Creative Rights Teach-In

More than 70 directors of sitcoms, one-hour dramas and movies for television came to the DGA in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 17, for a teach-in and discussion entitled "Your Creative Rights Under Siege." 

Director Victoria Hochberg, alternate on the Western Directors Council and National Board and who, with director Robert Markowitz, spearheaded the organization of this forum, welcomed the attendees saying, "I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the creative rights of directors are under siege. The flash point seems to be television because it is there that traditions slowly built over decades are now being pummeled by sheer numbers, numbers of writers, numbers of producers and in series television, numbers of ensemble actors and crew members many of whom believe they know how to direct and are more than willing to bestow upon us the glittering prize of their unsolicited opinion. 

"As television often serves as the entry level position for directing talent," she observed, "it has also become the entry level position for bad practices that have seriously begun to undermine our work. Many TV producers, writers and actors are learning their craft in an environment of diminished respect for the director. When these workers graduate to feature films, their attitudes about the function of the director graduate with them. This is not good."

DGA President Jack Shea echoed those thoughts and said, "I’m really happy to see so many of you at this forum. This is an important day. Our creative rights have been gained by great efforts on the part of many of our predecessors. And even today rights such as editing are being challenged. The Guild is here and is able to protect your rights. Therefore, it’s important that you know what your rights are and that we know when you need help. Problems can be solved confidentially and expeditiously. It’s imperative that you exercise your rights to direct actors and crew without interference, to edit and to be involved in the casting. If we don’t exercise our rights, we stand the possibility of losing them. We believe that talking to each other about how to do our jobs with pride, how to handle intrusions from those who would like to diminish us, how to utilize and benefit from our creative rights and what the Guild can do on our behalf will improve the quality of our working lives tremendously."

Pointing to the article he wrote for the September 1998 issue of DGA Magazine, director Jim Burrows said, "All of us who direct situation comedy have to die with our boots on. You are given an opportunity to work with your actors. During that time is when you become a director. You have to take the opportunity that you’re given when you’re working with your actors to put your imprint on the show. 

"I know this because I watched Mr. [Jay] Sandrich work," he continued. "Under the duress of directing The Mary Tyler Moore Show where everybody had an opinion, when he was alone with his actors, he had an opinion and they listened to him. There was no, ‘You have to listen to me,’ they respected him and they will respect you. So, I say to all the half-hour comedy guys and girls, please; don’t lay back, don’t just sit there and let them do what they want. Please contribute. Say what you want. When notes are being given, give your notes. Don’t say, ‘I have the right to give a note,’ just give your notes. If they’re good, you’ll get other shows. If they’re not, you won’t get other shows and maybe you shouldn’t be directing. Those of you who can direct, please direct. Those of you who can’t, move over and let other people have a chance."

Director and DGA member Bob Butler, also an alternate on the Western Directors Council and National Board, expressed alarm over the current plight of a director’s creative rights in television and told of "an incident that I heard about with a director working on a dramatic show. A producer/writer had been assigned to that show to help with rewrites and at the end of each take that director glanced at the producer/writer for apparent endorsement or denial as to whether that take should be printed. That is the bottom of what has happened. Whether it’s malicious, who knows? That’s defensive. That’s the problem. 

"The solution for me lies in captaincy. At our worst we’re captains. We’re paid to get the damn thing done. At our best we also tell a story. The captaincy is inviolate to me. Nobody else leads the cast, interprets the material, shades the performances on the part of the needy stars, or collaborates on the performances on the part of the guest cast. This is what we do — choosing location, setting the camerawork, all of the stuff we know we do under optimum conditions. Nobody else does it. We do it well. That’s why we’re here this morning. And we must make sure we have it, own it and are free to exercise our abilities."

