A most unlikely meeting takes place in the Oval Office in Director Liza Johnson’s new historical comedy Elvis & Nixon.
Elvis & Nixon reveals the true story behind one of the most unusual get-togethers in history that started one December morning in 1970 when Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n Roll (Michael Shannon), showed up on the lawn of the White House to request a meeting with the most powerful man in the world, President Richard Milhous Nixon (Kevin Spacey). What ensued was one of the oddest conferences ever to take place in the Oval Office, forever immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives. Elvis & Nixon was the Centerpiece film at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Following the screening on April 20 in the Guild’s New York Theater, Johnson sat down with Director Bette Gordon (Border Crossing), to discuss the joys and challenges of making Elvis & Nixon. The conversation was sponsored by the Eastern Directors Council Focus on Women Committee.
In addition to Elvis & Nixon, Johnson’s credits include the shorts South of Ten and In the Air and the features Hateship Loveship and Return which was nominated for the Golden Camera at the 2011 Cannes Festival. She has been a DGA member since 2014.
About the Focus on Women Committee:
The Eastern Directors Council’s Focus on Women Committee is chaired by Directors Laura Belsey and Rosemary Rodriguez. The members are Directors Tricia Brock, Jan Eliasberg, Rachel Grady, Maggie Greenwald, Nicole Kassell, Linda Laundra, Martha Mitchell, Mira Nair, Sarah Pirozek, Lara Shapiro, and Rose Troche.