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

Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Motherless Brooklyn with Edward Norton and Mike Binder (Ep. 232)
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Director Edward Norton discusses his new film, Motherless Brooklyn, with fellow director Mike Binder. Based on the novel by JOnathan Lethem, the film follows Lionel Essrog, a private detective with Tourette's syndrome who uncovers a web of corruption in 1950s New York while investigating the murder of his mentor.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/MotherlessBrooklyn_QnA_1119.aspx

Friday Nov 15, 2019
Queen & Slim with Melina Matsoukas and M. Night Shyamalan (Ep. 231)
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Director Melina Matsoukas discusses her new film, Queen & Slim, with fellow director M. Night Shyamalan. The film follows Queen and Slim, whose first date takes an unexpected turn when they are pulled over for a minor traffic violation. After the situation escalates and Slim shoot the police officers in self-defense, the couple become unwitting outlaws and a viral symbol of trauma, terror and pain for people all over the country.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/QueenSlim_QnA_1119.aspx

Friday Nov 15, 2019
Citizen K with Alex Gibney and Matthew Heineman (Ep. 230)
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Director Alex Gibney discusses his film, Citizen K, with fellow director Matthew Heineman. Photographed on location in the UK, Russia and Germany, the documentary follows Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the richest men in Russia who became known as the world-famous dissident "Citizen K" when he was imprisoned after a series of theatrical trials orchestrated by Vladimir Putin.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/NYDocSeries_CitizenK.aspx

Friday Nov 08, 2019
Little Women with Greta Gerwig and Rian Johnson (Ep. 229)
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Director Greta Gerwig discusses her new film, Little Women, with fellow director Rian Johnson. Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, the film follows four sisters in America—Amy, Jo, Beth and Meg—as they come of age in the aftermath of the Civil War.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/LittleWomen_QnA_1119.aspx

Friday Nov 08, 2019
Jojo Rabbit with Taika Waititi and Paul Downs Colaizzo (Ep. 228)
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Director Taika Waititi discusses his new film, Jojo Rabbit, with fellow director Paul Downs Colaizzo. Set during the waning days of World War II, the film tells the story of Jojo, a young boy whose only friend is an imaginary and idiotic projection of Adolf Hitler.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/JojoRabbit_QnA_1019.aspx

Friday Nov 08, 2019
The King with David Michôd and Neil Burger (Ep. 227)
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Director David Michôd discusses his new film, The King, with fellow director Neil Burger. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Prince Hal, who had turned his back on royal life to live among the people until the death of his tyrannical father. Now, crowned King Henry V, the young ruler is forced to embrace the world he had previously tried to escape.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/TheKing_QnA_1019.aspx

Friday Nov 01, 2019
The Lighthouse with Robert Eggers and Rian Johnson (Episode 226)
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Director Robert Eggers discusses his new film, The Lighthouse, with fellow director Rian Johnson. Set in 1980s New England, the film tells the hallucinatory story of a grizzled veteran seaman and a novice lighthouse keeper who are thrown together on a harsh assignment. As isolation and alcohol being to eat at their sanity, they become threatened by their own nightmares.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/Lighthouse_QnA_1019.aspx

Friday Nov 01, 2019
Pavarotti with Ron Howard and Ondi Timoner (Episode 225)
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Director Ron Howard discusses his new film, Pavarotti, with fellow director Ondi Timoner. The film examines the life and career of famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Featuring never-before-seen footage, concert performances and intimate interviews, the film takes an in-depth look at the lasting legacy of the musical icon affectionately dubbed "The People's Tenor."
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/LA_DocSeries_Pavarotti1019.aspx

Friday Oct 25, 2019
The Irishman with Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee (Episode 224)
Friday Oct 25, 2019
Friday Oct 25, 2019
Director Martin Scorsese discusses his new film, The Irishman, with fellow director Spike Lee. The film follows Frank Sheeran, a retired WWII veteran and former mob hitman, as he reflects on the moments that defined his career as a figure in organized crime, especially his role in the 1975 disappearance and murder of Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/Irishman_QnA_1019.aspx

Friday Oct 25, 2019
Friday Oct 25, 2019
Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon discusses his new film, The Current War: Director's Cut, with fellow director Jonathan Mostow. The film reveals how electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse engaged in a battle of technology and ideas to determine whether direct current or alternating current would power the modern world.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/CurrentWar_QnA_1019.aspx

Friday Oct 18, 2019
Friday Oct 18, 2019
As part of a special celebration for the grand re-opening of the DGA’s brand new, state-of-the-art theater in Los Angeles, Director Ridley Scott discussed his 1982 sc-fi classic, Blade Runner. Scott’s final cut version of the film was shown with Dolby Vision picture and Dolby Atmos sound.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/LA-TheaterReOpeningCelebration_091921.aspx

