The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Beth McCarthy-Miller moderates The Science of Laughter: An Evening with the Directing Team from The Big Bang Theory featuring Director Mark Cendrowski, Director/Line Producer Kristy Cecil, Director/Editor Peter Chakos, Director/Associate Director Gay Linvill, Director/2nd AD Nikki Lorre and Director/1st AD Anthony Rich.
The discussion covers a variety of topics including the demands of single vs multi-camera shows, the benefits of working on a show with such a long-running history, and the scenes that terrified the directors when they read the script.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/April2019/BigBangTheory-_Event_0219.aspx

Director Alison Klayman discusses her film, The Brink, with fellow director Kristi Jacobson. The film follows political consultant and former Trump administration chief strategist Steve Bannon on his global mission to spread extreme nationalism, tracking his moves through the 2018 American mid-term elections and shedding light on his efforts to mobilize and unify far right parties around the world.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/May2019/NYDocSeries_TheBrink.aspx

Director J.C. Chandor discusses his film, Triple Frontier, with fellow director Tony Gilroy. The film tells the story of five former Special Forces operatives who reunite to rob a cocaine cartel boss in a sparsely populated multi-border zone of South America. When events take an unexpected turn and threaten to spiral out of control, their skills, their loyalties, and their morals are pushed to a breaking point in an epic battle for survival.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/May2019/TripleFrontier_QnA_0319.aspx

Director Robert Mapplethorpe discusses his film, Mapplethorpe, with fellow director Maria Burton. The film follows iconic photographer Robert Mapplethorpe -- whose portraits, still lifes and chronicles of New York City's underground BDSM scene inspired censorship debates throughout the 1980s and remain touchstones of 20th century photography -- from his rise to fame in the 1970s to his untimely death in 1989.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/April2019/Mapplethorpe_QnA_0319.aspx

Director Stephen Merchant discusses his film, Fighting With My Family, with fellow director Rawson Marshall Thurber. Based on the true story of wrestling superstar Saraya "Paige" Bevis, who grew up in a tight-knit wrestling family that earned their living traveling around England performing. When Paige earns a spot in the highly WWE training program, she must find the courage to leaver her family and face this new world alone.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/April2019/FightingWithMyFamily_QnA_0219.aspx

Director Adam Robitel discusses his film, Escape Room, with fellow director Christopher Landon. Capturing the cultural zeitgeist of puzzle-box escape rooms, the film follows a group of adventurous game players vying to win $10,000 by cracking a series of puzzles in a mysterious building.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/March2019/EscapeRoom_QnA_0119.aspx

Ben Stiller (Escape at Dannemora), David Leveaux (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert), Alex Rudzinski(Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert), and Jean-Marc Vallee (Sharp Objects) participate in the Meet the Nominees: Movies for Television and Limited Series Symposium. Nominees Cary Joji Fukunaga (Maniac) and Barry Levinson (Paterno)were not available to participate.
The discussion covers a variety of topics including the director's approaches to casting, locations, and working with actors.

Jeremy Kagan moderates the 28th Annual DGA Meet the Nominees: Feature Film Symposium featuring Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Peter Farrelly, Spike Lee, and Adam McKay on their nominated films. Part three shares the nominees' thoughts on directing actors and knowing when you’ve gotten the performance. Highlights include Peter Farrelly commending his directorial team for helping him keep things moving, Adam Mckay sharing his amorphous directorial process, and Alfonso Cuarón sharing why you can't trust dailies and can only judge a moment in context.

Jeremy Kagan moderates the 28th Annual DGA Meet the Nominees: Feature Film Symposium featuring Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Peter Farrelly, Spike Lee, and Adam McKay on their nominated films. Part two shares the nominees' thoughts on casting. Highlights include how Peter Farrelly convinced Viggo Mortensen to take on the role of Tony Lip, why Alfonso Cuarón doesn't believe in directing kids, and how Bradley Cooper fared years ago during an audition for Spike Lee.

