Alejandro G. Iñárritu: The Revenant

November 26, 2015

DGA Q&As in New York and Los Angeles

A frontiersman embarks on an epic mission of survival and vengeance in Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new adventure feature The Revenant.

Inspired by true events, Iñárritu’s film tells the story of legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who was left for dead by members of his own hunting party after being savagely mauled by a bear. Vowing to survive the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), Glass must endure a vicious winter in uncharted wilderness through sheer will, becoming the living definition of the term revenant: a visible ghost or animated corpse believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living.

On November 23 following the DGA screening in Los Angeles, Iñárritu spoke about the challenges of bringing this story to the screen and fliming under such harsh conditions in a conversation moderated by Director Michael Mann (Blackhat). Iñárritu also spoke about the film in a conversation with Director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) following the DGA membership screening in New York on November 25.

In addition to The Revenant, Iñárritu’s work includes the feature films Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Biutiful. Iñárritu was nominated for both the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film and the Academy Award for “Best Director” for his 2006 feature film Babel. He took home both the DGA Award the Oscar for his 2014 film Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). He also won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for “Best Job” (Proctor and Gamble) in 2012. Iñárritu has been a member of the DGA since 2002.

Pictures & Video

photos by Howard Wise (Los Angeles) and Marcie Revens (New York) - print courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

View slideshow

FULL TALK (31:13): Director Alejandro González Iñárritu discusses his latest film, The Revenant, with Director Darren Aronofsky.

FULL TALK (35:56): Director Alejandro González Iñárritu discusses his latest film, The Revenant, with Director Michael Mann.

HIGHLIGHT: Iñárritu speaks on how some of the shots were conceived years before the actual shoot while others were inspired by the astonishing landscapes.

HIGHLIGHT: Iñárritu discusses how the immersive strategy of the cinematography allowed for "happy accidents," like a scene in which the camera lens is fogged by the breath of a character during an emotional scene.

HIGHLIGHT: Iñárritu describes the immense pressure he and the crew faced during production because they could only shoot for one or two takes a day because of the lighting conditions.

HIGHLIGHT: Iñárritu discusses how the setting dictated the need to shoot in sequence and with artificial light, constraints that ultimately proved to be positive from a creative standpoint.

HIGHLIGHT: Director Alejandro González Iñárritu talks about how the simplicity of the story of Hugh Glass allowed him to tell the story in more complex ways using images and less dialogue.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu speaks about the making of The Revenant following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu speaks about the making of The Revenant following the DGA membership screening in New York.

Members of the DGA Los Angeles Theater view Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film The Revenant.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu speaks about the making of The Revenant with Director Darren Aronofsky (moderator) following the DGA membership screening in New York.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu speaks about the making of The Revenant with Director Michael Mann (moderator) following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles.

Director Michael Mann (moderator) asks Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu about the making of The Revenant following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles.

Director Darren Aronofsky (moderator) asks Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu about the making of The Revenant following the DGA membership screening in New York.

The DGA New York Theater audience hear Directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Darren Aronofsky discuss the making of Iñárritu’s new film The Revenant.

Director Michael Mann (moderator) asks Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu answers a question from the Los Angeles DGA Theater audience about the making of his new film The Revenant.