Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532457
M A R C H 2 0 2 5 I 2 1 77 th On February 4, DGA members and guests congregated in the Guild's Los Angeles theater to celebrate the world of film for the smaller screen during the 2025 Meet the Nominees: Movies for Television & Limited Series event. Following a welcome by DGA Associate Western Executive Director Daniel Tenkman, Director and moderator Jon Avnet led the nominee Directors — Kevin Bray (The Penguin, "Top Hat"), Jennifer Getzinger (The Penguin, "A Great or Little Thing"), Helen Shaver (The Penguin, "Cent'anni") and Steven Zaillian (Ripley) — in a lively discussion. After screening clips highlighting each of the nominated projects, the Directors offered insights into how each became involved in their projects and the path they took to visualize the themes from the source material. The conversation illuminated their diverse creative paths, sharing their nuanced views of sound mixing, strategic uses of silence, and guiding their cast to providing emotionally charged performances. The panel also spoke to the underlying spirit of collaboration — trusting and elevating supportive teams from prep and planning through editing and post-production. They shared how those additional perspectives can provide powerful inspiration to the overall narrative experience and show trust on set. Nominee Alfonso Cuarón (Disclaimer) was unable to attend. Meet the Nominees: Movies for Television & Limited Series L-R: Director Jon Avnet (moderator) and nominees Steven Zaillian (Ripley), Jennifer Getzinger (The Penguin, "A Great or Little Thing"), Kevin Bray (The Penguin, "Top Hat") and Helen Shaver (The Penguin, "Cent'anni"). On February 6, attendees gathered in the Guild's Los Angeles theater to salute the best in commercials during the 2025 Meet the Nominees: Commercials event. Following opening remarks by DGA Director of Commercial Contracts Winona Wacker, DGA National Vice President Laura Belsey introduced the nominated commercials and welcomed the audience saying, "This event is one of the highlights of the year for our members who work in commercials. It celebrates the best of your work and is a unique opportunity to hear first-hand from the Directors who created these amazing projects." Director Lauren Greenfield moderated the panel featuring nominees Lance Acord (An American Love Story [Volkswagen]); Kim Gehrig (A Life in Sound [SiriusXM], Am I A Bad Person? [Nike], Find Your Friends [Apple]); and Eric Wareheim (Michael CeraVe [CeraVe]). Their conversation covered topics including what kicked off each project and how they found the way to their vision, as well as other challenges they had to overcome to achieve their goals. They gave a glimpse into the dynamics with their directorial teams and dug into other aspects of their craft such as the amount of prep time they had for each spot. Their insightful back-and-forth shined a light on their creative process. Nominees Tim Heidecker (Michael CeraVe [CeraVe]); Andreas Nilsson (Board Game [Hennessy], First Office Poo [Andrex], One More [Apple], Whizzer [Virgin Media]); and Ivan Zachariáš (Flock [Apple]) were unable to attend. Meet the Nominees: Commercials L-R: Director Lauren Greenfi eld (moderator) and nominees Lance Acord (An American Love Story [Volkswagen]); Kim Gehrig (A Life in Sound [SiriusXM], Am I A Bad Person? [Nike]), Find Your Friends [Apple]) and Eric Wareheim (Michael CeraVe [CeraVe]).