The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Roger Ross Wiliams discusses his new film, Cassandro, with fellow Director Dee Rees in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Williams discusses how he treated the story like a superhero narrative to guide his character’s transformation, how he established a progressing color palette with his DP to reflect the progression of the story, and how he integrated his documentary skills to create a naturally changing narrative. The film tells the true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler who rose to fame and became an LGBTQ icon after participate in lucha libre wrestling matches as “Cassandro the Exotico.” See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/Cassandro_QnA_0923.aspx

Director Chloe Domont discusses her new film, Fair Play, with fellow Director Olivia Wilde in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Domont discusses how she used production design to drive the mood, how she intended her camera and audio to invoke the style of thrillers and horror movies, and how she worked to develop stronger emotional connections between her leading actors and create a more nuanced relationship for her characters. The film tells the story of Emily and Luke, a young couple working at a cutthroat hedge fund, who find themselves tested when an unexpected promotion threatens to unravel far more than their recent engagement. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/November2023/FairPlay_QnA_0923.aspx

Director Emma Seligman discusses her new film, Bottoms, with fellow Director Gene Stupnitsky in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Seligman discusses the difficulty of cutting favorite scenes to keep the tone she envisioned, building the world of a high school comedy with a unique set of rules, and the influences she pulled across films to form her vision. The film tells the story of best friends PJ and Josie, two gay teens who take the unusual approach of launching a high school fight club in a plan to meet girls and lose their virginity. But soon they find themselves in over their heads when the most popular students begin to beat each other up. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://cms.dga.org/Events/2023/October2023/Bottoms_QnA_0923.aspx

Director Juel Taylor discusses his new film, They Cloned Tyrone, with fellow Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Taylor discusses how test screenings helped him refine the film, the pitching process that helped start the project and how he mixed filmic inspirations to achieve his unique tone. The film tells the story of Fontaine, Slick Charles and Yo-Yo, an unlikely trio who discover a nefarious government cloning conspiracy and embark on a mission to save their neighborhood. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/October2023/TheyClonedTyrone_QnA_0923.aspx

Director Alejandro Monteverde discusses his new film, Sound of Freedom, with fellow Director Alonso Alvarez-Barreda in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Monteverde discusses how he wanted to depict horror through beauty in his cinematography, his real life inspirations for the film and how he balanced tone to make the movie impactful but not onerous. The film tells the story of a former government agent-turned-vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue children from sex traffickers. After rescuing a young boy, he learns the boy’s sister is still captive and decides to quit his job and embark on a dangerous mission deep in the Colombian jungle to save her. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/October2023/SoundOfFreedom_QnA_0923.aspx

Director Ángel Manuel Soto discusses his new film, Blue Beetle, with fellow Director Jaume Collet-Serra in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Soto discusses how he kept the theme of family central to the film, his deliberate choices when casting each role, and the importance of fleshing out his characters. The film tells the story of a young man, made into a superhero after being chosen by an alien entity to be its symbiotic host. After Jaime Reyes, a recent college graduate, is bestowed with a suit of armor capable of extraordinary powers, it forever changes his destiny but never the bond with him and his family. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/October2023/BlueBeetle_QnA_0823.aspx

Director Ondi Timoner discusses her new film, Last Flight Home, with fellow Director Susanna Styron in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Timoner discusses how she viewed the filming of this documentary as her own form of therapy, how she transitioned between the roles of daughter and filmmaker while behind and in front of the camera, and the effect of the film on her father’s closest friends and family. The film tells the story of Timoner’s father, Eli Timoner, during the 15-day waiting period before medically terminating his own life. Once a swashbuckling entrepreneur, now bedridden, Timoner says goodbye to those closest to him while they struggle to reconcile with his choice. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/en/Events/2023/October2023/LastFlightHome_DocSeries_0823

Directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash discuss their new film, The Beanie Bubble, with fellow Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they discuss the evolution of the script over the years, the limitations in using real likenesses and Beanie Babies, and structuring the story as a rise and fall for its many characters. The film tells the story behind the Beanie Baby toy obsession that took off in the 1990s, centered on manufacturer-turned-billionaire Ty Warner, and the women who were integral to his success. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/en/Events/2023/September2023/BeanieBubbleQnA_0823

Director Lisa Cortés discusses her new film, Little Richard: I Am Everything, with fellow Director Ondi Timoner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Cortés discusses her thought processes when structuring the film, applying her knowledge and experiences from the music industry to the production, and her attempts to shake up the structure of a typical music documentary. The film tells the story of music legend Little Richard, combining a wealth of his archival and performance footage to reveal the true Black queer origins of rock n’ roll. As the icon’s story is unspooled, so too are the contradictions between his life and music, as he gave the world what he was never able to give himself. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/September2023/DocSeries_LittleRichardIAE-0723.aspx

Director Christian Petzold discusses his new film, Afire, with fellow Director Michael Almereyda in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Petzold discusses the autobiographical elements of the film, the meaning and thought process behind the encroaching fire, and its dystopian as well as its pandemic influences. The film tells the story of a group of young friends who vacation in a house by the Baltic Sea as an encroaching forest fire threatens the group. As the days grow hotter and the fire nears, both temperature and tensions rise, allowing emotions of happiness, lust and love to give way to jealousies, resentments and tensions among the group. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2023/August2023/GCS_Afire_0723.aspx