The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Damien Chazelle discusses his new film, Babylon, with fellow director Taylor Hackford in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Chazelle discusses the real-life figures who inspired the lead characters in the film, capturing the DNA of a "party movie" through the use of music, and crafting an atmosphere on set where life blends with art.
The film chronicles the rise and fall, outsized ambition, and outrageous excess of multiple characters during Hollywood’s transition from silent to sound films in the late 1920s.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/February2023/1222_QnA_Babylon.aspx

Director Darren Aronofsky discusses his new film, The Whale, with fellow director Greta Gerwig in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Aronofsky discusses the motivation behind the film's 4:3 aspect ratio, the textual references between the play, his adaptation and the novel, Moby Dick, and his collaboration with lead actor Brendan Fraser.
The film tells the story of Charlie, a reclusive English teacher whose guilt over abandoning his wife and baby daughter has led to a years-long eating disorder that now threatens his life. Faced with mortality, he attempts to make amends with the daughter he left behind.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/TheWhale_QnA_1222.aspx

Director Noah Baumbach discusses his new film, White Noise, with fellow director Todd Field in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Baumbach speaks about working with his actors during the month of rehearsal, the benefits of working with frequent and new collaborators, and how offering direction that includes physicality can be helpful to actors.
The film unveils the story of Jack Gladney, his wife Babette and their family, who must grapple with the universal mysteries of love, death, and happiness in an uncertain world after their lives are upended by a catastrophic train accident that spreads chemical waste over their town.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/WhiteNoise_QnA_1222.aspx

Director Marc Forster discusses his new film, A Man Called Otto, with fellow director Taylor Hackford in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Forster speaks about how he uses storyboards in his directorial process, his collaboration with Tom Hanks, and his approach to editing flashbacks in the film.
The film tells the story of Otto, a cantankerous grouch who's given up following the death of his wife. When a new family moves in nearby, he meets his match in Marisol, a quick-witted young woman who challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/AManCalledOtto_QnA_1222.aspx

Director Luca Guadagnino discusses his new film, Bones and All, with fellow director John Krokidas in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Guadagnino discusses working with frequent collaborators, his one month journey through the Midwest that prepared him to conceptualize the film, and making a film from the era rather than about the era.
The film tells the story of Maren, a young woman on the margins of society, and Lee, a disenfranchised drifter, who embark on an odyssey through the backroads of America and their own cannibalistic natures. However, despite their best efforts all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/BonesAndAll_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Werner Herzog discusses his new film, The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft, with fellow director Jeremy Kagan in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Herzog speaks about crafting the voiceover for the film during the edit, obtaining the groundbreaking footage shot by the two subjects, and modifying facts to resemble the truth.
Screened as part of the DGA's Documentary Series, the film crafts a fitting memorial to volcanologists and filmmakers Maurice and Katia Krafft, who were killed while filming the eruption of Japan's Mount Unzen on June 3, 1991.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/TheFireWithin_DocSeries_1122.aspx

Director Dean Craig discusses his new film, The Estate, with fellow director Alex Grossman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Craig speaks about encouraging actors to bring ideas to their roles, the perks of directing your own material, and how he prefers making shot lists over storyboarding.
In the film, two sisters are pitted against their greedy extended family members in a battle to win over their terminally ill, difficult to please Aunt, in hopes of becoming the beneficiaries of her wealth.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/TheEstate_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Mark Mylod discusses his new film, The Menu, with fellow director Lorene Scafaria in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Mylod speaks about his approach to building the ensemble of actors, finding places to put the camera in a mainly one-location film, and handling the controlled chaos of as movie set.
The film follows a young couple as they travel to a remote island to dine at an exclusive restaurant, only to find that the chef has prepared a few surprises along with the meal.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/Menu_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu discusses his new film, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, with fellow director Rodrigo García in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Iñárritu shares his thoughts on how fiction can elucidate truth, the four years of developing the script, and the joyful process of editing his own work.
The film follows a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker who is compelled to return to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will force him to grapple with intimate questions about identity, mortality, Mexican history, and what it means to be human in these peculiar times.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/Bardo_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Rian Johnson discusses his new film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, with fellow director Phil Lord in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Johnson talks about the movies that influenced the conception of Glass Onion, his process when working with his "family" of filmmaking collaborators, and how nostalgia for a specific genre can be an obstacle to making a film.
The film follows southern detective Benoit Blanc on a billionaire's lavish Greek island at a yearly reunion of a disparate group of friends. When one guest turns up dead, everyone becomes a suspect and must peel away the layers of their motivations, secrets, and lies.
This is a spoiler-free podcast.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/GlassOnion_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Ryan Coogler discusses his new film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with fellow director Tyler Perry in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Coogler talks about how he approached the tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman after his passing, writing and directing from his worst fears, and staying tapped into his inner child when faced with challenging directing decisions on the film.
The sequel to 2018's megahit Black Panther finds the people of Wakanda grieving the untimely death of King T'Challa and facing off against intervening world powers. However, when an advanced hidden nation threatens to destroy them, someone else must pick up the clawed gauntlet.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/BlackPantherWF_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Steven Spielberg discusses his new film, The Fabelmans, with fellow director Paul Thomas Anderson in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Spielberg discusses the development of the script with Tony Kushner, the process of directing Gabrielle LaBelle to play a version of himself, and the feeling of rediscovering his family through his camera.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/Fabelmans_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Tobias Lindholm discusses his new film, The Good Nurse, with fellow director Scott Cooper in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Lindholm talks about casting Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, wrestling with the true crime genre, and learning how to shoot diner scenes from David Fincher.
Based on true events, a nurse risks her life to uncover the truth after she begins to suspect her colleague is responsible for a series of mysterious patient deaths.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/TheGoodNurse_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Maria Schrader discusses her new film, She Said, with fellow director R.J. Cutler in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Schrader speaks about shooting in the New York Times building, communicating the humanity of the leads rather than portraying an heroic treatment, and what it was like showing the film to Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor.
The film recounts the true story of how New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor broke one of the most important stories in a generation - one which unveiled decades of silence on the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/SheSaid_QnA_1122.aspx

