Four siblings must learn to fend for themselves as their free-spirit parents abdicate their duties in Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s new drama, The Glass Castle.
Adapted from Jeannette Walls’ 2005 bestselling memoir, Cretton’s film follows a young woman (the adult character played by Brie Larson) who is coming of age with her siblings in a dysfunctional family headed by an eccentric artist mother who isn’t interested in raising a family and a charming, but alcoholic, father who stirs the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.
On August 6, the DGA’s Asian American Committee (AAC) hosted a special screening of The Glass Castle at DGA Headquarters in Los Angeles. After the viewing and an introduction by Committee Co-Chair Michael Goi, Cretton sat down with Director James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour) and one of the stars of the film, actor Brie Larson, to discuss the making of The Glass Castle.\
During the conversation, Cretton described the unusual situation of watching the film seated behind Walls herself. “As soon as the opening shot comes on, I just thought ‘Oh shit, this is her life! She’s about to watch our version of the memory of her father! I need to get out of here!’ I was watching the back of her head for any sign of what she might be feeling. But she immediately began laughing so loud at every little joke and gasping and grabbing her husband shouting ‘No! No!’ that it became such a fun experience. When she stood up at the end with tears in her eyes and just kept saying ‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.’ and gave me a hug. That kind of gratitude just makes you want to do the best you could ever do.”
Cretton began making short films as a hobby before attending film school at San Diego State University. His short film,
Short Term 12, premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize for U.S. Short Filmmaking. His other directorial credits include a feature length version of
Short Term 12, the feature
I Am Not a Hipster; the documentaries
Drakmar: A Vassal’s Journey and
Born Without Arms; and the television series
Scenes for Minors. He became a DGA member in 2016.
About the Asian American Committee:
The Asian American Committee (AAC) was created as a networking group to provide a forum for interests and issues that concern Asian-American Guild members. Through outreach efforts in the entertainment industry that emphasize career development and skills enhancement, the committee provides a variety of networking opportunities as well as screenings, seminars and discussions with industry professionals. The current AAC Co-Chairs are Kevin Berlandi, Michael Goi and Steven J. Kung.