The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Michael B. Jordan discusses his new film, Creed III, with fellow director Tim Miller in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Jordan discusses the challenge of directing himself, how the fight scenes were another language within the film, and how anime allowed the themes of the story to resonate.

The film follows boxing champion Adonis Creed as he is forced to put his future on the line when a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy resurfaces after serving time in prison, eager to settle an old score and prove that he deserves his shot in the ring.

Please note: spoilers are included.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/April2023/Creed003_QnA_0323.aspx

Director Alice Diop discusses her new film, Saint Omer, with fellow director Dee Rees in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, Diop speaks about finding ways to expand the court room visually, how her personal experience of watching the trial informed her direction, and relying on intuition to lead her through the making of the film.

Based on true events, the film tells the story of Rama, a successful author living in Paris, who travels to the northern town of Saint Omer to attend the trial of a young Senegalese women accused of murdering her baby daughter. Rama's plan to write a book about the case unravels when she is forced to reckon with memories of her own immigrant mother as well as her impending motherhood.

Please note: spoilers are included.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/March2023/GCS_SaintOmer_0123.aspx

Director Michael Showalter discusses his new film, Spoiler Alert, with fellow director Charles Rogers in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Showalter speaks about earning an emotional reaction to the film through technique, dealing with characters who use humor as a coping mechanism, and working with how an actor interprets a character naturally.

Based on Michael Ausiello's 2017 memoir, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies, the film follows the final 11-months of Manhattan photographer Kit Cowan's life from his terminal cancer diagnosis to his death, told through the eyes of Ausiello, his spouse.

Please note: spoilers are included.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/February2023/1222_QnA_SpoilerAlert.aspx

Director Sam Mendes discusses his new film, Empire of Light, with fellow director Karyn Kusama in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Mendes speaks about directing (recreating) scenes from his life, making films audiences can connect to, and relaying the cinematic experiences.

Set on the South coast of England in the 1980s, the film follows Hilary, a lonely woman who works at a seaside movie palace and is engaged in a boring affair with her married boss, Donald. When Stephen, a young new theater employee arrives on the scene, Hilary senses something kindred in him and they fall into a tenuous romance.

Please note: spoilers are included.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/EmpireOfLight_QnA_1222.aspx

Director Scott Cooper discusses his new film, The Pale Blue Eye, with fellow director David O. Russell in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Cooper speaks about his belief in the importance of restraint in period movies, his collaboration with Christian Bale, and what helps the audience give themselves over to a film.

The film brings us the story of a veteran detective who is hired to delve into the murder of a West Point cadet, but finds himself stalled by the cadets' code of silence. In order to solve the mystery, he enlists the help of one of their own, a young Edgar Allen Poe.

Please note: spoilers are included.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/January2023/PaleBlueEye_QnA_1222.aspx

Director James Cameron discusses his new film, Avatar: The Way of Water, with fellow director Guillermo del Toro in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, Cameron speaks about working with Sigourney Weaver to develop her unique character, the innovative tech necessary for the film (and its upcoming sequels) and the groundbreaking process of underwater performance capture.

The long-awaited sequel to Cameron’s DGA Award-nominated feature, Avatar, The Way of Water is set a decade after the events of the first film and follows human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully, who must find a safe haven for his family when old foes return to ravage their beautiful home and destroy their harmonious way of life.

Please note: spoilers are included.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2023/February2023/1222_QnA_Avatar.aspx

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