Claim OwnershipThe Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast
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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.
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Director Richard Linklater discusses his new film, Nouvelle Vague, with fellow Director Jason Reitman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the challenges of making a French film without being fluent in the language, how he recreated the shooting of the original Breathless by researching the documentation left behind by the original production, and the clever and subtle use of visual effects to recreate the film’s time period.
The film tells the story of a young Jean-Luc Godard, who gives up writing for a French film magazine to make movies himself. With help from François Truffaut to write a treatment and assistance from Georges de Beauregard to fund the feature, Godard brings to life his vision for a film called Breathless.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2026/january2026/nouvellevague_qna_1125
Director Chloé Zhao discusses her new film, Hamnet, with fellow Director Barry Jenkins in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses working with Writer Maggie O’Farrell and their different experiences with Shakespeare, collaborating with Cinematographer Lukasz Zal and how they captured images invoking the void, and her process of working with Actors to channel their unconscious selves in their performances.
Based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, the film follows Agnes and William Shakespeare as they live a pastoral life with their family. When their young son Hamnet dies, they both deal with the loss in their own respective ways, sowing the seeds for the creation of the classic play Hamlet.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2026/january2026/hamnet_qna_1125
Director Edgar Wright discusses his new film, The Running Man, with fellow Director Daniel Scheinert in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the vast number of locations where the film was shot, how he favored practical effects work and his attitudes on computer generated effects, and his vision for a dystopian future where technology simultaneously regresses as it advances.
The film tells the story of Ben Richards, a working-class man in a near future society who is convinced to enter the popular and deadly television show The Running Man as a last resort to escape poverty. But as the show hunts him down, Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into a fan favorite and a threat to the entire system as he must outwit not just the game’s hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2026/january2026/runningman_qna_1125
Director Sean McNamara discusses his new film, Soul on Fire, with fellow Director Dean Alioto in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses finding a balance in humor throughout the story as a reflection of the real John’s personality, how he works with his Actors and puts emphasis his rehearsal process, and incorporating the real John O’Leary with some creative filmmaking tactics.
The film tells the true story of John O’Leary, who survived a tragic accident as a young boy that left him severely burned all over his body. Recovering from his injury, he goes on to become a motivational speaker and inspire millions of people to make the world a better place.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/soulonfire_qna_1125
Director Ben Stiller discusses his new film, Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost, with fellow Director Ethan Hawke in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses how the project began as a reaction after his father passed, how the title originated from some of his mother’s personal philosophies, and how interviewing his family members and going through archives revealed much about his parents he did not know.
Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film tells the story of comedic duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, exploring their impact both on popular culture and at home. In the process, Ben turns the camera on himself to examine the generational lessons we all can learn from those we love.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/docseries_stillerandmeara-1125
Director Noah Baumbach discusses his new film, Jay Kelly, with fellow Director Todd Field in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses finding inspiration in Fellini, Bergman and other self-reflective cinema, the technical process behind filming the flashback sequences, and how he tailored the lead roles to Actors George Clooney and Adam Sandler.
The film tells the story of movie star Jay Kelly and his devoted manager as they take a whirlwind trip through Europe. Along the way, their journey becomes unexpectedly profound as they are forced to confront their choices, relationships, and the legacies they'll leave behind.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/jaykelly_qna_1125
Director Nia DaCosta discusses her new film, Hedda, with fellow Director Daniel Scheinert in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses her philosophies on adaptations and how that played into making this film, the importance of party, drug and gun cultures to the making of this story, and how she visually tied the themes of the film into Hedda’s appearance.
This reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler follows the newlywed daughter of a general as she navigates a house she does not want, a marriage she feels trapped in, and an ex-lover who reappears in her life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt—pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/hedda-1025
Director Ira Sachs discusses his new film, Peter Hujar’s Day, with fellow DirectorBette Gordon in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses discovering the story beats from the original 35-page writing, being inventive with blocking for a feature about a sit-down interview, and shooting in a style reminiscent of films of that era.