Friday Oct 18, 2019
Joker with Director Todd Phillips and Ivan Reitman (Episode 221)
Friday Oct 18, 2019
Friday Oct 18, 2019
Director Todd Phillips discusses his new film, Joker, with fellow director Ivan Reitman. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, the film examines the slow descent into madness of the man who would become Batman’s arch nemesis.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/Joker_QnA_1019.aspx

Friday Oct 11, 2019
Ad Astra with Director James Gray and Damien Chazelle (Episode 220)
Friday Oct 11, 2019
Friday Oct 11, 2019
Director James Gray discusses his new film, Ad Astra, with fellow director Damien Chazelle (First Man). The film stars Brad Pitt as a near-future astronaut who makes a daring voyage to discover the truth about his father (Tommy Lee Jones) who disappeared on a deep space mission 30 year prior. The journey will unravel a mystery that challenges the nature of human existence and threatens the survival of our planet.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/JamesGrayAD_ASTRA_QnA_0919.aspx

Friday Oct 11, 2019
Downton Abbey with Director Michael Engler and Ritesh Batra (Episode 219)
Friday Oct 11, 2019
Friday Oct 11, 2019
Director Michael Engler discusses his film, Downton Abbey, with fellow director Ritesh Batra. The film continues the story from the popular British show, as both the hosts and the help prepare for a royal visit from the King and Queen of England. Scandal, romance and intrigue will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/DowntonAbbey_QnA_0919.aspx

Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
Hustlers with Lorene Scafaria and Adam McKay (Ep. 218)
Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
Director Lorene Scafaria discusses her film, Hustlers, with fellow director Adam McKay. Inspired by a true story, the film stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu as two former strip club employees who join forces to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Nov2019/Hustlers_QnA_0919.aspx

Friday Sep 13, 2019
Official Secrets with Gavin Hood and Phillip Noyce (Ep. 217)
Friday Sep 13, 2019
Friday Sep 13, 2019
Director Gavin Hood discusses his film, Official Secrets, with fellow director Phillip Noyce. The film tells the true story of Katharine Gun, a British intelligence specialist who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to collect compromising information on UN members and blackmail them into sanctioning 2003 invasion of Iraq.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Oct2019/GavinHoodDiscussesOfficialSecrets_QnA_0919.aspx

Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Blinded by the Light with Gurinder Chadha and Catherine Hardwicke (Ep. 216)
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
Director Gurinder Chadha discusses her film, Blinded by the Light, with fellow director Catherine Hardwicke. The film tells the story of Javed, a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in 1987 England amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the Thatcher era. He writes poetry to escape the intolerance of his hometown and the inflexibility of his traditional father, but when a classmate introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, "The Boss," his world is turned upside down.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/BlindedByTheLight_QnA_0819.aspx

Friday Aug 23, 2019
Friday Aug 23, 2019
Director Quentin Tarantino discusses his film, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, with fellow director Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles during the waning years of Hollywood's Golden Age, the film weaves together multiple storylines, following fading television actor Rick Dalton, his stunt double Cliff Booth, and his neighbor Sharon Tate during the months leading up to one fateful night in August 1969.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Oct2019/Tarantino_OnceUponATimeInHollywood_QnA_0919.aspx

Friday Aug 16, 2019
The Kitchen with Andrea Berloff and Lisa Cholodenko (Ep. 214)
Friday Aug 16, 2019
Friday Aug 16, 2019
Director Andrea Berloff discusses her film, The Kitchen, with fellow director Lisa Cholodenko. The film tells the story of three Hell's Kitchen housewives whose mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI in 1978. Forces to take matters into their own hands, the women prove to be unexpectedly adept at mob life -- running the gangs and taking out the competition.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/TheKitchen_QnA_0819.aspx

Friday Aug 09, 2019
Sword of Trust with Lynn Shelton and Jake Kasdan (Ep. 213)
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Director Lynn Shelton discusses her film, Sword of Trust, with fellow director Jake Kasdan. The film tells the story of Cynthia, who learns that her inheritance from her deceased grandfather is an antique sword that he believed was proof that the South won the Civil War. To sell the sword, Cynthia and her friend Mary team up with a cantankerous pawnshop owner and his man-child employee, who've discovered there's a market for the relic.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/SwordOfTrust_QnA_0719.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.
If you enjoyed The Director’s Cut, please subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean or your favorite podcast app so you won’t miss an episode.