Every year, the various Guilds and media outlets invite a group of awards nominees in a room to talk about their respective crafts. Normally, it’s a group of actors, directors, or writers and they commiserate and share similar stories about their work. They’re always enlightening and entertaining, especially if you are involved in that area of filmmaking. However, this year’s DGA 2018 Nominees panel takes these talks to a whole different level.
For those that don’t know, the 2018 DGA nominees are a diverse group, in more ways than one. There are big-budget filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro sitting next to an eccentric indie Irish director Martin McDonagh, joined by two first time directors, Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig. Having these five directors, at various stages of their careers, on the stage together added a new layer to the proceedings that doesn’t really happen with these talks.
Right off the bat, moderator Jeremy Kagan asks each director where they position themselves on set. Of course, since this is a DGA event, the questions are going to skew more towards the process. Christopher Nolan, being the serious auteur that he comes across as, gives a very formal and eloquent response. Immediately after, the question is asked to Jordan Peele, who proceeds to lose his microphone and then explain that is why he doesn’t belong on this stage. Following Peele’s response is Gerwig. She drops all pretense and admits that before tackling “Lady Bird,” she read interviews with Chris Nolan and decided to model herself after him.
There are moments like that throughout the almost-three hour panel that illuminate just how special this year’s directing class actually is. It almost feels like a changing of the guard, with these new voices coming in to disrupt what has come before.
While most of these talks are geared more towards those in the industry, this DGA panel is a fun watch for anyone interested in film, and especially those who are excited about the new talent on display.