Based on the book by Linda Rosenkrantz, the film tells the story of a single day in 1974 when Rosenkrantz and groundbreaking queer photographer Peter Hujar engaged in a freewheeling, intimate conversation. Sharing vivid stories of his interactions with literary and cultural icons like William Burroughs, Susan Sontag and Allen Ginsberg, Hujar reflects on the rhythms of everyday life in 1970s New York.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/peterhujarsday_qna_1125
Director David Michôd discusses his new film, Christy, with fellow Director John Lee Hancock in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses making a sports movie with the shadowing story of an abusive relationship ever present, the process of helping Actor Sydney Sweeney get into shape for her fighting scenes, and working with Sweeney and Actor Ben Foster to capture the powder keg dynamic of their relationship scenes.
The film tells the true story of Christy Martin, who never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia, until she discovered a talent in the boxing ring. But her toughest battles start to unfold outside of the ring as she confronts family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/christy_qna_1125
Director Akinola Davies discusses his new film, My Father’s Shadow, with fellow Director Rachel Raimist in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses shooting on celluloid film to capture the beauty of Lagos, the exhaustive process behind casting the two young leading Actors, and finding ways to show the people of Nigeria in a dignified manner that he felt represented the place as he knew it.
Screened as part of the DGA’s Global Cinema Series, the film tells the story of Aki and Remi, who reconnect with the father who’s been absent for most of their lives. But the reunion quietly unravels into something deeper as they witness both the city’s magnitude and their father’s daily struggles during the political unrest of the 1993 Nigerian election crisis.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/myfathersshadow_1025
Director Geeta Gandbhir discusses her new film, The Perfect Neighbor, with fellow Director Yance Ford in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she discusses the process of discovering how she would tell the story through police body cam footage, editing the body cam footage into a cohesive narrative that develops the players and events leading up to the shooting, and finding a pacing for the footage so as not to overwhelm her audience with distressing content.
Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film, told mostly through police body cam footage, uses the shooting of a beloved mother of four as a case study to examine Florida's controversial "stand your ground" laws, revealing the consequences that can occur when individuals feel emboldened by the law to act on their fear and prejudice.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/docseries_theperfectneighbor-1025
Director Kathryn Bigelow discusses her new film, A House of Dynamite, with fellow Director James Gray in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses working with journalist and Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim to discover the best way to turn this hypothetical into a story, collaborating with her Cinematographer and Actors to capture an unblocked and naturalistic feel to her scenes, and consulting with government experts to portray the transpiring of events with informed data.
The film explores a hypothetical situation: When a radar station detects a single, unattributed ICBM headed for Chicago, how do the many levels of the US government use their limited time to identify who is responsible, attempt to disable the warhead, and in the worst case scenario, consider severe retaliatory options.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/houseofdynamite_qna_1025
Director Scott Cooper discusses his new film, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, with fellow Director David O. Russell in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his vision for the film to stray from the typical biopic formula, using Springsteen’s story as a wider conversation to address topics of therapy and self-reflection, and working with Actor Jeremy Allen White to capture the spirit of Springsteen.
The film chronicles the making of Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 album, Nebraska, which emerged as he recorded Born in the USA with the E Street Band. As a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, the New Jersey rocker struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past as he records the benchmark album.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/springsteendeliverme_qna_1025
Director Guillermo del Toro discusses his new film, Frankenstein, with fellow Director Bradley Cooper in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses the consideration he took in the multiple perspective structure of the story, the research and detail behind crafting intricate props and capturing authentic settings, and what he looked for in an Actor when casting the role of The Creature.
