DGA Monthly

J U L Y 2 0 2 4 I 3 3 Membership Screenings Q&As listed in alphabetical order by Director. See more detailed descriptions, additional photos & podcasts online at www.dga.org. DGA Screenings Q&As A former stunt performer is called back into action in Director David Leitch's action comedy, The Fall Guy. Loosely based on the 1980s TV series, Leitch's film tells the story of a battle-scarred stuntman who left the business after sustaining an injury. He finds himself ensnared in a sinister plot when he's asked to help locate the missing star of his ex-girlfriend's directorial debut action film. Leitch discussed the making of the film during a Q&A moderated by Director Jerry Zucker and spoke about how he approaches the arena of stunts in his films. "Having been a stuntman, and then a choreographer, and then an action Director for almost thirty years, you're constantly looking for the problems to present your character because that makes them fight out of the box. You're constantly looking for problems to put in front of them and you're looking for that anywhere. I love to scout locations and then I'm inspired by a location, and we scrap the set piece and I know what the character has to do for me emotionally and for plot, but this location. Imagine what I could do in this theater. I got people rappelling from the ceiling and this curtain could be on fire or whatever. That's where the ideas come from." Director David Leitch discusses The Fall Guy photo by Quintin Lundy Director Chris Pine's comedic mystery, Poolman, tells the story of Darren Barrenman, a Los Angeles pool cleaner and unwavering optimist who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block. He finds himself in deep water when he is approached by femme fatale, June Del Rey, who seeks his help in uncovering the corruption of a shady real-estate and water plot. Pine discussed the making of the film during a conversation with his Wonder Woman helmer, Director Patty Jenkins, and the experienced actor spoke about how it felt to take on the Director's chair for the first time. "Any sort of angst I were to have as an actor, there is no time to be angsty [as a Director] because you just have to do shit all the time. I loved that." He also spoke about what he learned about directing actors as an actor. "You have to really work on your feet with what the actors need in the scene, and you have to be as fast as humanly possible and as supportive as humanly possible." Chris Pine discusses Poolman photo by Shane Karns Photo: Directors David Leitch (right) and Jerry Zucker (moderator) discuss the making of The Fall Guy following the DGA screening in Los Angeles on May 25. Photo: Directors Chris Pine (right) and Patty Jenkins (moderator) discuss the making of Poolman following the DGA screening in Los Angeles on May 19. In the prequel to his 2015 DGA Award-nominated feature, Mad Max: Fury Road, Director George Miller's sci-fi action-adventure, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, tells the story of how the young Furiosa survives the many trials of the post-apocalyptic wasteland and is molded into the hero she will become prior to meeting Mad Max. Miller discussed the making of the film with Directors Edgar Wright in Los Angeles and Darren Aronofsky in New York. During the New York conversation, Miller revealed his thoughts on the hardest type of shots to accomplish. "Every shot has its challenges. The rhythms and the play of a series of shots, making up one visual sentence is really where the effort is, how one shot can flow into the next, and some shots are just technically difficult. The ones you have the most apprehension about is when you have two actors at the end of the movie, and you've done all the preparation — and you've drilled it, and you've worked it, and you've discussed it — and then you get into the moment of the performance. On a stunt you should know what's going to happen, but you don't really know what's going to happen. You know what you'd theoretically like to happen, but until you actually experience it... That's the ones where you're wondering 'are we going to stick the landing?'" George Miller discusses Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga photo by Shane Karns photo by Marcie Revens Photos: Director George Miller with moderators Edgar Wright in Los Angeles on May 25 and Darren Aronofsky in New York on May 19.

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