DGA Monthly

J U L Y 2 0 2 3 I 2 3 See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and podcasts, where available, online at www.dga.org. DGA Screenings Q&As Director Eva Longoria's biographical drama, Flamin' Hot, tells the true story of how Richard Montañez, a Frito Lay janitor disrupted the food industry by channeling his Mexican heritage to turn Flamin' Hot Cheetos from a snack into an iconic global pop culture phenomenon. On June 3, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Longoria discussed the making of the film Q&A with Director Patricia Cardoso and revealed how she landed the project as her feature directing debut when others were interested in making the film. "It's hard to get a job when you don't have the body of work to prove you can do the job, and you can't get the body of work because you can't get the job. It had to be me. It had to be my lens. I am Richard Montañez. I really sold them on the idea that this story had to be authentic because if it wasn't, people would smell it a mile away and see through it. It's a love letter to the Mexican-American community." She also disclosed her collaborative directing style. "For me, camera choreography is driven by emotion. I was so grateful for the talent I had. My mantra is best idea wins. I have no ego. It's not my way. I have a vision and I stick to that vision, but that's the reason you hire your team because you want people smarter around you to have these amazing ideas." Photo: Director Eva Longoria (right) discusses Flamin' Hot with Director Patricia Cardoso (moderator). Eva Longoria discusses Flamin' Hot photo by Shane Karns Director Rob Savage's horror mystery, The Boogeyman, brings to life the Stephen King short story about a young woman must protect her family from a terrifying paranormal creature that feeds on the suffering of its victims. On June 4, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Savage discussed the making with Director Parker Finn and divulged that his directing style starts by asking, "What's the point of each scene? It has become one of the foundational ways I make movies. I try — when I am on set — to know what every scene is doing pretty distinctively. When I am talking to the Actors or to the Cinematographer, we all get in a huddle and it really feels like everyone is aiming for the same thing as opposed to the camera fiddling around with something that is going to annoy the Actor. Everyone seems to be on the same page if you can isolate the feeling you want to give the audience and the experience you want to take them through." He also shared a technique he employs to bring his filmic visions to life, "I keep a database of images that strike me. Every time I get a visual language for a movie I am working on, or a TV show, I start to pull from this database. I wanted to feel like every decision in this movie was confidently made. We found a shared sensibility that was beautiful and well-designed, but very grounded." Photo: Director Rob Savage discusses The Boogeyman with Director Parker Finn (moderator). Rob Savage discusses The Boogeyman photo by Shane Karns Thomas Kinkade rocketed to popularity in the '90s by marketing his kitschy paintings to American evangelicals and pitting himself against the elite art establishment. Yet beneath the pristine public persona were demons. After his passing from an overdose in 2012, Kinkade's daughters uncovered a trove of unseen, unexpectedly dark paintings, that launched an investigation into their father's true personality. Miranda Yousef's debut documentary, Art for Everybody, peels back the layers of Kinkade's facade, delivering a portrait of a complex man. On May 28, following the Special Projects Documentary Series screening in Los Angeles, Yousef sat down with Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Ondi Timoner to discuss the making of the film and spoke about applying her skills and expertise as an Editor in her debut as a feature-length documentary filmmaker. "Because so much of the film was archival material — we had hundreds of hours of videotape, hundreds and thousands of photographs, and hundreds and thousands of art works — I think I was able to rely on my editorial knowledge of in order for it to not be so daunting. [I said] 'We are going to put processes in place to filter all this material and we can just work with it.' And that is how it all boiled down." Photo: Director Miranda Yousef discusses the making of Art for Everybody with Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Ondi Timoner (moderator). Special Projects Documentary Series screens Miranda Yousef's Art for Everybody photo by Elisa Haber

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