Based on the classic novel by Mary Shelley, the film tells the tragic story of the brilliant but egotistical Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who brings a monstrous creature to life. When the experiment spirals out of his control, events transpire that lead to the undoing of both the creator and his creation.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/december2025/frankenstein-1025
Director Joachim Trier discusses his new film, Sentimental Value, with fellow Director Frank Oz in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses working with his Writer to establish just enough of the characters for his Actors to fill in the rest, how he goes about his rehearsal process to get the right performances in the shoot, and taking time in the edit to find the perfect pacing to balance the emotional arcs of the film.
Screened as part of the DGA’s Global Cinema Series, the film tells the story of Gustav, a once-renowned film Director looking to make a comeback with his next feature. When his stage actress daughter turns down the lead role in the film, he casts a Hollywood star instead, opening old wounds that force them to face their relationship and the fragile bonds that unite them.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/gcs_sentimentalvalue_0925
Director Scarlett Johansson discusses her new film, Eleanor the Great, with fellow Director Frank Oz in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she discusses how she sees table reads as essential to getting her Actors on the same wavelength, characteristics she looks for in a Directorial Team, and some of the lessons she learned from Directors when working with them as an Actor.
The film tells the story of 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who moves from her Florida retirement community to Manhattan after losing her best friend of seventy years. Soon after, she meets a group of Holocaust survivors and feels compelled to tell a story about her past that takes on a dangerous life of its own.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/eleanorthegreat_qna_0925
Director Werner Herzog discusses Les Blank’s film Burden of Dreams, with fellow Director Ondi Timoner in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the value he saw in Blank documenting the making of Fitzcarraldo, shares further insight into aspects of the shoot the documentary didn’t cover, and reflects on his memories of the late Actor Claudia Cardinale.
Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film follows Director Werner Herzog during the filming of Fitzcarraldo, the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house deep in the Amazonian jungle. As the production unfolds, the crew has to overcome a number of setbacks, including difficult Actors, unpredictable weather and the logistics of getting a boat over a mountain, all with the determination of realizing Herzog’s vision.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/docseries_burdenofdreams-0925
1Director Benny Safdie discusses his new film, The Smashing Machine, with fellow Director Christopher Nolan in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses working with Actors Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt to summon the performances he wanted, collaborating with his composer to craft a jazz score that followed the film’s emotional beats, and how he used his cinematography to capture the interior emotions of his characters.
The film tells the true story of, Mark Kerr, a former collegiate wrestler who became a mixed-martial artist and UFC champion during the early, unregulated days of MMA. As he contends with depression, a painkiller addiction, and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend, he continues his meteoric rise in the burgeoning sport.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/smashingmachine_qna_1025
Director Derek Cianfrance discusses his new film, Roofman, with fellow Director David Gordon Green in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses his process of researching the story by consulting with the real Jeffrey Manchester in prison, working with production to recreate a period accurate Toys”R”Us from 2004, and how he aimed to capture the nostalgia of the early 2000s by choosing to film on 35mm.
The film tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a charismatic criminal who goes into hiding on the roof of a Toys “R” Us. Adopting a new identity, he begins to form a relationship with one of the employees, jeopardizing his double life as his past closes in.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/roofman_qna_0925
Director Jay Roach discusses his new film, The Roses, with fellow Director Jason Reitman in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses working with his Actors to find the right balance of dark comedy and drama in the film, collaborating with his spouse and many other musical artists to craft a soundtrack that fit the film’s tone, and how he approached remaking a foreign film for American audiences that may not receive the content in a similar way.
The film tells the story of Ivy and Theo, a couple living a seemingly ideal life with a loving marriage, successful careers and great kids. But when Theo’s career nosedives and Ivy’s ambitions take off, a tinderbox of hidden resentment and fierce competition ignites as the reality of their relationship bubbles to the surface.
See photos and a summary of this event below:
https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/theroses_qna_0925
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I can't believe that the host cut off Steven Spielberg on that last question.
documentary? did we watch the same movie?
this conversation is so awkward but so rich
derekscottcarlisle-A DGA Podcast-TheDirectorsCut
Thank you so much for doing this!