DGA Monthly

1 8 I D G A M O N T H L Y See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and video, where available, online at www.dga.org. DGA Events Roundup Director David O. Russell's comedic-drama, Amsterdam, follows a doctor, a nurse and a lawyer who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the one of the most secret plots in American history set in the 1930s. On October 2, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Russell discussed the making of the film during a Q&A moderated by Director Jon Avnet. During conversation, Russell spoke about how camera placement was not only essential to capturing the desired shots, but also the feeling of the film. "You put the camera where it feels best from your shot list and then you sometimes change it on the day. But you must feel the intimacy and the immediacy where you are always trying to capture something that is alive. If it doesn't feel alive, it's not interesting. One of the goals is to try to do it in one. To have it all happen like a play so it's an unbroken reality. That is the very inspiration for this film." David O. Russell discusses Amsterdam photo by Elisa Haber Director Nicholas Stoller's LGBTQ+ romantic-comedy, Bros, tells the story of Bobby, a neurotic podcast host who's content not to have a serious relationship. That all changes when he meets Aaron, an equally detached lawyer who likes to play the field. Repeatedly drawn to each other, both men begin to show their vulnerable sides as their undeniable attraction turns into something resembling a commitment. On October 8, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Stoller discussed the making of Bros during a Q&A moderated by Director Judd Apatow. During the conversation, Stoller spoke about the challenges of directing a film in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic. "Because of the pandemic, the movie got delayed for a year and a half. However, we were able to really work the script by the time we shot. This meant that by the time we got to shoot we really knew what we were doing. We only had 35 days to shoot this movie and for this sort of comedy it was hard. It was a lot of scheduling but the whole cast came super prepared, and everyone knew this was a good opportunity but then you had Covid. But there wasn't one day when I was shooting, and I thought 'oh this is very challenging.'" Photo: Director Nicholas Stoller (right) discusses the making of Bros with Director Judd Apatow (moderator). Nicholas Stoller discusses Bros photo by Elisa Haber In Director Olivia Wilde's thriller, Don't Worry Darling, a wife begins to suspect there are sinister happenings at her husband's workplace and their utopian experimental community when cracks in her supposedly idyllic life begin to appear, and she can't help questioning exactly what is really going on. On September 20, after the DGA membership screening in New York, Wilde discussed the making of the film in a Q&A moderated by Director Reed Morano. During the conversation, Wilde spoke about her inventive mixture of sound effects and music in the film. "Skip Lievsay, who also did my last film Booksmart, was part of our rerecord team here in New York. On the first day I said, 'Skip, now we get to play,' because this film was in so many ways more abstract, and sound could become this character and we could have a lot of fun with it and really take risks. Sound makes such a huge difference. It was a real joy to understand what character all of those sounds and that the music could play that felt so essential to the story and sometimes not have to rely on dialogue or even the visuals in some moments to communicate. It was like, just allow people to kind of feel the emotions almost subconsciously because of sound." Photo: Director Olivia Wilde discusses the making of Don't Worry Darling with Director Reed Morano (moderator). Olivia Wilde discusses Don't Worry Darling photo by Marcie Revens Photo: Director David O. Russell discusses the making of Amsterdam during a Q&A with Director Jon Avnet (moderator).

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