The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Craig Gillespie discusses his new film, Dumb Money, with fellow Director Phil Lord in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his process in finding a tonal balance between the comedy and serious in his scenes, working with a script so soon after the real-life events transpired, and using real footage, texts and even memes in the film. The film tells the true story of how regular guy, Keith Gill, starts a movement with other novice stock traders to get rich. By turning GameStop into one of the world’s hottest companies, he helps make stock market history, much to the chagrin of the finance industry giants who fight back. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/December2023/DumbMoney_QnA_1023.aspx

Director Steve James discusses his new film, A Compassionate Spy, with fellow Director Ondi Timoner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his process of shooting reenactments, the discovery of archival footage of Ted, and his aim to show the nuances and motivations of Ted’s decision. The film tells the true story of eighteen year-old physicist Ted Hall’s recruitment into the Manhattan Project. In 1944, concerned about U.S. having a monopoly on such a devastating weapon, Ted decides to divulge classified information about the world’s first atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/DocSeries_A_Compassionate_Spy-1023.aspx

Director Sofia Coppola discusses her new film, Priscilla, with fellow Director Celine Song in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses how she aimed for a sharp contrast in the Oz-like Elvis world and the drab normal world through her production design, how she deliberately changes the pace of her editing in the presence of Elvis vs when he’s missing, and the relationship between the real Priscilla Presley and Actor Cailee Spaeny. Based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley, the film tells the story of how young Priscilla Beaulieu met Elvis Presley, chronicling their legendary relationship and marriage. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/December2023/Priscilla_QnA_1023.aspx

Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin discusses their new film, Nyad, with fellow Director Lisa Cholodenko in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they discuss the change in their co-directing process having gone from documentary filmmaking to their first feature film, the physical training Actor Annette Benning underwent for the role, and the inspiration behind why they were drawn to tell this story. The film tells the true story of how 60-year-old athlete Diana Nyad, with the help of her best friend and coach, committed herself to achieving her dream of completing a 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/December2023/Nyad_QnA_1023.aspx

Director Justine Triet discusses her new film, Anatomy of a Fall, with fellow Director Nicole Kassell in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Triet discusses the deliberation that went into her cinematography to accentuate the sense of mystery, how she directed actors to give multilayered performances, and the consideration that went into crafting the ending. The film tells the story of Sandra, her husband Samuel and their blind son Daniel, who live a secluded life in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead, Sandra becomes the main suspect and Daniel the main witness, beginning an unsettling psychological examination of their conflicted relationship. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/AnatomyOfAFall_1023.aspx

Director Nicol Paone discusses her new film, The Kill Room, with fellow Director Jim Rash in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Paone discusses taking lessons from making her last film, creating a soundtrack that helped balance the film’s dramedy tone, and working with both a production designer and art advisor to establish the artistic look of the film. The film tells the story of an art dealer who teams with a hitman and his boss for a money laundering scheme, trading paintings by way of assassinations. But when the exchange accidentally launches the hitman’s work into fame, the dealer is forced to pit her art world against the underworld. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/THE-KILL-ROOM_QnA_1023.aspx

Director George C. Wolfe discusses his new film, Rustin, with fellow Director Reinaldo Marcus Green in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Wolfe discusses roadmapping his scenes by taking reference from some of Rustin’s real-life tactics, working with and taking notes from the Obamas- who acted as Executive Producers, and displaying the characters' growth through the framework of compositions by jazz composer, Branford Marsalis. The film tells the true story of Bayard Rustin, an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., who dedicated his life to the quest for racial equality, human rights and worldwide democracy. However, as an openly gay Black man, he is all but erased from the civil rights movement he helped build. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/December2023/RUSTIN_QnA_1023.aspx

Director Garth Davis discusses his new film, Foe, with fellow Director Darius Marder in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Davis discusses playing with themes of reality, identity and change, utilizing locations as their own character, and working with actors to create scenes with multilayered meanings. The film tells the story of Hen and Junior, who farm a secluded piece of land which has been in Junior’s family for generations. But their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/FOE_QnA_1023.aspx

Director Martin Scorsese discusses his film Killers of the Flower Moon with Ti West. They talk about lifting dialogue from historical accounts, speaking with Osage tribal members for authenticity, and crafting the title sequence with a hundred-year-old camera. The film depicts the Reign of Terror and an FBI investigation. They also discuss the challenges faced during post-production, the influence of music films, the decision to write the script, and the exploration of love, trust, and betrayal as core themes.

Director Grant Singer discusses his new film, Reptile, with fellow Director Louis Leterrier in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Singer discusses the genres he drew from to achieve his tone, his experience working alongside Benicio del Toro on the production end, and how he saw music as a drive for the film’s pacing. The film tells the story of Tom Nichols, a New England detective investigating the brutal murder of a young real estate agent. Though he's unflinching in his pursuit for justice, the case slowly begins to dismantle the illusions in his own life. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/Reptile_QnA_1023.aspx