Jeremy Kagan moderates the 28th Annual DGA Meet the Nominees: Feature Film Symposium featuring Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Peter Farrelly, Spike Lee, and Adam McKay on their nominated films. Topics for part one include the nominees' thoughts on the night before the shoot and how they handle the immense pressure that comes with directing a film.

Director Matthew Miguel Cullen discusses his film, London Fields, The Director's Cut, with fellow director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film weaves the tale of Nicola Six, a femme-fatale who ensnares three men into a love affair. The twist: she knows that one of these men will ultimately become her murderer.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Jan2019/LondonFields_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Anne Fletcher discusses her film, Dumplin', with fellow director Adam Shankman. The film tells the story of Willowdean "Dumplin'" Dickson, a plus-size teenager living in the shadow of her former beauty queen mother. To prove a point about measuring up and fitting in, Dumplin' signs up for her mom's Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Feb2019/Dumplin_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Peter Hedges discusses his film, Ben is Back, with fellow director Craig Johnson. The film tells the story of Ben Burns, a young man who unexpectedly returns home on Christmas Eve after spending time in a treatment center following a heroin overdose. While his mother is happy to see her son returned, she is worried about his ability to remain clean and ready to do everything in her power to keep him and the rest of her family safe.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Feb2019/BenisBack_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Adam McKay discusses his film, Vice, with fellow director Gus Van Sant. Inspired by true events, the film follows Dick Cheney as he moves from being a Washington insider and a bureaucrat to George W. Bush's Vice President and one of the most powerful men in the world, creating policies that changed the country and world in ways that are still felt today.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Feb2019/VICE_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Brady Corbet discusses his film, Vox Lux, with fellow director John Krokidas. The film tells the story of Celeste, a young singer who had a meteoric rise to fame after she survived a violent tragedy as a teenager and captured the nation's attention when she sang at the memorial service. Years later, the now superstar celebrity must deal with the aftermath of a scandalous incident which could derail her career.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Feb2019/VoxLux_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Susanne Bier discusses her film, Bird Box, with fellow director Alison Maclean. Based on the novel by Josh Malerman, the film takes place in a world where an unseen force has decimated Earth's human population, and the only thing the survivors know for sure is if you see it, you die. Against these odds a woman and her children attempt a perilous journey though the woods and down a river to find sanctuary, but in order to stay alive, they must complete the trip while blindfolded.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Feb2019/BirdBox_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Mimi Leder discusses her film, On the Basis of Sex, with fellow director Sacha Gervasi. Inspired by the true story of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the film weaves together her career as an attorney fighting for equal rights with her storybook romance with her husband, Martin Ginsburg, and her life as a new mother.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Feb2019/OntheBasisofSex_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Karyn Kusama discusses her film, Destroyer, with fellow director Christopher Nolan. The film stars Nicole Kidman as LAPD detective Erin Bell, whose undercover assignment when she was a young cop - the infiltration of a gang in the California desert - ended tragically. When the leader of that gang re-emerges years later, she seeks to finally lay to rest her personal demons from that case.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Jan2019/Destroyer_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Rob Marshall discusses his film, Mary Poppins Returns, with fellow director Ron Howard. Drawn from the Mary Poppins stories by P.L. Travers, the film takes place in depression-era London during the 1930s, where the adult Jane and Michael Banks find themselves in need of Mary Poppins' magical abilities once again after the family suffers a devastating loss.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Jan2019/MaryPoppinsReturns_QnA_1218.aspx

Director Suzi Yoonessi discusses her film, Unlovable, with fellow director Alethea Jones. The film tells the story of Joy, a woman who joins a 12-step program to take control of her sex and love addiction after losing her boyfriend and her job and surviving a suicide attempt. After seeking help, she finds a sponsor and discovers the beauty of platonic friendship when she begins making music with a socially inept musician named Jim.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Jan2019/Unlovable_QnA_1118.aspx