The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast
Brought to you by the Directors Guild of America, ”The Director’s Cut” will bring you the behind-the-scenes stories of today’s most talked about films. Each episode features a different director interviewed by one of their peers, leading to revealing conversations about the grueling, but rewarding process of bringing their films to life.
Episodes

Friday Mar 25, 2022
Friday Mar 25, 2022
Paul Thomas Anderson, Kenneth Branagh, Jane Campion, Steven Spielberg, and Denis Villeneuve engage in a conversation with moderator Jeremy Kagan for the 31st Annual DGA Meet the Nominees: Theatrical Feature Film Symposium.
Part one finds the nominees discussing how they know they've "got the shot," where they like to sit on set, and how they prepare for production.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/April2022/MTN_TheatricalFeatureFilm2022.aspx

Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Jackass Forever with Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze (Ep. 350)
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Thursday Mar 03, 2022
Director Jeff Tremaine discusses his new film, Jackass Forever, with fellow director Spike Jonze in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. The original Jackass crew return after 11 years to push the envelope with another round of hilarious and absurd displays of comedy.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/April2022/JackAssForever_QnA_0222.aspx

Thursday Feb 24, 2022
Marry Me with Kat Coiro and Gillian Robespierre (Ep. 349)
Thursday Feb 24, 2022
Thursday Feb 24, 2022
Director Kat Coiro discusses her new film, Marry Me, with fellow director Gillian Robespierre in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York.
When pop star Kat Valdez learns that her fiancé has been unfaithful seconds before their wedding in front of a global audience of fans, she decides to marry Charlie, a middle school math teacher and stranger in the crowd, instead.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/April2022/MarryMe_QnA_0222.aspx

Friday Feb 04, 2022
The Tragedy of Macbeth with Joel Coen and Guillermo Del Toro (Ep. 348)
Friday Feb 04, 2022
Friday Feb 04, 2022
Director Joel Coen discusses his new film, The Tragedy of Macbeth, with fellow director Guillermo del Toro in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
Based on the timeless work by William Shakespeare, the film reweaves the tale of the power-hungry Thane of Cawdor, who sets his sights on the Scottish throne.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/February2022/Macbeth_QnA_1221.aspx

Friday Jan 28, 2022
Licorice Pizza with Paul Thomas Anderson and Jeremy Kagan (Ep. 347)
Friday Jan 28, 2022
Friday Jan 28, 2022
Director Paul Thomas Anderson discusses his new film, Licorice Pizza, with fellow director Jeremy Kagan in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
Set in the early 1970s, the film follows Gary, a 15-year-old aspiring entrepreneur who falls in love with Alana, a 25-year-old yearbook photographer’s assistant, as they embark on a most unlikely romance in California’s San Fernando Valley.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/February2022/LicoricePizza_QnA_122119.aspx

Monday Jan 24, 2022
Cyrano with Joe Wright and Sam Taylor-Johnson (Ep. 346)
Monday Jan 24, 2022
Monday Jan 24, 2022
Director Joe Wright discusses his new film, Cyrano, with fellow director Sam Taylor-Johnson in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
Based on the play by Edmond Rostand, the film adds singing to the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, who can dazzle with a word or a sword but, convinced that his appearance makes such a romance impossible, cannot declare his love for his beautiful friend Roxanne.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/February2022/Cyrano_QnA_1221.aspx

Wednesday Jan 19, 2022
The Unforgivable with Nora Fingscheidt and Suzi Yoonessi (Ep. 345)
Wednesday Jan 19, 2022
Wednesday Jan 19, 2022
Director Nora Fingscheidt discusses her new film, The Unforgivable, with fellow director Suzi Yoonessi in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film tells the story of Ruth Slater, a woman recently released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime. As she attempts to re-enter a society that refuses to forgive her past, her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/Unforgivable_QnA_1221.aspx

Thursday Jan 13, 2022
Nightmare Alley with Guillermo del Toro and Tim Blake Nelson (Ep. 344)
Thursday Jan 13, 2022
Thursday Jan 13, 2022
Director Guillermo del Toro discusses his new film, Nightmare Alley, with fellow director Tim Blake Nelson in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York.
Set in 1940s New York, the film weaves the tale of a down-on-his-luck hustler who teams up with a clairvoyant and her mentalist husband to scam the wealthy.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/NightmareAlley_QnA_1221.aspx

Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Bruised with Halle Berry and David E. Talbert (Ep. 343)
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Director Halle Berry discusses her new film, Bruised, with fellow director David E. Talbert in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film tells the story of mixed martial arts contestant Jackie Justice, who has failed at the one thing she's ever been good at - fighting. When the young son she abandoned years ago returns to her doorstep, Jackie must conquer her demons both inside and outside the cage.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/Bruised_QnA_1221.aspx

Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Belfast with Kenneth Branagh and Christopher Nolan (Ep. 342)
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Director Kenneth Branagh discusses his new film, Belfast, with fellow director Christopher Nolan in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The semi-autobiographical tale follows a working-class family and their nine-year-old son during the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital, where political and religious clashes turn their world upside down and change their lives forever.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/Belfast_QnA_1221.aspx

Friday Dec 24, 2021
West Side Story with Steven Spielberg and Damien Chazelle (Ep. 341)
Friday Dec 24, 2021
Friday Dec 24, 2021
Director Steven Spielberg discusses his new film, West Side Story, with fellow director Damien Chazelle in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film retells the story of Tony and Maria, two teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds and rival gangs who fall in love in 1950s New York City. But tensions between their respective friends set them on a path toward tragedy.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/WestSideStory_QnA_1221.aspx

Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Being the Ricardos with Aaron Sorkin and David O. Russell (Ep. 340)
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Director Aaron Sorkin discusses his new film, Being the Ricardos, with fellow director David O. Russell in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film revisits the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as their complex relationship is threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/BeingTheRicardos_QnA_1221.aspx

Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Red Rocket with Sean Baker and Lizzie Borden (Ep. 339)
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Director Sean Baker discusses his new film, Red Rocket, with fellow director Lizzie Borden in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film follows Mikey, who after failing in his adult film career, comes home to a town that doesn’t want him back and clashes with his estranged wife and her family.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/RedRocket_QnA_122104.aspx

Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Ghostbusters: Afterlife with Jason Reitman and Eli Roth (Ep. 338)
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Director Jason Reitman discusses his new film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with fellow director Eli Roth in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
Set three decades after the original Ghostbusters, the film tells the story of a single mother and her two children who move to a small town in Oklahoma, where they discover their connection to the Ghostbusters and their grandfather’s secret legacy.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/GhostbustersAL_QnA_1121.aspx

Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
C’mon C’mon with Mike Mills and Spike Jonze (Ep. 337)
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Director Mike Mills discusses his new film, C'mon C'mon, with fellow director Spike Jonze in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. The film tells the story of a man who forms a bond with his sister's son when they are thrown together on a cross-country trip.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/CmonCmon_QnA_1121.aspx

Friday Dec 17, 2021
Red Notice with Rawson Marshall Thurber and Jaume Collet-Serra (Ep. 336)
Friday Dec 17, 2021
Friday Dec 17, 2021
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber discusses his new film, Red Notice, with fellow director Jaume Collet-Serra in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, the film follows FBI profiler John Hartley, who is forced to partner with the world's greatest and most notorious art thieves on a daring heist.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/RedNotice_QnA_1121.aspx

Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
A Hero with Asghar Farhadi and Ritesh Batra (Ep. 335)
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Director Asghar Farhadi discusses his new film, A Hero, with fellow director Ritesh Batra in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. The film tells the story of Rahim, a man imprisoned because of a debt he was unable to repay. When he receives a two-day leave, he is confronted with a crisis he would never have imagined.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/GCS_AHero_1120.aspx

Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Swan Song with Benjamin Cleary and Kari Skogland (Ep. 334)
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Director Benjamin Cleary discusses his new film, Swan Song, with fellow director Kari Skogland in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film follows a man who is diagnosed with a terminal illness as he considers whether to engage in an experimental trial that would allow him to shield his loved ones from grief.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/SwanSong_QnA_1121.aspx

Monday Dec 13, 2021
Don’t Look Up with Adam McKay and Barry Jenkins (Ep. 333)
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Director Adam McKay discusses his new film, Don't Look Up, with fellow director Barry Jenkins in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles.
The film tells the story of two Michigan State astronomers who discover a planet-killing comet the size of Mount Everest is hurtling toward the Earth. With only six months until the comet makes impact, they embark on a media tour to try to get the world to take the situation seriously before it's too late.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/DontLookUp_QnA_1121.aspx

Thursday Dec 09, 2021
Violet with Justine Bateman and Aaron Schneider (Ep. 332)
Thursday Dec 09, 2021
Thursday Dec 09, 2021
Director Justine Bateman discusses her new film, Violet, with fellow director Aaron Schneider in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. The film tells the story of a film executive named Violet who realizes that she has spent years letting fear drive her every decision and must learn to silence her relentlessly negative inner thoughts to live life show she wants.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/January2022/Violet_QnA_1121.aspx

The Director's Cut
Formed in 1936 to protect the economic and creative rights of Hollywood film Directors, the Directors Guild of America has been committed to upholding those core values ever since. A longstanding tradition of the Guild is for its members to share the knowledge of their craft with future generations, so through The Director’s Cut we bring insights from some of today’s best Directors to you.
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