Returning to the Director’s Chair After COVID & a “Haunted” Home Inspection

In May 2021, Henrique Couto prepares to return to the director’s chair earlier than expected while still rebuilding his stamina after COVID-19. The unnamed Western began filming in November 2020 before weather and coronavirus concerns paused production. Now a deliberately lighter schedule, extra crew support and a favorable forecast give him cautious hope that finishing the movie can restart a filmmaking rhythm disrupted by illness and the pandemic.Directing, Henrique explains, means being both the decision-maker and the person everyone needs at once. He remembers answering a stream of questions on Babysitter Massacre and discovering that a brief bathroom break could provide a rare quiet moment. For the new shoot, the team plans to handle unloading and reduce his hikes across outdoor locations so he can focus on cameras, actors and the scheduled scenes. The conversation captures creative leadership under pressure without turning personal recovery practices into medical or workplace advice.Michelle offers a different kind of professional anxiety. Home-inspection school has made her worry about overlooking a serious defect, and new knowledge has changed the way she sees both her current home and a former one. She recently attended the paid inspection of a house her mother was considering, observing the process as a student rather than acting as the inspector. The notes protect the prospective property, its owner and the family’s decision while preserving Michelle’s candid account of learning through uncertainty.The hosts close by asking the question no standard inspection can answer: how haunted is the house? Michelle initially rates it low, but photographs of one closet have made her sister uneasy, prompting a joke about whether a corpse had been inside. It is playful horror banter, not a claim about the property. Along the way, Henrique’s dog Chicano chases a cat across the street, Michelle offers steady encouragement, and their friendship keeps a stressful 2021 turning point warm and funny.LinksEmail the hosts: [email protected]