DGA Monthly

2 4 I D G A M O N T H L Y Photo L-R: Directors Benny Safdie (moderator) and Julian Schnabel discuss the making of In the Hand of Dante following the New York DGA screening on June 13. Director Julian Schnabel's feature, In the Hand of Dante, weaves together the parallel storylines of a modern-day author who is summoned by a mafia don to authenticate a work rumored to be the original manuscript of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy and finds himself plunged into a violent, murderous underworld quest. Meanwhile in the 14th Century, Dante himself navigates political exile, endures a loveless marriage, and undergoes a spiritual awakening while trying to write his masterpiece. During a Q&A with Director Benny Safdie, Schnabel spoke about his spontaneous directorial style. "Alan Ginsberg said, 'First thought, best thought,' and before thoughts are even better than that. We don't rehearse. There's no, 'This is your spot that's your spot.' If I've selected them to be in the movie it's because I really believe that they can do this. I might not know what they're going to do but I know that if I put them in a situation, they're gonna surprise me and do something much better than anything I ever wrote. So, my way of doing it is to get people in a situation and then let them bring what's inside of them into that without interfering and if they're really prepared it's amazing what will come out of them if they're really talented." Julian Schnabel discusses In the Hand of Dante photo by Marcie Revens In Director Adam Shankman's disaster film spoof, Stop! That! Train!, two unemployed train line stewardesses sneak aboard the luxurious Glamazonian Express where they are constantly upstaged by the snooty first-class crew. But when a massive storm arises, they must all work together to prevent disaster in LA. During a Q&A with Director Nzingha Stewart, Shankman spoke about pursuing directing comedies. "It's an insane pursuit doing comedy. Just the stress level alone I wasn't really aware of when I started my career. I was just like, 'It's fun. It's funny. I'm so excited to do this.' But year after year after year of testing and chasing laughs in a test situation, it's exhausting. I only made one drama, and it was so relaxing to test it. I was just like, 'This is so much easier. Are the characters working? Is the story working? Is it impactful? Is the score moving you this way or that way?' Things like that. In comedy it's like, 'Does the joke land? Is it a chuckle? Is it a belly laugh? Do I even care because if I lose it will the plot seem weird? Does the plot matter?' And then you go, 'Oh wait, what plot?'" Adam Shankman discusses Stop! That! Train! photo by Deverill Weekes Photo L-R: Directors Adam Shankman and Nzingha Stewart (moderator) discuss the making of Stop! That! Train! following the LA DGA screening on June 21. 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 "He was not a hero," states the titular character in Director Michael Sarnoski's dark re-imagining of the legendary outlaw archer of Sherwood Forest, The Death of Robin Hood. The adventure-thriller finds an aging Robin Hood suffering an injury in a battle that he thought would be his last. Forced to grapple with his violent past, he gets a chance at salvation when he meets a mysterious woman and a young girl. Sarnoski discussed the making of the film during Q&As moderated by Directors Drew Pearce in Los Angeles and Danny Strong in New York, where he spoke about the advantages of shooting on film. "I loved it. I think I mostly liked it because it didn't really change my method of shooting with [DP] Pat Scola, but it kind of felt like it brought the rest of the crew sort of onto the same page with us. It sort of creates this sense of sacred focus on set. We shot on all these real locations and there's something about capturing this natural light through this chemical process that feels so visceral and real. But also, because it's this kind of deconstruction of a legend and folklore, we wanted it to have a little bit of a timeless feel to it almost like this could have been made any time in the last 50 years." Michael Sarnoski discusses The Death of Robin Hood photo by Marcie Revens photo by Elisa Haber Photos Director Michael Sarnoski with moderators Danny Strong in NY on June 13 and Drew Pearce in LA on June 28.

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