DGA Monthly

J U N E 2 0 2 6 I 4 9 Photo L-R: Directors Guillermo del Toro (moderator), Phil Lord & Christopher Miller discuss the making of Project Hail Mary following the Los Angeles DGA screening on April 19. Directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller's sci-fi epic, Project Hail Mary, tells the story of a disgraced human scientist-turned middle school science teacher and a rocklike alien engineer who develop an unlikely bond to save their respective worlds. During a Q&A with Director Guillermo del Toro, Lord & Miller detailed why they opted for as much a practical approach as possible to bring the alien "Rocky" to life. "We knew that the relationship between Ryan (Gosling) and 'Rocky' was going to make or break the movie even though it was going to be incredibly complicated," said Miller. "So 'Rocky' winds up being made by sculptors working in clay and digital sculptors and real painters touching him up all the time. But it maximizes the human touch, so you have as many human artists touching the frame as possible. A production's job is not to capture efficiency it's to capture value. And the value of a movie is how many souls put their hearts into it," explained Lord. "The magic trick of this is, this is a rock crab thing with no face and no eyes and no mouth and he has to be so expressive that you fall in love with him and go, 'I would die for that rock!'" added Miller. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller discuss Project Hail Mary photo by Shane Karns Director Mariska Hargitay's documentary, My Mom Jayne, navigates the public and private legacy of her mother, Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car accident when Hargitay was only three years old. Following the screening that was jointly hosted by the Eastern Region Special Projects Committee and the Focus on Women Committee, Hargitay and the film's Producer, Trish Adlesic engaged in a Q&A moderated by Director Lisa Cortés. During the discussion Hargitay revealed her preparation to tell such a highly personal story. "I took seven years to work on my issues because you can't make a movie like this if you're not through it on the other side. I think as a filmmaker; to make a good film, you have to really want the answer and I did. And that was extraordinary because something got cleared out. I could see my mother was fearless and she went for it. And I went for it, and I had an extraordinary partner in this film and an extraordinary team." Commenting on her Producer's role Adlesic noted, "I've known Mariska for almost 28 years and I wanted to collaborate and help her support her vision as a Director. Being a proud DGA member you learn there are many ways to do that, and you have to be able to think on your feet under enormous pressure at times quickly and to also bring in the most creative talented people that will enhance that vision." Documentary Series Screens Mariska Hargitay's My Mom Jayne photo by Marcie Revens Photo L-R: Producer Trish Adlesic and Directors Mariska Hargitay and Lisa Cortés (moderator) discuss the making of My Mom Jayne following the NY DGA screening on April 30. 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 Directors Liz Garbus & Elizabeth Wolff's new documentary, Give Me the Ball!, presents legendary tennis icon Billie Jean King in her own words and traces her groundbreaking impact on sports and culture with a particular focus on 1973 — a pivotal year when she was at the apex of both her tennis career and the women's movement. During the Q&A moderated by Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Ondi Timoner, Garbus & Wolff explained their collaborative strategy of encouraging King to share the more intimate, uncomfortable moments of her life. "It's a lot of teasing it and trying to explain, 'We want to go back to the hard stuff," said Wolff. "Every time we interviewed her, we were trying to get a little bit more. There were a lot of hard questions and a lot of Liz pushing for many hours in the interview chair." "She doesn't want to live in painful moments," added Garbus. "She pushes through them. That's, I think, how she's been so successful. It's also a film about liberation and to experience the joy of liberation, you have to experience the struggle. So, it was about sharing that perspective with her. Like we are asking you to relive your pain in some ways, but it's for a reason. It's not gratuitous. It was about trust at the end of the day." Documentary Series Screens Liz Garbus & Elizabeth Wolff's Give Me the Ball! photo by Quintin Lundy Photo L-R: Directors Ondi Timoner (moderator), Liz Garbus & Elizabeth Wolff discuss Give Me the Ball! following the Los Angeles screening on May 11.

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