DGA Monthly

5 8 I D G A M O N T H L Y A young boy must fight to stay alive after an outing turns hazardous in Director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger's family adventure, Lost on a Mountain in Maine. Kightlinger's film tells the inspiring true story of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who becomes trapped on a treacherous mountain when a fast-moving storm separates him from his family. With no food or proper clothing, he begins a desperate fight for survival in the unforgiving wilderness of northern Maine. Kightlinger discussed the making of the film during Q&As moderated by Directors Laurie Collyer in New York and Christopher Landon in Los Angeles. During the LA conversation, he spoke about how he landed the film and revealed, "Part of my job interview for this movie was to hike the mountain. I was flown out to Northern Maine and had to hike Mount Katahdin. I got to bushwhack and explore where Donn Fendler had actually gotten lost which helped me get in his head a little bit." He also spoke about how he used Fendler's experience to help inspire the crew during a difficult shoot. "It was a hard shoot. We were sometimes up to our necks in water. There were ticks. We had to climb down to go get shots. I would always just remind the crew this is a movie about a boy who wants a hug from his father." Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger discusses Lost on a Mountain in Maine photo by Marcie Revens photo by Chris Robertson Photos: Director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger with moderators Laurie Collyer in NY on November 10 and Christopher Landon in LA on November 17. Pablo Larraín discusses Maria photo by Marcie Revens photo by Howard Wise Photos: Director Pablo Larraín with moderators Paul Schrader in New York on December 1 and Mike Mills in Los Angeles on December 8. The last days of the life of the world's greatest opera singer, Maria Callas, are examined in Director Pablo Larraín's biographical drama, Maria. The film follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye and finally reckons with her identity and life.. Larraín discussed the making of the film during Q&As moderated by Directors Paul Schrader in New York and Mike Mills in Los Angeles. During the New York conversation, he revealed why he sometimes chooses to operate the camera himself. "I hate the monitors and I really dislike going through someone to get the shot I like. Honestly, what happens often is that there's a lot of things happening that I think we missed because the operator didn't get what I would have done. Like the chance that they aren't going look at this, look at that. When you're shooting on film, what you're seeing is not exactly what it would be, and you don't know what's inside. This is weird, but it's what happens to me. If I didn't see it through the camera, I become insecure and I want another take. So, hand me the camera and I can do very few [takes] and be very precise and know if it's in focus or not, was the right framing, was the right speed and I don't need to see the monitor to see the take. I'm very close. I see everything through the view finder, and I love it." Director Rachel Morrison's biographical drama, The Fire Inside, tells the incredible true story of Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields, who trained to become the first woman in America's history to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. After the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Morrison discussed the making of the film during a Q&A moderated by Director Elizabeth Banks where she spoke about how she handled the prep on the film. "I always shot list everything. Not necessarily even for the shot list, but sometimes just to look at the days and how they line up. It's like even the best ADs will sometimes think three pages, is three pages, is three pages. And you'll know once you look at your list that one three-page day is a million set ups and one three-page day is a 'oner' and they're not netting out the same. We didn't look at a ton of references. At some point I've seen probably all the boxing films, but never with a like 'I want to do it like this one or like that one.' It was more just to kind of let it wash over, but then knowing that we had so many fight sequences and they all happen in the first two thirds of the film that we really had to be careful of fight fatigue and how do we make each fight feel very different." Rachel Morrison discusses The Fire Inside photo by Shane Karns Photo: Directors Rachel Morrison (right) and Elizabeth Banks (moderator) discuss the making of The Fire Inside following the Los Angeles DGA screening on December 8. 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

• Cover