement of any kind. I also really feel I owe a lot to David Makin the cinematographer, and Doug the production designer for some great production value.”
DCOMers: There’s another interesting shift in Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2, which has a 2:35/1 aspect ratio instead of being designed for a standard 16x9 TV. This makes that movie seem larger in scale than other DCOMs, and more cinematic. Does this mark another potential shift in what it means to be a Disney Channel Original Movie? (It almost seems like it’s exceeding the realm of the TV movie).
Paul Hoen: “So here again the Channel is trying to compete with all the streaming services, Netflix, bigger budget movies that kids can get from iTunes. So, the challenge here was how to make it stand out. Also, the challenge was how to elevate the pink and blue color palate so that it doesn’t feel cheap. There was another director that started the first movie and there were production problems, I came in a bit later and the movie feels a little bit like it was stuck together. Anyway, this time I suggested the wide screen. I didn’t think they really would do it but lo and behold here we are. The wider format also frames the dances beautifully so the whole thing was really satisfying for me.”
DCOMers: How much creative control do you have as a director on the Disney Channel? Has this amount of control changed as you have worked with them longer?
Paul Hoen: “Ultimately the studio has all the control. That doesn’t mean I don’t get to be creative quite the opposite. I’ve learned through the years that getting angry or fighting headlong into a creative disagreement doesn’t get you very far. I understand that they have a brand and the challenge is moving the needle within that brand. I’d say I get 95.9 percent of what I need creatively. Also, I do not discount their creative input which at times I can feel uncomfortable with but later come to learn was the right choice. Film making is ultimately collaborative and there are only a few cases where something has ended up on the screen that I really have found distasteful.”
DCOMers: In a lot of Disney media, there are characters who appear to be coded as queer, but in the series Andi Mack, there is a character like Cyrus who is openly gay, and he and TJ even hold hands in an episode that you directed. Yet, in a larger Disney production like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, queerness is still put in the background despite characters like Finn and Poe appearing to be queer-coded. Is there an increasing amount of freedom in a thing like the Disney channel, which doesn’t have to worry as much about international censorship?
Paul Hoen: “I think the ideal goal of the DCOM is to teach kids how to navigate their lives. So from the earliest Disney movies like, Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook Off, Jump In!, HSM, Let It Shine, you see a message of “Celebrate who you are!” In fact Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook Off is really a coming out story, if you look at it closely. I think what you are seeing on the channel is something that was always there and a natural “coming out” progression. I’m not sure the same mandate is important for the bigger budget Disney movies. Also when I say mandate I don’t mean there is some edict that everything on the Channel has to be that, but there is a recognition that we are at our best when as movie or episodic achieves that.”
DCOMers: You directed the film Searching For David’s Heart, which was produced for ABC (which is owned by Disney). It also includes two prominent Disney Channel actors (Ricky Ullman and Danielle Panabaker). How did this production compare to the films you directed for the Disney Channel?
Paul Hoen: “Well at the time things were up in the air at ABC family as they searched for a new direction. I was sitting at the airport boarding a plan when I got a call from the executive producer of the movie saying that they wanted to change scripts. The new script was Searching for David’s Heart. I had worked with Danielle Panabaker before and the executives at ABC family were basically the same, so the experience was very similar. I did try and make that film feel more organic and real, which I thought was the best way to handle the material. So it has a rougher, grainier feeling that [of] a DCOM. Although, now that movie mostly plays off the channel. The ABC family film Mistletones was very fun to film because of the romance and adult themes and I’ve never seen my kids smile more during a movie then when they watched that one.”
DCOMers: What is the production schedule like on a DCOM (particularly in a year like 2003 and 2014 when two movies you directed were released)?
Paul Hoen: “In the “olden days” a DCOM would be shot in 25 days no more no less you would have to strictly adhere to that. Also, there would be a set about of extras, and production toys that were afforded a director. So, no matter what the movie you would have to adjust the script to that. It was a real art and very challenging. Now that the movies are bigger, and the expectations are greater shooting days have grown to 37 upwards of 40. I will say however that it doesn’t make things much easier. It is really true bigger budgets bigger problems.”
DCOMers: With a streaming service like Disney+ coming into play, how does that affect the Disney Channel? Does it? Is priority given to the streaming service now or is it business as usual?
Paul Hoen: “I think that is the thing everyone is trying to figure out. Really, I suppose how that will be defined is by answering the question what is the future of basic cable? What do audience’s want to watch whatever they feel like at a touch of a button or to have programs set for them. Were really in a time of transition so it is exciting and stressful to see what will happen next.”
DCOMers: What can we expect from you next?
Paul Hoen: “ZOMBIE[S] 3! — As soon as this pandemic allows.”
