DGA Monthly

J U N E 2 0 2 5 I 3 3 See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and video, where available, online at www.dga.org. DGA Events Roundup On May 12, the Special Projects Committee hosted the latest installment of their Classic Film Series with a screening of Sir Alfred Hitchcock's DGA Award-nominated 1954 feature, Rear Window. The series screens iconic films, often followed by a discussion about the Director's contribution to the world of cinema. The evening opened with welcomes from Special Projects Committee Co-Chair Michael Goi and Classic Film Series Subcommittee Chair Arthur Allan Seidelman who said, "What is remarkable is how Hitchcock, without ever leaving Jeff's cramped apartment, manages to explore the full expense of human emotion, forcing Jeff and us to confront not only what is happening across the backyard and the courtyard, but also what's happening in our own lives." Following the screening in the Guild's Los Angeles Theater, Seidelman moderated a discussion where Director Roxanne Benjamin (There's Something Wrong with the Children), who was influenced by Hitchcock's work, and actress Diane Baker, who worked with the iconic Director on his feature Marnie, discussed Hitchcock's lasting legacy on cinema. Discussing the concept of fear and how to communicate it on screen, Benjamin shared her approach to directing a horror. "Fear is such a personal thing. There's no kind of like real universal direction for fear. It's more of getting into someone's head and really having them picture their own personal demons. There's Something Wrong with the Children was built around raising tension between the two couples, 'What is it that they're hiding?' 'What is it that they are most afraid of the other people around them finding out?' In Rear Window, there's so much about what you want people to know and what you don't. It's about the lead up to that and like drawing out that suspense. So, to me fear lives in the unknown." Baker recalled her experience working with Hitchcock and how he brought his characters to life. "He cast the people so well. They brought so much life to the story in such individual ways, with unbelievable depth. I learned so much from him. You'll notice in this movie, the meaning of what a moment is supposed to have. There's action going on like with the scratching of Jeff's toe, to make it seem that nothing is going to happen. And then out of it comes something. He taught me opposites." Considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made, Rear Window received four Academy Award nominations as well as a DGA Award nomination for Hitchcock. In 1997, it was added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." 1. Classic Film Series Subcommittee Chair Arthur Allan Seidelman (moderator), Actress Diane Baker and Director Roxanne Benjamin discussed Sir Alfred Hitchcock's impact on the world of cinema. 2. Special Projects Committee Co-Chair Michael Goi welcomes the audience. 3. Director Alfred Hitchcock (1906-2002). Special Projects Classic Films Series Screens Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window event photos by Shane Karns 1 3 DGA members and guests from all the guilds gathered in the Los Angeles Theater on April 30 for a special tribute to the late Director Norman Jewison. The event featured a screening of a screening of his 1967 classic, In the Heat of the Night. "Norman knew that his films were only as good as the talent of his collaborators that's why tonight we invited all guilds to come and celebrate," DGA Past President Taylor Hackford in his welcome. "He loved this Guild and was a champion and a troubadour and fought all over the world [for Directors' rights]. The best line he ever said to me was, 'I want people to recognize themselves in the films that I make.' So, let's take a look at In the Heat of the Night." Jewison made his theatrical directorial debut with the 1962 comedy, 40 Pounds of Trouble, followed quickly by several more romantic comedies. With The Cincinnati Kid, he broke out of the romantic comedy genre as he began exploring a wide range of styles as well as the complex social issues such as racism and corruption that would characterize a number of his films throughout the coming years. 1966's The Russians are Coming the Russians are Coming, garnered Jewison his first DGA Feature Film nomination. The following year's In the Heat of the Night brought another DGA nomination and won five Academy Awards including Best Picture in 1967. A Soldier's Story brought his third DGA feature film award nomination. He also received additional Academy Award nominations for Best Director for Fiddler on the Roof and Moonstruck. In 2010 for his extensive filmography, the DGA presented Jewison with the Guild's most prestigious honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. In the Heat of the Night is widely considered one of the most important American films of the 1960s. In addition to the DGA Award nomination, the film garnered seven Oscars nominations, winning five, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Rod Steiger. The success of the film spawned two film sequels, and a television series of the same name. In 2002, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." 1. The onscreen image welcoming DGA members and guests from all guilds to the event celebrating Director Norman Jewison — (1926-2024). 2. DGA Past President Taylor Hackford, Norman Jewison's son Michael Jewison and former DGA National Executive Director Jay D. Roth. A Tribute to Director Norman Jewison, featuring a screening of In the Heat of the Night photos by Elisa Haber 1 2 2

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