Director and alternate on the Western Directors Council Rod Holcomb spoke to the attendees about showing his films to a class his wife was teaching and a dreaded question was posed to him. "‘How come you put the camera where you put it?’ I hate when they ask that because I have absolutely no idea," he related. "I stumbled through an answer. ‘It was divergent thinking, variations on a theme,’ but it actually was just a flash of an idea, indefinable, something that comes from your soul, something that comes from you, something where you are inspired. 

"There is no definition for it, but it needs to be protected and it needs to be supported," he said. "Here today we talk about those protections, and I think one of the things we have all been happy to have received from this Guild is a commitment to support and protect the basic ingredient of our creative rights and that’s support for the creative process. It cannot be interfered with and it cannot be compromised. Today I hope you’re able to leave these meetings with an idea about your creative rights and to know very confidently that the Guild is going to come back with some newer commitments to you in your efforts to be able to speak about your creative process by realizing that you must protect, at all cost, your creative rights."

Associate National Executive Director Warren Adler then added that, "Our purpose is to arm you with information that will help you direct your shows and movies with professionalism and respect in an increasingly hostile environment. The problems are different for directors in each genre and the responses are too.

"We expect that the most useful information you will get will come from you and your fellow directors as you exchange your experiences and your wisdom about the best ways to exercise your skills and artistry in the real world of television." 

The director attendees broke into three separate discussion groups, one for directors of movies for television led by directors Mick Garris and Robert Markowitz; another for directors of one-hour dramatic led by directors Victoria Hochberg and Michael Pressman; and the last for directors of situation comedies led by directors Michael Lembeck and John Rich.

The sessions proved to be filled with enthusiastic support for the Guild’s efforts to address the state of the creative rights of directors in television. Many suggestions were made, and many expressed the hope that these forums would continue and get more directors to attend and work toward attaining more respect for the role of the director in television.

Following the breakout sessions, attendees gathered in the DGA Atrium for lunch. After listening to several comments and suggestions for future forums from director attendees, DGA National Executive Director Jay D. Roth addressed the group, reminding them about the origins of the DGA: 

"Over 60 years ago, 13 directors got together in a room, they were the most successful directors in the business, they saw what was happening to directors and they said, ‘We need a Guild,’" he said. "It wasn’t about money. It was about the craft of directing and what it meant. The common thread that has kept this organization together from the very beginning and will keep us together in the future, is the honor and the belief in the craft of directing and filmmaking. 

"Creative rights are not some code word for blue-collar work protection, they’re here and were negotiated because we and the producers agreed that the exercise of these rights and responsibilities were in the best interest of filmmaking," he continued. "A director who does not exercise his or her rights is denying the film, the actors, the producers and the public the director’s essential contribution to the collaborative process that is television. It is also essential that the Guild as an organization uses its own resources to support you in every way." 

He then announced that the Guild will notify studios and networks that it will be monitoring TV production more closely than ever before and that the Guild will be vigilant about the treatment of directors.

"Our field reps will be spending more time on your sets and locations making sure that your rights are respected," he said. "We have increased our field rep staff, adding one new field representative and if needed more will come. So if you see Don Gold, Phil Althouse or Roberta Hutcheson, you will know the Guild is doing its part to maintain the dignity of the profession of directing. For those of you directing movies for television, if you hear from Jon Larson, you will know the Guild is doing its part watching out that you get the cutting time you need to do your best work. And all of the Guild executives and contract administrators are here to help you with your problems as they come up. 

"I also want to be clear that this effort cannot work without the support and commitment of our working directors. We will be present on the set to identify problems and support you, but you also must report difficulties that you may have and encourage your fellow directors to do so. There are no guarantees that some network executive or producer will not seek to retaliate, but we will do our best to protect you individually, make you invisible if possible and to use the full force of the Guild if such retaliation starts to occur. Rights are gained and maintained by those who are willing to fight for them. This is unquestionably true in this circumstance. If we do not fight to protect these rights and responsibilities, they will no longer exist. In this effort, our goal is to improve collaboration, filmmaking and the ultimate product."

 

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