The other side of the tale behind the landmark Supreme Court case is retold in Director Michelle Danner’s biographical crime-drama, Miranda’s Victim.
Danner’s film tells the story of Patricia Weir, who in 1963, was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda. Committed to seeing him pay for the crime, her life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation.
On November 11, after the DGA membership screening in New York, Danner discussed the making of Miranda’s Victim during a Q&A moderated by Director Sarah Pirozek (#Like).
During the conversation, Danner spoke about how the editing process changed the film. “That was something that was not in the script but we discovered it in the editing that the first trial needed to be seen through John Fynn's eyes. What they say is true, 'There's the movie that is the script and then there's the movie you end up shooting and then, of course, there's the movie you discover when you're editing.' You have to be open to turning things upside down which we were.”
Also renowned as an acting teacher, Danner shared some of how she works with her cast. “If I see seven things that I would like to be improved, I'll never go up to an actor and give them seven things in a row. I'll tell them a few things and then I'll see where that takes us and maybe in the next take it's all good. If not, I'll offer a little more and a little more.”
Danner’s other directorial credits include the feature films The Runner, Bad Impulse, The Bandit Hound, Hello Herman and How to Go Out on a Date in Queens. She has been a DGA member since 2000.