#114 | Dana Lustig | Israel to the AFI

Director and producer Dana Lustig on serving in the Israeli army, studying at the American Film Institute, and five features as director. Dana Lustig was born in Israel and served in the Israeli army, after that she moved to Los Angeles to study at the American Film Institute, where, for the past 14 years, she has been a faculty member. Dana has directed five feature films and produced over twenty-five independent features and two TV series. Dana is a member of DGC, SAG, and PGA. Tune in for a wide-ranging conversation. To learn more about Dana: https://www.danalustig.com Chapters 0:00 Welcome Dana Lustig 2:32 Yossi Ghinsberg and the Bolivian jungle 5:07 Basketball before the three-point line 7:31 Rebelling when you are young 10:08 A puppet theatre in the backyard 12:35 Walking past a movie set on the way to ice skating 15:02 Israeli formats like In Treatment 17:31 Serving in the army 20:07 Learning acting and production at the same time 22:31 Why AFI 25:03 Looking for movies that inspire, not perfect ones 27:36 From arrival to starting school in months 30:00 Leaving the film academy in Israel 32:31 First on campus every day 35:01 Why she stayed in LA 37:30 Sitting in on writing and directing classes at AFI 40:07 Shooting on short ends 42:37 Debbie Reynolds and casting Wedding Bell Blues 45:06 How John Corbett was cast 47:36 Where to start a true story 50:08 A Thanksgiving without snow 52:30 Zika on set 55:00 Rafts on the rivers of Colombia 57:32 Rigid schedules in TV and film 1:00:07 Shooting a scene in two hours instead of half a day 1:02:33 Buying the rights to a book 1:05:04 Finding a writer at Shabbat dinner 1:07:37 Shooting the jungle above Brisbane 1:10:03 Rock and Roll Nanny 1:12:31 Waiting for the reviews of Wedding Bell Blues 1:15:05 Ryan on rewatching old movies 1:17:31 Ryan on raising money independently 1:20:01 Ryan on pitching season five 1:22:32 Ryan on more than 30 events planned 1:25:04 Ryan on 46 minutes per hour 1:27:36 Timing a stunt with the tide 1:30:05 Ryan on documentary versus reality TV 1:32:35 Ryan on filming Extreme Treks for BBC 1:35:08 Cruise ships 1:37:32 Lecturing at AFI, New York Film Academy and Sundance 1:40:02 Everyone has had their heart broken 1:42:31 Ideas from movies watched in the jungle 1:45:03 Facts and anecdotes in her book 1:47:33 People will join your journey The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com