Hello, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of The Directors Cut, brought to 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 Rob Marshall's new musical fantasy, Mary Poppins,

Returns. Drawn from the Mary Poppins stories by P.L. Travers, the film takes place in Depression-era

London during the 1930s, where the adult Jane and Michael Banks find themselves in need

of Mary Poppins' magical abilities once again, after the family suffers a devastating loss.

In addition to Mary Poppins returns,

Mr. Marshall's credits include the feature films

Into the Woods, Pirates of the Caribbean

on Stranger Tides, Nine, Memoirs of a Geisha,

and the television special, the Kennedy Center honors

a celebration of the performing arts.

He won the DGA's Feature Film Award for his 2002 film Chicago,

the Musical Variety Award in 2006 for Tony Bennett, an American Classic,

and was nominated for the Guild's Musical Variety Award in 1999 for Annie.

Following a recent screening of the film at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles, Mr. Marshall spoke

with director Ron Howard about filming Mary Poppins Returns. During their conversation, Mr. Marshall

discusses the pressure of directing both the beloved classic and the first film he saw

as a child, knowing when and when not to reference the original Mary Poppins film, and why creating a 2D

animation sequence was the hardest thing he's ever done.

Congratulations. I'm just overwhelmed that Ron's here. I just sort of freaked out that you're here,

...