The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

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.

Director Gareth Edwards discusses his new film and the latest installment in the Star Wars saga, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The film takes place just before the first Star Wars film (Episode IV: A New Hope), and tells the story of a small group of rebel soldiers and their desperate gambit to capture the plans for the under-construction Death Star.

Famed Spanish Director Pedro Almodóvar discusses his newest film, Julieta. The film tells the story of a middle-aged woman who tries to reconnect with her estranged daughter who deserted her 12 years earlier after the death of their respective husband and father. Almodóvar’s 20th feature explores the complexity of fate, guilt, the mystery that leads us to erase people we love from our lives as if they had never existed, and a mother’s struggle to survive uncertainty. The director speaks in English and Spanish, with a translator.

Director Warren Beatty discusses his new film, Rules Don't Apply, with Robert Benjamin. Set during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the film tells the story a young, aspiring actress under contract by Howard Hughes who develops an attraction for her driver. Their mutual attraction violates Hughes' rule that no employee may have a relationship with a contract actress.

Director Ang Lee discusses his new film, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, with Robert Weide. The film tells the story of Billy Lynn, a 19-year-old Army Private who is hailed as a hero in the US after a battle in Iraq. Brought home for a victory tour culminating in a spectacular halftime show at the Thanksgiving Day football game, Lynn experiences a series of flashbacks that reveal what really happened to his squad.