Meet the interviewer:

Jeremy Kagan

Jeremy Kagan is a director, writer, and producer of feature films and television. His credits include the box-office hits Heroes, The Big Fix and The Chosen (winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Paris Film Festival and the Grand Prix des Ameriques and Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Montreal Film Festival). The Journey of Natty Gann was the first U.S. film to win a Gold Prize at the Moscow Film Festival. Other directing credits include Katherine; Courage; Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 (winner of the CableACE Award for Best Dramatic Special); Descending Angel; the Golden Globe nominated Roswell: The UFO Coverup, which he produced and directed; and Color of Justice.

In 1996, an episode he directed for Chicago Hope won an Emmy for Outstanding Direction for a Dramatic Series. One of his segments of Picket Fences was listed by television critics among the Top Hundred Television Episodes. His recent work includes an episode of Steven Spielberg's Emmy-winning anthology, Taken and numerous episodes of such hit series as The Guardian and The West Wing. His Bobbie's Girl was the highest rated film on Showtime in 2003 and his movie Crown Heights, which he produced and directed, won the Humanitas Prize and was nominated for a DGA Award in 2004. His most recent work includes Golda's Balcony starring Valerie Harper, the ten-part series The ACLU Freedom Files for Court TV, and the feature film Shot, starring Noah Wyle and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Jeremy Kagan chairs the DGA’s Special Projects Committee and has served on the National Board of the DGA. He is the author of the book, Directors Close Up, based on the popular annual symposium he conducts with the nominees for the DGA Award in feature film directing. In 2004, Kagan received the Guild's Robert B. Aldrich Award for Extraordinary Service to the Guild.