John Avildsen discusses his early years in advertising and working on industrial shorts, which led him to work with Otto Preminger and Arthur Penn, and how he made the leap from independent films like Joe to studio features like Save the Tiger and Rocky.
Mira Nair discusses her 35-plus-year directorial career, highlighting her documentaries (Jama Masjid Street Journal, India Cabaret), independent features (Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding), and studio features (Vanity Fair, Amelia, Queen of Katwe).
Veteran feature and documentary film director and past-president of the DGA Michael Apted discusses his 45-plus year directorial career, highlighting his work on the Seven Up! documentary series, Coal Miner’s Daughter and Nell, among other notable projects. (Part 1 of 2)
Director Stan Lathan discusses his 40-plus year career directing episodic and variety television (Sanford and Son, The Steve Harvey Show, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Def Comedy Jam); starting out at WGBH-TV; and his collaboration with iconic comedians Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley.
Anita Cooper-Avrick discusses her 36-year career stage managing television programs ranging from and The People’s Court to Mr. Belvedere and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; her AD/SM/PA Council West participation; and her extensive Guild involvement.
Director John Landis recounts his journey through the film business, starting as an 18-year-old mail boy at 20th Century Fox to directing blockbuster comedies like National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and Coming To America.
Norman Jewison shares stories from his more than forty-year career beginning as a live television director before transitioning to direct genre-bending feature films that entertained and challenged audiences, such as The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof, and Moonstruck.
Victoria Hochberg discusses her career directing episodic television (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Sex and the City), movies for television (Jacob Have I Loved, Sweet 15), and her involvement in the founding of the DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee.
Multihyphenate filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) shares stories from his long career as a director, writer, producer and actor during the “New Hollywood” era.
Henry Chan (A Different World, Moesha, Fresh Off the Boat, 100 Days) discusses his 30-plus year career directing episodic television and feature films, his beginnings as an editor, and his involvement in the Asian American Committee.
Director Steve James recounts career highlights including the groundbreaking documentary Hoop Dreams and the six-year-long process to make the film, which led to directing narrative films like Prefontaine and critically-acclaimed documentaries like The Interrupters and Life Itself.
Director Don Roy King discusses Saturday Night Live, starting out at local stations, and his diverse body of work directing news, variety, talk, reality and live theatrical Broadway performances.
Gary Shimokawa shares with interviewer Michael Zinberg his experiences over thirty years of working in television on shows such as All in the Family, Laverne and Shirley, and The Golden Girls.
Television director and producer Lee Shallat Chemel (The Middle, Gilmore Girls, Murphy Brown) discusses her long career directing episodic comedy, how she got her start on Family Ties, and the importance of her Guild service.
Melvin Van Peebles discusses his career with his son, director and actor Mario Van Peebles, including starting to direct in France, his award-winning film The Story of a Three Day Pass, and kicking off the blaxpoitation genre with his independently financed and produced Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
Veteran television director Howard Storm (Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Full House) discusses his long career directing episodic television and the actors who received their big breaks on his sets, namely Robin Williams and Jim Carrey.
Alan Myerson (Steelyard Blues, Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach, The Larry Sanders Show) recounts his 30-plus year career directing feature films and episodic television, his involvement with Second City, and the formation of the world-renowned improvisational troupe, The Committee.
Sidney Lumet discusses his directing style developed over 50 years of filmmaking including such noteworthy films as 12 Angry Men (1957), Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Network (1976).
Jerry Lewis (The Nutty Professor, The Ladies Man) shares his unique perspective of the directing side of more than seven decades working in comedy as a director, writer, producer and performer.
Feature film and television director Mike Newell discusses his 50-plus year directorial career, highlighting his work on Coronation Street, The Man in the Iron Mask, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Love in the Time of Cholera, among other notable projects.
Director and writer Joan Micklin Silver (Hester Street, Finnegan Begin Again, Crossing Delancey) shares insights and stories from her career directing independent features and movies for television.
Michael Schultz recalls his career through four decades of directing, beginning in the theater, successes with Cooley High and Car Wash, and his prolific work in episodic television.
Director Robert Altman describes his working philosophy, often comparing filmmaking to painting, and discusses the sources of his storytelling and directing techniques he used on films like M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and The Player.