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| Leadership Council members Walter Hill and Thomas Schlamme greet Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD). - photos by Robert Hale - Click images for larger view |
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On Wednesday, April 19, 2006, the DGA PAC Leadership Council (LC) hosted a breakfast for Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Congressman Hoyer is one of the most respected and powerful Members of the House Democratic Caucus, serving as the Democratic Whip, the second highest elected leadership position among House Democrats. In his thirteenth term in Congress, Hoyer serves as a senior member on the influential House Appropriations Committee, which controls the ‘purse strings’ of the Federal Government.
The breakfast allowed LC members to discuss with the Congressman three important issues the Guild is working on: Runaway Film and TV Production; Copyright Protection and the ongoing battles against piracy in all its forms; and Content Regulation, which is currently embodied in HR 4472, “The Children’s Safety and Violent Crimes Act of 2006” a section of which amends existing federal government regulations dealing with child pornography in way that impacts on mainstream entertainment and directors.
DGA President Michael Apted thanked the attending members of the LC, telling them: “You have helped us form a strong network of relationships with key people in Congress and made the Directors Guild the voice of the creative side of the industry.”
Apted then turned the floor over to LC Co-Chair Paris Barclay who put the real life impact of intellectual piracy in perspective as he introduced Congressman Hoyer.
“People think that directors are so wealthy that we can live forever on the salary from one successful film. That’s not the way it works. It’s the residuals that come from the resale that we, and many other categories that work in this industry, depend upon for our livelihoods. That’s why piracy is such an important issue to us. We are pleased to be able to meet with elected officials like you who care and are interested in finding out what’s happening in the industry from some of our top film and television makers.”
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L-R Bottom Row: Directors Ron Underwood, Katy Garretson, DGA Board Member John Rich, LC Co-Chair Paris Barclay, Congressman Steny Hoyer, DGA President Michael Apted, DGA Past President Martha Coolidge, Director Arthur Seidelman and DGA Board Alternate Lesli Linka Glatter.
L-R Top Row: Directors Wolfgang Glattes, Walter Hill, Leonard Garner, Jr., DGA Board Alternate Carl Weathers, Director John Bowab, DGA Board Alternate Robert Butler, Director Demian Lichtenstein, DGA Board Alternate Thomas Schlamme, Director Michael Lehmann, and DGA Associate National Executive Director Warren Adler.
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In his remarks to the LC, Hoyer demonstrated that he fully appreciated the scope and long-standing nature of piracy issues. “Stephen Foster (the turn-of-the-century composer of classic songs including: "Oh! Susanna," "Camptown Races" and "Beautiful Dreamer”) died a pauper, not because people weren’t wild about his music, but because everybody stole from him,” said Hoyer. “It’s a really visceral reminder of the impact of this problem. What’s happening to you is the same thing that happened to Foster. He had a product that had great value and people wanted it. We don’t want to hold back technological development, but we want to insure that intellectual property rights are protected.”
Hoyer recognized that another component of the problem was public perception that theft of intellectual property isn’t really stealing. “We live in a complicated era. Technology affects not only the way you do business, but how other people access it. But if I had a transporter like the one depicted on Star Trek and ‘beamed up’ that table over there, would that be any less theft? But that’s what’s happening technologically today because it’s so easy to steal. So I’m out here to be educated by you. I so admire what you do and enjoy the exposure you give to different ideas. But if we don’t take steps to protect the intellectual property rights of those who create, they will stop creating. I think this is an issue much larger than individual creators of intellectual property. It is an issue of whether or not our society is going to be enriched as we go through this age, and not simply replicate old stuff.”
Hoyer also acknowledged how the film industry has the power to change minds on important issues, citing the example of DGA Member Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda. “Films like that, more than my getting up on the floor of the House and talking about Darfur, or ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, make such a dramatic impact on my constituents that it makes it a lot easier for me to do my job.”
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