The Housemaid with Paul Feig and Lesli Linka Glatter (Ep. 598)

The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Directors Guild of America

Tv & Film

4.6 • 848 Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Director Paul Feig discusses his new film, The Housemaid, with fellow Director Lesli Linka Glatter in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses the intentional casting of Actors Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney opposite one another, finding the house that served as the main location and how its architecture led to the discovery of scenes, and balancing the film’s tone between comedy and drama to give breathing room for heavier aspects of the film. The film tells the story of Millie, who accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for a wealthy couple as a way of trying to put her troubled past behind her. But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous — a seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://www.dga.org/events/2026/february2026/housemaid_qna_1225

Transcript

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0:00.0	You have to be true to the genre.
0:02.3	That's your first thing.
0:03.6	You can't, I'm not making a spoof.
0:05.2	And, you know, and I don't want to, like, shortchange an audience who comes to see that genre.
0:09.2	But you just can't get in the way of the, of when there's drama or the stakes.
0:14.5	But then it's where do you find the laughs, which are releases, you know.
0:41.8	Hello, and welcome back to the Directors Cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America.
0:48.3	In this episode, a live-in housemaid takes a job which quickly unravels into something dangerous,
0:51.3	and director Paul Feig's thriller, The Housemaid.
0:56.2	The film tells the story of Millie, who accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for a wealthy couple as a way of trying to put her troubled past behind her.
1:02.0	But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous, a seductive
1:07.2	game of secrets, scandal, and power.
1:17.1	In addition to The Housemaid, Figue's other directorial credits include the feature films A Simple Favor, Spy, The Heat, and Bridesmaids, and Episodes, and Episodes, and
1:23.7	Mad Men, 30 Rock, and Arrested Development.
1:29.3	He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and Comedy Series for his 2008
1:34.5	episode of The Office, Dinner Party.
1:39.5	Following a screening of the film at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles, Figue spoke with
1:43.6	director Leslie Linka Glatter
1:45.0	about filming The House Maid. Listen on for their spoiler-filled conversation.
1:56.7	The elegance of the suit, Paul.
2:00.0	My uniform.
2:01.3	I just want to start off and say, holy shit.
	...

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