

The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast
Directors Guild of America
Brought to you by the Directors Guild of America, ”The Director’s Cut” will bring you the behind-the-scenes stories of today’s most talked about films. Each episode features a different director interviewed by one of their peers, leading to revealing conversations about the grueling, but rewarding process of bringing their films to life.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 13, 2019 • 34min
Official Secrets with Gavin Hood and Phillip Noyce (Ep. 217)
Director Gavin Hood discusses his film, Official Secrets, with fellow director Phillip Noyce. The film tells the true story of Katharine Gun, a British intelligence specialist who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to collect compromising information on UN members and blackmail them into sanctioning 2003 invasion of Iraq.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Oct2019/GavinHoodDiscussesOfficialSecrets_QnA_0919.aspx

Aug 28, 2019 • 39min
Blinded by the Light with Gurinder Chadha and Catherine Hardwicke (Ep. 216)
Director Gurinder Chadha discusses her film, Blinded by the Light, with fellow director Catherine Hardwicke. The film tells the story of Javed, a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in 1987 England amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the Thatcher era. He writes poetry to escape the intolerance of his hometown and the inflexibility of his traditional father, but when a classmate introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, "The Boss," his world is turned upside down.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/BlindedByTheLight_QnA_0819.aspx

Aug 23, 2019 • 35min
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson (Ep. 215)
Director Quentin Tarantino discusses his film, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, with fellow director Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles during the waning years of Hollywood's Golden Age, the film weaves together multiple storylines, following fading television actor Rick Dalton, his stunt double Cliff Booth, and his neighbor Sharon Tate during the months leading up to one fateful night in August 1969.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Oct2019/Tarantino_OnceUponATimeInHollywood_QnA_0919.aspx

Aug 16, 2019 • 27min
The Kitchen with Andrea Berloff and Lisa Cholodenko (Ep. 214)
Director Andrea Berloff discusses her film, The Kitchen, with fellow director Lisa Cholodenko. The film tells the story of three Hell's Kitchen housewives whose mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI in 1978. Forces to take matters into their own hands, the women prove to be unexpectedly adept at mob life -- running the gangs and taking out the competition.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/TheKitchen_QnA_0819.aspx

Aug 9, 2019 • 32min
Sword of Trust with Lynn Shelton and Jake Kasdan (Ep. 213)
Director Lynn Shelton discusses her film, Sword of Trust, with fellow director Jake Kasdan. The film tells the story of Cynthia, who learns that her inheritance from her deceased grandfather is an antique sword that he believed was proof that the South won the Civil War. To sell the sword, Cynthia and her friend Mary team up with a cantankerous pawnshop owner and his man-child employee, who've discovered there's a market for the relic.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/SwordOfTrust_QnA_0719.aspx

Jul 31, 2019 • 35min
The Lion King with Jon Favreau and Sam Raimi (Ep. 212)
Director Jon Favreau discusses his film, The Lion King, with fellow director Sam Raimi. A photorealistic remake of the 1994 animated film, the film follows lion prince Simba, the son of King Mufasa of Pride Rock. When Mufasa's death at the hands of his brother Scar results in SImba's exile (and Scar's ascension to the throne), Simba must make new friends, grow up and battle Scar to take back what is rightfully his.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Sept2019/LionKing_QnA_0719.aspx

Jul 12, 2019 • 38min
The Cold Blue with Erik Nelson and Sandra Luckow (Ep. 211)
Director Erik Nelson discusses her film, The Cold Blue, with fellow director Sandra Luckow. The film uses newly restored 4K footage and outtakes from DGA and Oscar-winning director William Wyler's 1944 documentary about the European air war during WWII, The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, as well as narration from surviving B-17 pilots to pay tribute to both Wyler and the men of the Eighth Air Force.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/August2019/NYDocSeries_TheColdBlue.aspx

Jun 28, 2019 • 33min
A Dog’s Journey with Gail Mancuso and Anne Fletcher (Ep. 210)
Director Gail Mancuso discusses her film, A Dog's Journey, with fellow director Anne Fletcher. In the sequel to Lasse Hallström's 2017 feature, A Dog's Purpose, the film brings back the continually reincarnated dog and follows his adventures through multiple lives filled with love, friendship and devotion to his human family.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/July2019/A_Dogs_Journey_QnA_0619.aspx

Jun 21, 2019 • 32min
Trial by Fire with Edward Zwick and Max Winkler (Ep. 209)
Director Edward Zwick discusses his film, Trial by Fire, with fellow director Max Winkler. The film tells the tragic and true story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of an arson-related triple homicide in 1992. During his 12 years on death row, he forms an unlikely bond with Elizabeth Gilbert, a Houston playwright who battles with the state to expose suppressed evidence that could save him.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/July2019/TrialByFire_QnA_0519.aspx

Jun 7, 2019 • 38min
Booksmart with Olivia Wilde and Nicole Holofcener (Ep. 208)
Director Olivia Wilde discusses her film, Booksmart, with fellow director Nicole Holofcener. The film follows, Molly and Amy, two overachieving high school seniors who try to make up for their all work and no play attitude by cramming four years' worth of partying into the night before graduation.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/July2019/Booksmart_QnA_0619.aspx


