The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Episode 46: Fences with Denzel Washington and Bennett Miller

Director Denzel Washington discusses his new film, Fences, with Bennett Miller. Set in the 1950s, Fences follows the story of a former baseball player who struggles to come to grips with his current situation and hold his family together when events threaten to tear it apart.

Episode 45: Bleed for This with Ben Younger and Tod WiIlliams

Director Ben Younger discusses his new film, Bleed for This, with Tod Williams. Based on a true story, the film stars Miles Teller as Vinny Pazienza, a junior champion boxer forced to relinquish his title after breaking his neck in a serious accident. Determined to regain his crown, he and his trainer defied medical orders to make a return to the sport he loved.

Episode 44: Loving with Jeff Nichols and James Gray

Director Jeff Nichols discusses his new film, Loving, with James Gray. The film tells the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who marry in Washington, D.C. in the late 1950s. When they are arrested and imprisoned in their hometown in Virginia, where their marriage was illegal at the time, they pursue a civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, which is ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Episode 43: Neruda with Pablo Larraín and Victoria Hochberg

Director Pablo Larraín discusses his new film, Neruda, with Victoria Hochberg. The film tells the story of the 1948 manhunt for the poet and politician Pablo Neruda, who is forced underground and into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with an ambitious police inspector when Communism is outlawed in Chile. The film is Chile's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Episode 42: Manchester by the Sea with Kenneth Lonergan and Bob Balaban

Director Kenneth Lonergan discusses his new film, Manchester by the Sea, with Bob Balaban. The film tells the story of a Boston janitor who becomes the sole guardian of his 16-year-old nephew after the sudden death of his brother. He reluctantly returns to his hometown and attempts to deal with the life and family he had left behind.
Mr. Lonergan was nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2016 for directing this film.

Episode 41: Miss Sharon Jones! with Barbara Kopple and Shari Springer Berman

Director Barbara Kopple discusses her new film, Miss Sharon Jones!, with Shari Springer Berman. The film follows the R&B and soul singer Sharon Jones during the most challenging year of her life when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before the release of her album, Give the People What They Want.

Episode 40: Hacksaw Ridge with Mel Gibson and John Polson

Director Mel Gibson discusses his new film, Hacksaw Ridge, with John Polson. The film follows the remarkable story of Desmond T. Doss, a World War II army medic, who saved 75 soldiers from the front lines of Battle of Okinawa without ever firing a single shot.

Episode 39: American Pastoral with Ewan McGregor and Mike Mills

Director Ewan McGregor discusses his new film, American Pastoral, with Mike Mills. Based on the 1997 novel by Phillip Roth, the film centers on Seymour "Swede" Levov, a successful businessman who lives an idyllic life with his wife and daughter. When a stunning act of violence is blamed on Swede's missing daughter, he must confront the consequences of her political activism as he searches for her.

Episode 38: The Birth of A Nation with Nate Parker and Jeffrey Byrd

Director Nate Parker discusses his new film, The Birth of a Nation, with Jeffrey Byrd. The film tells the true story of Nat Turner: a literate slave living on a Virginia plantation in the early 1800s who is forced to preach obedience to other slaves. When Turner witnesses atrocities committed against other slaves, he orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
Mr. Parker was nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for 2016 for directing this film.

Episode 37: Command and Control with Robert Kenner and Chuck Workman

Director Robert Kenner discusses his new film, Command and Control, with Chuck Workman. The film chronicles the nine-hour ordeal that occurred at an Arkansas missile complex in September 1980. After a worker drops a socket and accidentally punctures the fuel tank of an intercontinental ballistic missile, drastic measures must be taken to avoid a deadly nuclear explosion.

Episode 36: Denial with Mick Jackson and Jeremy Kagan

Director Mick Jackson discusses his new film, Denial, with Jeremy Kagan. Based on the book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier, the film follows Deborah Lipstadt's court battle against David Irving, who sues her for libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier.

Episode 35: Solitary with Kristi Jacobson and Nanette Burstein

Director Kristi Jacobson discusses her new documentary, Solitary, with Nanette Burstein. With unprecedented access, the film takes a disturbing look at one of the most controversial aspects of America’s modern prison-industrial-complex: solitary confinement.

Episode 34 Silver Skies with Rosemary Rodriguez and Arthur Seidelman

Director Rosemary Rodriguez discusses her new film, Silver Skies, with director Arthur Allan Seidelman. The film follows a group of eccentric retirees who find their lives turned upside down when they learn that their beloved apartment complex is being converted to condominiums.

Episode 33: Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You with Heidi Ewing, Norman Lear, & Chuck Workman

Director Heidi Ewing discusses her new film with Rachel Grady, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, with Director Chuck Workman and its subject Norman Lear. The documentary paints a dynamic portrait of the influential creator, writer, and producer, exploring his work and achievements through shows such as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons.

Episode 32: Deepwater Horizon with Peter Berg and Nick Cassevettes

Director Peter Berg discusses his new film, Deepwater Horizon, with Director Nick Cassevetes. The film follows the true events around the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, 2010.

Episode 31: Queen Of Katwe with Mira Nair and Ava DuVernay

Director Mira Nair discusses her new film, Queen of Katwe, with Director Ava DuVernay. The film tells the true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young woman who overcomes her impoverished circumstance to become an international chess champion.

Episode 30: Star Trek Beyond with Justin Lin and Joe Russo

Director Justin Lin discusses his new film, Star Trek Beyond, with Director Joe Russo. The film finds the crew of the Starship Enterprise crash-landed on an unknown planet with a formidable foe seeking to destroy them and much more.

Episode 29: Life, Animated with Roger Ross Williams and Robert Weide

Director Roger Ross Williams discusses his new film, Life, Animated, with Director Robert Weide. The film follows the coming of age story of Owen Suskind, who was unable to speak for years as a child. Owen and his family eventually discovered a way to communicate using the classic Disney animated movies Owen loved to watch.

Episode 28: All Things Must Pass with Colin Hanks and Jeremy Kagan

Director Colin Hanks discusses his new film, All Things Must Pass, with Director Jeremy Kagan. The film charts the rise and fall of Tower Records, founded by Russ Solomon. From humble beginnings, Tower Records grew to become one of the music industry's most iconic retail stores.

Episode 27: The Craft Of Director with David O. Russell

Director David O. Russell engages in an in-depth discussion with Jeremy Kagan about his filmography, including Three Kings, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle.
Topics include thinking of a film's structure in terms of "waves" (10:00), auditioning Christian Bale for the role played by Spike Jonze in Three Kings (18:00), beginning every day on a shoot with a team "huddle" (35:00), and rehearsing a fight scene from The Fighter with Amy Adams at a Whole Foods at 10 o'clock at night (53:00).