Hello, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of The Directors' Cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America,

featuring today's top directors sharing behind-the-scenes stories of the latest films and insights into the craft of directing.

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This episode takes us behind the scenes of director Adam Robitel's new thriller, Escape Room.

Capturing the cultural zeitgeist of puzzle box escape rooms, the film follows a group of adventurous

game players vying to win $10,000 by cracking a series of puzzles in a mysterious building.

But what begins as seemingly innocent fun morphs into a living nightmare as they discover that each

room is an elaborate trap in a sadistic contest of life or death.

In addition to Escape Room, Mr. Robatel's directorial credits include the feature films Insidious

The Last Key and The Taking of Deborah Logan.

Following a recent screening of the film at the DGA Theater in Los

Angeles, Mr. Robatel spoke with director Christopher Landon about filming escape room. During their conversation,

Mr. Robatel discusses taking on the project knowing nothing about escape rooms, why the billiards

room was the toughest part of the film to shoot, and the careful

planning required for properly integrating the puzzle of the room within the progress

of the narrative.

Hi, everybody.

Hey, guys.

How many of you have been to an escape room?

I'm just curious.

Okay, so I have a few people.

Like half.

...