Since 1992, the Directors Guild of America has hosted an annual symposium featuring its nominees for outstanding feature film directing. From the first, film and television director Jeremy Kagan has moderated these sessions in which the finest contemporary directors weigh in on every aspect of the filmmaking process. In Directors Close Up, Second Edition, Kagan culled the most insightful and entertaining responses from sessions conducted between 1992 and 2005.

In Directors Close Up 2, an all-new sequel, Kagan shines his spotlight on nominees from the 2006–2012 seminars as they discuss their work on some of the most brilliant films of the last several years. From script development through pre-production to production and post-production, the directors offer personal insights into every step of the creative process. They also reveal their candid takes on the best and worst aspects of their profession. Featuring materials from their productions—including storyboards, script notes, sketches, and on-set photos—Directors Close Up 2 will be of interest to both professional and aspiring directors, as well as film fans who will enjoy this inside look into making movies.

The interviewed nominees featured in this volume:

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

James Cameron, Avatar

George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men

Bill Condon, Dreamgirls

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine

Lee Daniels, Precious

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Stephen Frears, The Queen

Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Paul Haggis, Crash

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech

Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel

Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain

Bennett Miller, Capote

Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight and Inception

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

David O. Russell, The Fighter

Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Martin Scorsese, The Departed and Hugo

Steven Spielberg, Munich

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Gus Van Sant, Milk