Courtesy photo / Matthew McLoota (left) and Kevin Shields stand together while working on the set of an episode of NBC’s “The Blacklist.”

Hollidaysburg natives Matthew McLoota and Kevin Shields both grew up talking about working together in the film industry and with the recent wrapup of an episode of NBC’s “The Blacklist,” they can check that item off their bucket lists.

McLoota, a director and member of the Directors Guild of America, and Shields, a first assistant director, a second assistant director and production manager, teamed up on the second episode of Season 9 of “The Blacklist.”

“The Skinner: Conclusion” aired Oct. 28 with McLoota directing and Shields acting as his first assistant director.

While they worked together, each was responsible for different aspects of the filming.

As director, McLoota took the script and broke it down creatively. His role was to look at the cinematography and block out scenes to determine the look of the show, including shot angles and special effects.

As a first assistant director, Shields took the same script and broke it down to schedule scenes with actors and others needed to complete the filming process.

One, two in production

“The first assistant director probably has the most responsibility than anyone on set,” McLoota said, noting that the AD is responsible for running all the meetings and prep, running the set and is in charge of the safety of the crew, among a number of other responsibilities.

While “The Blacklist” episode wasn’t their first collaboration — they’ve also worked on shows such as the CW’s “Gossip Girl,” ABC’s “Ugly Betty” and Showtime’s “The Big C” — it was the first time they were No. 1 and No. 2 in the production lineup.

Graduates of Hollidaysburg Area High School, the pair have been friends for 30 years and that made working together rather effortless, they said.

McLoota also said he lucked out in getting Shields as his first assistant director because the one scheduled to be on the set wasn’t available, so Shields was moved into that position.

“Working with Kevin was very effortless, there’s a certain familiarity that 30 years of friendship gives you,” McLoota said. “Having that kind of relationship put us on a trajectory for success.”

They were attached at the hip for 10 days of preparation and eight days of shooting, Shields said.

“It was amazing,” he said.

The duo have come a long way from eating ramen noodles as they worked for their big breaks in the entertainment industry.

Different paths to NYC

According to their mothers, both McLoota and Shields have been interested in film since a young age. Shields’ mother, Sue Condrin, still has one of the first videos he created.

“He’s been interested in film since he was nine years old,” Condrin said. “Being the third child, he was always kind of a comedian.”

Jamie Horne McLoota recalled that McLoota would watch the same movie multiple times and then act it out.

“Matthew was always interested in movies growing up as a child, probably more acting them out than directing,” his mom said.

“I used to write a lot of stories and used to shoot films in the backyard and I figured that would be the place for me,” Matthew McLoota said.

McLoota and Shields knew they wanted to do something in the entertainment industry when they grew up, and while their road to New York City was a bit different for each, their journeys shared some similarities, too.

After graduating high school in 1999, McLoota enrolled in the film program at Syracuse University in New York and moved to New York City after graduation.

Shields graduated high school in 2000 and subsequently enrolled in courses at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Following the completion of his studies, he spent another two years bartending to save money for his big move to New York City.

Both McLoota and Shields reported sending out a slew of applications upon landing in the Big Apple.

Because jobs weren’t easy to come by, “he started out eating ramen noodles and drinking cheap beer,” Condrin said of Shields.

Shields’ first job in New York City was working as an unpaid set personal assistant intern on “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” He only started being paid after a week of work, Shields said.

“Matt was actually the second assistant director there and was able to have me brought on,” Shields said.

Thus began Shields’ arduous journey of being admitted to the Directors Guild of America.

According to Shields, would-be directors need to collect 600 days of documentation as a production assistant, which then allows them to be a second assistant director.

“You struggle for about 5 years to do so,” he said.

Then, to be a first assistant director, he had to collect another 600 days of documentation as a second assistant director, Shields said.

Shields has been in the industry for 15 years as of Halloween 2021 and currently works as a production manager and first assistant director.

“His work ethic is bar none and he is well respected in the industry,” Condrin said. “I’m pretty proud of my son. I don’t know how he does it.”

In 2019, Shields won the DGA award for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series category as part of the directorial team for “Escape at Dannemora.” The TV mini series debuted in 2018 and followed a female prison employee in upstate New York who becomes romantically involved with a pair of inmates and helps them escape, according to IMDB.

