The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Azazel Jacobs discusses his new film, His Three Daughters, with fellow Director David Zellner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses how his personal experiences informed the film, working with his cast to capture performances against their usual types, and shooting scenes in the same order as they happen in the film to allow the performances to...

Director Matt Tyrnauer discusses his new film, Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid!, with fellow Director Ondi Timoner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his cinema verite approach to the nuances of Carville’s life, puzzling where and how to include Carville’s wife, Mary Matalin in the film, and finding a new wind in his documentary following Joe...

Director Megan Park discusses her new film, My Old Ass, with fellow Director Siân Heder in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses finding and the means of capturing her tone, discovering scenes with the help of scouting the locations and the process of casting of Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza as the two leads. The film tells the story of teenager Elliott wh...

Director Austin Peters discusses his new film, Skincare, with fellow Director Mimi Cave in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses striving for a more authentic LA than the Hollywood image, creating something within the “Sunshine Noir” genre and working with Elizabeth Banks to discover her character. The film tells the story of skincare mogul Hope Goldman, wh...

Director Fede Alvarez discusses his new film, Alien: Romulus, with fellow Director Leigh Whannell in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his process for crafting scenes, creating a believable relationship between a human and android character, and working with the effects team from previous films. This continuation of the Alien franchise tells the story o...

Director Lee Daniels discusses his new film, The Deliverance, with fellow Director Adam Shankman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses making a horror film for the first time with his characters at the forefront, playing with serious and campy tonal points, and discovering his portrayals of religious imagery while considering his own beliefs. The film te...

Director Irene Taylor discusses her new film, I Am: Celine Dion, with fellow Director Ondi Timoner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses discovering the purpose of her film as she was making it, Celine’s effort to participate more in the making of the film and being deliberate about how much she wanted to explore Celine’s stardom alongside more sensitiv...

Director Greg Berlanti discusses his new film, Fly Me to the Moon, with fellow Director Dan Gilroy in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses how his past work in film and television lead to him creating this film, utilizing authentic digital and practical production design to recreate aspects of the Apollo missions not seen before onscreen, and working with...

Director Ti West discusses his new film, MaXXXine, with fellow Director Sean Baker in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses filming his X trilogy without pause, working with Actor Mia Goth to develop her characters between each film, and using familiar film production steps as horror setpieces. The third entry in West’s trilogy of X films tells the story of...

Director Tony Goldwyn discusses his new film, Ezra, with fellow Director Michael Pressman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses accurately casting the role of Ezra, utilizing selective shooting styles to capture the emotion he aimed for, and working with his friend and screenwriter - whose own experience the film is based on - to craft this story. The film...

Director David Leitch discusses his new film, The Fall Guy, with fellow Director Jerry Zucker in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses striking a balance with the tension between jokes and action sequences, working with his actors to allow space for improvisation, and filming a meta-narrative feature that reveals how the magic tricks of movie stunts are acc...

Director George Miller discusses his new film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, with fellow Director Edgar Wright in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses utilizing Unreal Engine in his storyboarding process, utilizing a mixture of authentic locations and digital effects to achieve his vision, and the evolution of the series leading up to this installment. The preq...

Director Chris Pine discusses his new film, Poolman, with fellow Director Patty Jenkins in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses working with Actors as a Director who came from acting, his preference of shooting on film instead of digital, and learning to be intuitive when working with a small budget. The film tells the story of Darren, an unwavering optimi...

Director Yance Ford discusses his new film, Power, with fellow Director Kristi Jacobson in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses the endeavor of going through hundreds of years of archival material, how he wanted to challenge the notion of traditional experts in a documentary by approaching people from police-impacted communities, and the post production journ...

Director Wes Ball discusses his new film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, with fellow Director Barry Jenkins in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the importance of mis-en-scene and notes taken from his time helming the Maze Runner series, working in a production that relied heavily on mocap and digital replacement, and the unique process he underwent...

Director Lucy Walker discusses her new film, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, with fellow Director Ondi Timoner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses comparing and contrasting the act of mountain climbing with the struggle of personal life, exploring Lhakpa’s children’s arcs to add to the stakes of the story, and finding and fighting for th...

Director Michael Showalter discusses his new film, The Idea of You, with fellow Director Kay Cannon in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the in-depth process of casting the Hayes character, working with a songwriter who writes for real pop bands to make a full soundtrack, and taking care to craft a realistic story that respects the genre. The film tells...

Director Ned Benson discusses his new film, The Greatest Hits, with fellow Director Marc Webb in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses filming at landmark Los Angeles locations to ingrain the city as part of the story, working with the cinematographer to artistically convey the time traveling sequences, and working with his composer to craft a soundtrack th...

Directors David and Nathan Zellner discuss their new film, Sasquatch Sunset, with fellow Director James Ponsoldt in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they discuss working with actors who are performing in full makeup, their use of live animals throughout the film, and utilizing a score that integrates the sounds of nature as an instrument. The film tells the story o...

Director Robert Lorenz discusses his new film, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, with fellow Director Brian Helgeland in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses retaining the film’s authenticity in its Irish cast and texture of its 1970s setting, balancing the tone with moments of humor and severity, and using landscape shots of the remote Irish location to...

Director Michael Mohan discusses his new film, Immaculate, with fellow Director Adam Robitel in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses how his personal background played into his making of the film, his creative partnership with actress Sydney Sweeney on and off the camera, and using Italian locations to try and keep the setting in a timeless state. The film...

Director Maureen Bharoocha discusses her new film, The Prank, with fellow Director Lena Khan in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses the influence of Hitchcock and Heathers on her tone, utilizing the score to control tension throughout the film, and working with Rita Moreno to portray the Actor in her first villain role. The film follows Ben and Tanner, t...

Director Denis Villeneuve discusses his new film, Dune: Part Two, with fellow Director Steven Spielberg in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the throes of filming in the desert in comparison with Lawrence of Arabia, the comic and painterly inspirations for his imagery, and adjusting his adaptation to closer fit Frank Herbert’s original intentions. In th...

Director Jeff Wadlow discusses his new film, Imaginary, with fellow Director Ari Sandel in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses working with a child actor, creating his creatures with a renowned creature effect house, and collaborating with the film’s lead, DeWanda Wise, as a producing partner. The film follows Jessica, whose daughter develops an eerie att...

Director Johan Renck discusses his new film, Spaceman, with fellow Director Crystal Moselle in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses Adam Sandler’s casting and role in helping the film take off, consulting with real astronauts about the loneliness and melancholy of space, and working with an Actor and cgi character on a set simulating zero-g. The film tells th...