Meet the Nominees: Feature Film Symposium

February 6, 2016

A standing room only crowd packed the DGA’s Los Angeles Theater on Saturday morning, February 6, 2016, as all five nominees for the Guild’s 2015 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award – Directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), Adam McKay (The Big Short), George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), and Ridley Scott (The Martian) – discussed the making of their films with moderator Jeremy Kagan during the 25th annual Meet the Nominees symposium.

In his welcome to the audience, DGA President Paris Barclay looked back at the quarter-century history of directors sharing their stories at this event and said, “Just think of all the tales told by the more than 70 directors who have joined us over the years to illuminate the process behind the artistry. There may be other events on the awards circuit where directors will gather together – but this symposium is the true grand-daddy of them all. This event has always been an opportunity for DGA members to hear the inside stories from so many mavericks about how they took risks, broke rules, and brought their films to life. As you can tell from the overflow crowd, it is also one of our most popular member events of the year. Sit back, relax, and get ready to be intellectually stimulated.”

Following the traditional screening of a clip from each film, Kagan led the nominees in a lively roundtable discussion about the myriad aspects of the creative process that go into the making of a feature film worthy of a DGA Award nomination. As each revealed some of the struggles they faced in getting their films made and offered entertaining and illuminating behind-the-scenes stories from their various sets, the spirit of camaraderie and mutual respect was evident. Although, in a matter of hours, only one of them would be able to take home this year’s DGA Award for Feature Film Award, it was clear that they were all winners.