During production, Shields worked as second assistant director to Ben Stiller, who produced and directed the series. He even got to walk the red carpet in Los Angeles.

“It was amazing, very surreal,” Shields said, adding he “never really thought I’d make it there.”

“It was a big deal, but he plays it off,” Condrin said. “He always plays it off.”

Shields has also worked on other projects such as Bravo’s “The Sinner” and HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” However, he spends most of his time working on “The Blacklist,” maintaining safety, managing departments and attending meetings for makeup, stunts and special effects among other things.

“It is really stressful but it’s fun, it’s great,” Shields said. “We get to blow up cars everyday.”

As for McLoota, once he got to New York, he stuck to his goal of applying for at least six jobs in the film industry a day.

“When I first got here, it was very overwhelming,” McLoota said. “I didn’t have anything and my apartment was basically a 10 foot by 12 foot room. I didn’t have a lot of money and New York is expensive. It was a grind for sure.”

While McLoota didn’t want to stray too far from the film industry, he still needed a job to make ends meet.

“I didn’t want to do anything else,” McLoota said.

Rather than take a job as a waiter like others might have, he began working in live television, sometimes as a production assistant and sometimes as an audience page.

During that time, he worked on shows such as “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and “Broadway on Broadway.”

He also continued to pursue his dream of working in film and sent out between 90 and 120 resumes for jobs in the field before he was accepted into the Directors Guild of America’s New York Assistant Director Program.

According to the DGA, the two-year program provides accepted individuals opportunities to become assistant directors in film, television and commercial production. Upon completion of the program, graduates are eligible to join the DGA.

“Trainees are placed on the sets of various features, television series and commercials shooting primarily in the New York City vicinity working under the supervision of DGA members — second assistant directors, first assistant directors and unit production managers — until graduation,” the website reads.

Out of the approximately 300 to 350 applicants, only five to seven candidates are accepted, giving the program a 1.4 to 2.3 percent acceptance rate. By comparison, Yale University and Harvard University have 6.1 and 4.6 percent acceptance rates, respectively.

The application process began with a three-hour-long IQ and personality test taken in a large school auditorium or cafeteria in Manhattan, McLoota said. From there, the applicants were narrowed down to 100 people, who were then interviewed with a testing group. Then, the pool was narrowed down even further to 30 people, who went to the DGA offices to be interviewed by trustees.

After the final interview, the chosen few were notified of their acceptance.

McLoota was accepted the first year he applied.

“The weird thing was, I never thought I was gonna get it,” McLoota said. “I did it the first year to see what it was like so the next year I would know what to prepare for.”

McLoota got his first directing job on the Showtime television series “Billions,” which follows U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades as he goes after hedge fund king Bobby “Axe” Axelrod, according to IMDB.

McLoota said he originally thought he wouldn’t stay on a show for more than two seasons to prevent “becoming a cog in the machine” but ended up working on “Billions” for five seasons.

“I worked on ‘Billions’ the longest, so I have a certain fondness for that show,” McLoota said.

From there, he worked on various projects like “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “Suits,” “The American Side,” starring Matthew Broderick, and the recent Netflix movie “The Devil All the Time,” starring Tom Holland.

McLoota described every production as unique, saying everyone became like small family units.

“There are great things about all of them,” he said of the shows.

McLoota intends to keep directing and also hopes to become a producer.

“I picked an industry intentionally that didn’t have a ceiling,” he said, noting that “with some jobs they have a certain level that’s as high as you can go.”

He also encourages others who may be interested in pursuing a career in the film industry to keep working and to not lose sight of their goals.

“To me … I don’t think that I’ve ever seen anybody that’s persistent, fail,” McLoota said, adding it doesn’t matter where a person comes from as long as they have the drive to achieve their goals.

“We came from Hollidaysburg, we kept the goal in sight, pushed each other along, helped each other along, and it worked out,” McLoota said of his and Shields’ journey.

The pair see each other regularly outside of work, McLoota said. “Kevin actually lives about a block away from me,” he added.

Shields said now that they have both advanced and worked their way up, they have talked about working on some of their own projects together.

“He and his childhood friend are ‘tearing it up’ as they say,” Condrin said.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.