August 11, 2022
On July 13, Director George Stevens, Jr. sat in conversation with Director Paul Thomas Anderson to discuss his career and upbringing with his father, DGA Past President George Stevens, Sr., as part of a podcast released by the Guild on August 11th.
The conversation, a follow-up the release of Stevens’ memoir, My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington, began with the two luminaries struck up a rapport over their shared roots on the San Fernando Valley’s Ventura Blvd. Stevens spoke of a life wherein the DGA always loomed large. During the height of the Red Scare, he had a ringside view of his father’s tireless dedication and mediating skills as loyalty oaths divided the Guild membership. Stevens describes how years later he truly fathomed the gravity of his father’s leadership amidst the inflamed passions of the Cold War. With a warm chuckle he added, “My mother said she never saw anybody win an argument with my father, he should have been a lawyer.”
Anderson was fascinated by Stevens’ lifelong creative journey both alongside and in awe of his own father. On the night of Stevens Sr. won the Academy Award for “Best Picture” for his iconic DGA Award-winning 1951 feature, A Place in the Sun, Stevens recalled sitting next to his father’s Oscar in the backseat of the car. His father turned to him and said, “You know, we’ll have a better idea what kind of film this is in 25 years.” This moment began his lifelong fascination with the test of time all films face, driving Stevens’ founding of the American Film Institute.
Click here to see more conversations from podcast section of www.dga.org.