Hello and welcome 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 their latest films and insights into the craft of directing.

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This episode takes us behind the scenes of director Barry Jenkins' new drama, if Beale Street could talk. Based on the acclaimed novel by James Baldwin, the film tells the story of Tish, a Harlem woman who strives to prove the

innocence of her fiancée while pregnant with their firstborn child.

In addition to if Beale Street could talk, Mr. Jenkins' credits include the feature Medicine

for Melancholy and episodes of the television series Dear White People.

He was nominated for the 2016 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature

Film and the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, Moonlight.

Following a recent screening of the film at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles, Mr. Jenkins

spoke with director Paul Thomas Anderson about filming if Beale Street could talk.

During their conversation, Mr. Jenkins discusses how he cast the film's two leads,

Kiki Lane and Stefan James, the careful attention he paid to creating the Harlem portrayed in the novel,

and how he directs the immersive close-ups of his films.

Thank you very much.

Hi.

Hello, Mr. Anderson.

We've only spoken on the telephone, so this is actually our first time meeting.

But you told me on the telephone that this is actually born out of the same kind of

insanely creative session that Moonlight is born out of,

that you kind of had twins at the same time that this one came afterwards.

That's fucking nuts.

...