The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Asghar Farhadi discusses his new film, The Salesman, with fellow director Victoria Hochberg. The film follows a young couple as they rent a new apartment from a fellow performer in a local production of Death of a Salesman, unaware that the previous tenant allegedly pursued a career in prostitution.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film of 2017.

Director Mike Mills discusses his new film, 20th Century Women, with Marc Webb. Loosely based on his own childhood, the film follows Dorothea, a single mother raising her adolescent son in Santa Barbara, CA during the cultural revolution of late 1970s. To help steer him through the chaos, Dorothea calls on the help of a punk photographer, a mellow handyman, and her son's best friend to serve as role models.

Director Peter Berg discusses his new film, Patriots Day, with Edward Zwick. The film tells the story of the Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, 2013. The film weaves together the stories of the heroic first responders and investigators who raced against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they could strike again.

Director John Lee Hancock discusses his new film, The Founder, with Jonathan Mostow. The film tells the story of Ray Kroc, a floundering Illinois salesman, who connects with Mac and Dick McDonald, two brothers running a burger operation in southern California in the 1950s. When Kroc realizes the franchise possibilities, he maneuvers himself into a position to buy them out and create a fast-food empire which would eventually become McDonald's.

Director Garth Davis discusses his new film, Lion, with James Ponsoldt. Based on the nonfiction book A Long Way Home, Lion tells the incredible story of Saroo Brierly, a five-year-old boy who gets lost on a train hundreds of miles away from his family. After surviving on the streets of Calcutta, he is eventually adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, Saroo uses Google Earth to reunite with his family in India.

Mr. Davis was nominated for the DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Feature Film, as well as, Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for directing this film.

Director Theodore Melfi discusses his new film, Hidden Figures, with John Patrick Shanley. Based on the nonfiction book of the same name, the film tells the story of Katharine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan, three African-American female mathematicians who were the brains behind the launch that sent astronaut John Glenn into orbit around the Earth and safely back home.

Director Martin Scorsese discusses his new film, Silence, with Alexander Payne. Based on a novel by Shusaku Endo, the film follows two Jesuit missionaries who travel to Japan, where Christianity is outlawed, in search of their missing mentor.

Director Taylor Hackford discusses his new film, The Comedian, with fellow director David O. Russell. The film stars Robert De Niro as Jackie Burke, a comedian on the downside of his career whose efforts at reinvention are stymied because his fans only want to see him as the television character he once played. After an incident with an audience members gets him sentenced to community service, he finds inspiration in the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul.

Director Damien Chazelle discusses his new film, La La Land, with fellow director Jon Favreau. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, the film tells the story of an aspiring actress and a jazz musician who embark on a whirlwind romance as they struggle to make ends meet and find success in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts.

Mr. Chazelle was nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2016 for directing this film.

Director Stephen Gaghan discusses his new film, Gold, with fellow director Sam Esmail. Based on true events, the film tells the story of a businessman who teams up with a geologist to search for gold deep in the uncharted jungles of Indonesia. After making the find of the century, their operation draws the unwanted attention of both the FBI and the Indonesian military.