The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Don Scardino discusses his new film, A Break in the Rain, with fellow Director Laura Belsey in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses working with Actor Elizabeth Davis when writing the songs of the film, casting Actor Michael O’Keefe in the leading role, and recording the score of the movie himself with a guitar.

The film tells the story of Jake, a widower who returns home when his son passes from cancer. Intending to help support his daughter-in-law, he takes a job driving for a limo service and meets a country singer who ultimately changes his life during a musical road trip.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/abreakintherain_qna_0926

Director Chris Rock discusses his new film, Misty Green, with fellow Director Spike Lee in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses how lead Actor Rosalind Eleazar was selected for the part, finding which scenes worked and what didn’t through his rehearsal process, and approaching the edit of the film like he would a standup special.

The film tells the story of Misty, a talented actress years after her Hollywood breakthrough. Finding her career stalled, she fights for a second chance at returning to the spotlight.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/mistygreen_qna_0926

Director Alex Stapleton discusses her new film, The Brittney Griner Story, with fellow Director Laura Belsey in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she discusses her process of shooting master interviews first to find a foundation for her story, interviewing former President Joe Biden, and how she obtained footage of Russian prisons.

Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film follows WNBA star Brittney Griner, who, while playing abroad in Russia, was seized and placed into detention. Fighting for freedom, she is finally released and makes it her mission to help other wrongfully detained Americans seek justice.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/docseries_brittneygrinerstory-0926

Director Michael Russell Gunn discusses his new film, The Brink of War, with fellow Director Rawson Marshall Thurber in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses using transcripts from the real event as reference for the film, utilizing the authentic locations and furniture that were used by the figures depicted in the film, and casting Actor Jeff Daniels as the lead from their past working on The Newsroom together.

The film follows U.S. President Ronald Reagan as he races against time to salvage a deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that could dismantle nuclear arsenals. With pressure mounting on all sides, every word spoken brings the world closer to peace or to the brink of destruction.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2026/Oct2026/BrinkOfWar_QnA_0926

Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss discuss their new film, Teenage Wasteland, with fellow Director Alice Gu in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they discuss poring through 500 hours of archival footage to find the film’s heart, recreating the school’s classroom from the 1990s to make a “portal of recollection”, and taking consideration into finding era-appropriate music for the film.

Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film follows a group of 1990s teenagers who made a student documentary about a mysterious brown muck surfacing at the local dump in their town. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and the transformative experience that uncovered a vast conspiracy poisoning their community.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/oct2026/docseries_teenagewasteland-0926