Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1156976
2 6 I D G A M O N T H L Y See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and podcasts are posted online at www.dga.org. DGA Events Roundup photo by Trixie Textor Gurinder Chadha discusses Blinded by the Light Director Gurinder Chadha's new comedic-drama, Blinded by the Light, tells the story of Javed, a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in 1987 England amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the times of the Thatcher era. To escape the intolerance of his hometown and the inflexibility of his traditional father, he writes poetry and has his world turned upside down when a classmate introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. Finding parallels to his working-class life in Springsteen's powerful lyrics, Javed discovers an outlet for his own pent-up dreams, but caught in between two worlds, he must discover if he too is Born to Run. Following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles on August 11, Chadha sat down with Director Catherine Hardwicke to discuss the making of Blinded by the Light. Chadha's other credits include the feature films Bhaji on the Beach, Bend It Like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice and It's a Wonderful Afterlife; and episodes of the series Beecham House. She has been a DGA member since 2003. Photo: Catherine Hardwicke (moderator) and Gurinder Chadha discuss Blinded by the Light. Director Bill D'Elia - discusses his 30-year career as a television director and producer-director highlighting his work on Ally McBeal, The Practice and Boston Legal among other series. D'Elia on directing the pilot for Boston Legal: "So I do the pilot to Boston Legal and I have this idea based on what David E. Kelley's writing. The idea is to make it messy. Not make it like all his other shows, but messy. I've seen documentaries that always do this kind of thing, rove around and use the zoom, but I've never seen a glossy show do something like that. Because of the mayhem that this show might become, what if we did that with the camera? We made no bones about, 'There's a camera here.' We use the zoom, we just went from hands to faces, over to this guy, and then still did traditional coverage. What if you took a glossy look and shot it like it was a documentary? And the show was set in Boston, I told the composer, 'What if you treated it as if we're in New Orleans? What would it sound like?' So the combination of the wacky visual style and the music not necessarily fitting a legal show in Boston, to my mind, made it feel just a little off, which is how I wanted the show to feel. Because you never would know, 'Is this gonna' be a serious episode? A funny episode? An emotional episode? Or all three?" Recent Visual History Addition Bill D'Elia interviewed by Michael Zinberg View more excerpts and interviews in the Visual History Collection via the link on the homepage of www.dga.org. Trainees are: • Selected from hundreds of Program applicants via a rigorous multi-part process as highly selective as any paid practical internship in the country. • Accredited via advanced classes that develop skills most PAs simply don't have. • Cost effective If you hire more than one trainee at a time, the Training Plan will reimburse 20% of the additional Trainee's minimum weekly or daily salary. If you hire a Trainee to work on distant location, the Training Plan can cover up to 35% of the trainee's transportation, per diem and housing costs. There are also discounts for features budgeted at less than $11M. • Available either as long-term or daily-hires to support the DGA team. For more information about trainee availability contact: West: 818-386-2545 mail@dgptp.com | East: 212-397-0930 info@dgatrainingprogram.org Have You Hired a Trainee Lately? Instead of a Production Assistant on your next project, consider hiring a Trainee from the Assistant Director Training Program.