Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1507954
2 4 I D G A M O N T H L Y See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and podcasts, where available, online at www.dga.org. DGA Screenings Q&As Based on the DC Comics character, Director Ángel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle tells the story of Jaime Reyes, whose life is changed when an alien scarab chooses him to be its symbiotic host granting him access to a suit of armor that transforms him into a superhero. On August 27, after the membership screening in Los Angeles, Soto discussed the making of the film during a Q&A moderated by Director Jaume Collet-Serra and revealed that even though this is a large scale superhero feature, he still thought of it as a "small movie." "Small in terms of the superficial spectacles, expectations that people have of superhero movies. But we never saw that as a challenge, or a weakness or a threat to our project. We just saw it as an opportunity to go back to the original hero's journey and focus on that emotionality and that more character-driven than spectacle-driven aspect. So, by embracing the heart of the movie, we were able to create something big — that the action sequences feel like they are supporting the dramatic journey of our characters." Photo: Director Ángel Manuel Soto discusses the making of Blue Beetle with Director Jaume Collet-Serra (moderator). Ángel Manuel Soto discusses Blue Beetle photo by Shane Karns Director Alejandro Monteverde's biographical drama, Sound of Freedom, tells the incredible true story of Tim Ballard, who after rescuing a boy from ruthless child traffickers, learns the boy's sister is still captive and risks his life on a dangerous mission to free her from a fate worse than death. On September 3, after the membership screening in Los Angeles, Monteverde discussed the making of the film during a Q&A moderated by Director Alonso Alvarez-Barreda, and spoke about the difficult research he undertook that led to artistic decisions in visualizing the film. "The research on my end was watching any movie that was on child trafficking. There were a lot of European films I couldn't finish because they were too shocking. I knew then that the goal was to make a movie that audiences could actually finish and not walk out in the middle. So, our guiding force was how can we depict this horror through beauty? Can we create a vehicle of hope? Can we make everything more symbolic? Can we remind the audience that they're watching the movie? So, one of the things that are being criticized we did on purpose. We didn't want to make it real. We actually wanted to remind you that you're watching a movie." Photo: Director Alejandro Monteverde discusses the making of Sound of Freedom with Director Alonso Alvarez-Barreda (moderator). Alejandro Monteverde discusses Sound of Freedom photo by Quintin Lundy Director Juel Taylor's sci-fi mystery comedy, They Cloned Tyrone, processes the story of a series of eerie events that thrusts an unlikely trio onto the trail of a nefarious government cloning conspiracy and embark on a mission to save their neighborhood. On September 9, after the membership screening in Los Angeles, Taylor discussed the making of the film during a Q&A moderated by Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and spoke about how he was able to step away from the script he had co-written and view and the story through a directorial lens: "You write it and you get attached to it. Especially, the longer it exists before getting made, the more attached to certain things you get. I think really what happens is the actors are almost always coming up with much better stuff than we wrote. They have so much that they bring to the table and so much intuition in terms of like blocking and ad-libbing things between the lines. I don't know if it's a by-product of also directing it, but I think it was exciting in terms of seeing the things that Ken [Seng, cinematographer] would see or the talent would do that would make you think of a shot in a whole different way. It's almost like you're playing with house money. You're getting free juice you wouldn't get if you were so strictly adherent to what's on the page." Photo: Director Juel Taylor discusses the making of They Cloned Tyrone with Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (moderator). Juel Taylor discusses They Cloned Tyrone photo by Elisa Haber