I remember seeing Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets at the New York Film Festival in 1973, and as we used to say, I was blown away. My girlfriend at the time came from a rougher neighborhood than I did and the spectacle of blood and guts in the street didn’t seem to faze her. Me, I had never see anything like it. And I’ve pretty much felt that way about every Scorsese movie since.

Like most film fans, I was delighted when Scorsese won his first DGA Award (and first Oscar) last year for The Departed. As the Guild gets ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Awards, we caught up with Scorsese (not an easy thing to do these days) for the DGA Interview. As you will see from his conversation with Terrence Rafferty, he has lost none of his passion for the movies from his past or the ones yet to be made.

Ask any director what’s so special about the DGA Awards, and invariably he or she will say it’s the recognition of their peers. In “Celebrating Excellence,” we take a look at the glorious history of the Awards and how the show may have evolved (there isn’t any after-dinner dancing anymore) but the essence and spirit of the Awards haven’t changed since they were first given out in 1948. To top off our tribute to the Awards, this issue’s photo essay presents some of the winning directors at work on the feature films that brought them Guild immortality.

While it’s awards season, what better time to take a look at the Big Show—the Oscars—and see what goes into putting on this unbelievably complicated production from the point of view of director Louis J. Horvitz and his team. And we had just the man for the job. Steve Pond, a regular contributor to the Quarterly, has covered behind the scenes at the Academy Awards for more than 10 years. Not surprisingly, the key to this event, like most other live shows, is preparation, and more preparation.

Continuing our ongoing coverage of new technology, the Industry column this issue focuses on the elusive formula for “Solving the Last 10 Feet.” Strictly speaking, the last 10 feet is the distance between your computer and your TV. Bridging this gap could have radical implications, but the pieces apparently are just not there yet.

A feature of the Quarterly I don’t usually comment on is our back page, “Out of the Past,” but being a dedicated auterist I’ve discerned a pattern emerging. A few issues back we featured Francis Coppola and the horse’s head from The Godfather, and last issue we served a head up on a platter from Harold and Maude. So I was amused when we came across our current shot from Fred Zinnemann’s A Man for All Seasons—another DGA Awards winner—featuring Paul Scofield about to lose his head on the chopping block. I don’t know what it all means, but it’s obviously heady stuff. So with that, I give you the winter issue. As always, I hope you enjoy it. And I wish everyone a happy and creative new year.

Best,

James Greenberg
Editor in Chief