Among the iconic movies Lawrence Kasdan has directed in his celebrated career are Body Heat, The Big Chill, Silverado, The Accidental Tourist, Grand Canyon, Wyatt Earp and many more. Films he has written include little-known movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and The Bodyguard.

But television? Not so much. In fact, his only previous foray into TV was the first season of the Disney+ docuseries on Industrial Light + Magic.

So how did Kasdan land two Emmy nominations this year? He made a funny, entertaining, moving and heartwarming Netflix documentary on his good friend Martin Short called Marty, Life Is Short. He is up for producing Outstanding Documentary or Non Fiction Special, as well as for directing. The show is also nominated for Best Editing, an achievement all its own since the movie is chock-full of footage of Short’s life all the way back to his beginnings in Canada. The beloved star also turned over all his personal archival personal videos from his childhood to his renowned, star-studded parties. It took some convincing on Kasdan’s part to get Marty to agree to do this, and participate but the results are extraordinary about a guy who is always the life of the party, but whose own life has been marked by tragedy and an attitude that you just have to get through the dark times, forge ahead and be resilient.

Kasdan joins me for this edition of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens to talk about all of it, and of course his decades-long friendship with Short that began when he produced an unsuccessful comedy in which Short starred, Cross My Heart, and even directed him in another, Mumford.

We also talk about some of those legendary movies Kasdan has been involved with including cutting a now major superstar out of The Big Chill and how in the end it turned out all right for both. He also gives an update on the progress of the long-gestating remake of his classic The Bodyguard, why he wound up not directing the original, and how difficult it is to find someone to follow in the footsteps of Whitney Houston.

There is so much more so to go “behind the lens” with Lawrence Kasdan watch the video above.

Join me every Monday and Thursday this season for a new episode of Behind the Lens, and each Wednesday for a new edition of The Actor’s Side.