Director James Gray discusses his new film, Armageddon Time, with fellow director Matt Reeves in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Gray discusses reconstructing his past onscreen, directing the actors who played his real-life family, and portraying the melancholic tone of the movie.
The film follows Paul, a Jewish-American sixth grader who finds himself learning about racism and privilege against the backdrop of 1980s Queens.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/Armageddon-Time_QnA_1122.aspx

Director Evgeny Afineevsky discusses his new film, Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, with fellow director Raymond De Felitta in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Afineevsky shares insights about working with nine editors on the project, engaging a crew in Russia to shoot footage, and counteracting the propaganda war of the current conflict.
The film depicts Ukraine's battle for freedom following Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion in early 2022, as told through the personal stories of civilians, children, soldiers, and doctors.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/FreedomOnFire_DocSeries_1022.aspx

Director Phyllis Nagy discusses her new film, Call Jane, with fellow director Sarah Pirozek in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Nagy discusses directing actor/directors, the intentional performers who make up the soundtrack, and how restrictions make for interesting choices.
Set in Chicago in 1968, the film follows Joy, a conservative housewife and mother who is faced with a devastating diagnosis when her second pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition. Unable to get an exemption for a legal abortion, she turns to a clandestine group of women for help.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/CallJane_QnA_1022.aspx

Director Martin McDonagh discusses his new film, The Banshees of Inisherin, with fellow director Jeremy Kagan in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, McDonagh discusses his rehearsal process, how he approached the tone of the film, and utilizing the innocent lens of animals.
Set on a remote island near Ireland's west coast, the film follows the shocking series of events that ensue when Colm tries to abruptly end a lifelong friendship with Padraic, while Padraic refuses to take no for an answer.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/Banshees_QnA_1022.aspx

Director Chinonye Chukwu discusses her new film, Till, with fellow director David Oyelowo in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Chukwu speaks about the care necessary in depicting the tragic story, the political act of where to face the camera, and how she is not precious with her footage during the edit.
Based on the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley, the film recounts her relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old Emmet Till, who in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/December2022/TILL_QnA_1022.aspx

Director Todd Field discusses his new film, Tár, with fellow director Greta Gerwig in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Fields speaks about choosing to move the camera less, dealing with "romance vs. finance" conflict during production, and working with Cate Blanchett to form the central character.
Set in the international world of classical music, the film follows groundbreaking composter/ conductor Lydia Tear, as her life begins to unravel while preparing both a book launch and much-anticipated live performance of Mahler's Fifth symphony.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
Director Joseph Kosinski discusses his new film, Top Gun: Maverick, with fellow director Jason Reitman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they speak about how Top Gun came into his life (the first and second time), convincing Tom Cruise to hop back into the cockpit, and the complex process of shooting the actors while flying inside the jets.
The sequel film takes us back down the highway to the danger zone as pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who has spent more than thirty years dodging a promotion that would ground him, is called up on to use his skills to train a detachment of graduates for a perilous special assignment.
Please note: spoilers are included.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/July2022/TopGunMaverick_QnA_0622.aspx