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President's Report
President Jack Shea
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There's been a lot of discussion about the upcoming contract expirations of the WGA and SAG. It's a subject that's on the minds of all of us, and there is good reason to be concerned about the impact that a strike might have on hundreds of thousands of people throughout our state and nation.
As you know, in addition to their economic agenda, the WGA has made demands concerning writer participation and credit issues. These demands have served to unnecessarily divide our two guilds at this difficult time.
The DGA's leadership, along with our Creative Rights Committee and 150 of our director members, has worked for nearly one year to produce a thoughtful set of recommendations in the areas raised by the WGA, but which unlike the WGA proposals would help rather than injure the filmmaking process and us. Although the DGA does not have a seat at the bargaining table, we drafted a set of proposals -- including possessory credit proposals -- and gave them to the AMPTP at its request. The studios have stated publicly that the DGA's contributions served to help make progress on these issues.
We were pleased to see that many of the writer participation issues where progress was noted came from the hard work of the DGA Leadership team. Our proposals were based on the concept of "preferred practices" suggesting how the writer-director relationship ought to work, rather than contractual provisions attempting to mandate the relationship. We also included preferred practices addressing issues as to how TV writers (including writer-producers) ought to work with directors. While the WGA may have adopted our approach to many of these issues, it is clear that the WGA and the DGA remain far apart on the possessory credit issue.
The WGA's current proposal as spelled out in a statement they released to the media on March 1 is unacceptable, and we have made our feelings known in these negotiations. In fact, the Directors Guild will not accept any provision in the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement that affects what credit a director may take.
The DGA will continue to do whatever we can to help advance constructive dialogue on the issues. We remain hopeful that the WGA and AMPTP will negotiate a fair economic deal and that all the issues will be resolved in time to keep the industry working.
Keep in mind that our own contract negotiations with the AMPTP begin next year. The time for preparation is upon us. Rest assured that the members who serve so diligently on DGA committees have already begun preparing for these negotiations along with the DGA staff.
Just as we immersed ourselves in every aspect of the internet before developing our flexible and experimental internet contracts, so to have we been thoroughly studying a number of issues: How will the digital revolution affect our members in the workplace? What is the real status of residuals for work aired on cable and overseas? What is the state of the director's creative rights in television, and so many other areas.
Though we now have internet contracts, we continue to analyze and study the issue. A good example of how this approach has benefited us in the past is our Low Budget Agreement (LBA) that allows Guild members to work on almost any type of project. This agreement has opened up filmmaking to every one and for every budget.
Many people may think that this agreement was developed recently. It wasn't. Our first waiver for a lower budget project was granted in the early '80s.
The Guild recognized that traditional methods of motion picture production were changing, and that something needed to be done to extend protection to filmmakers working with modest budgets. Directors needed flexibility in order to accomplish their vision outside the studios.
We saw what would benefit them, and we were able to adjust our contracts. Filmmakers had freedom to create and still enjoyed the tremendous benefits as well as substantial workplace and creative rights protections that come with Guild membership.
The DGA was the leader in recognizing the need for Low Budget Agreements, and our LBAs have continued to evolve for nearly two decades.
Nearly every aspect of our Guild has similarly evolved because of this wise and studied approach. It's one of the main reasons that I am so proud to be a member.
We frequently refer to a director as the captain of a ship. He knows where he wants to go and he charts the best course after careful study of all the conditions that will affect the journey. He is able to adjust when the unexpected arises. He can adjust successfully only because he is so well prepared. This is how the Guild is run.
There's a particularly interesting story in this issue. It's about directors who are now wearing showrunner hats. It seems that people are discovering that it is wise to have someone who is not only creative, but who is also intimately familiar with the demands of actually making the show.
One last note. We were deeply saddened by the passing of Howard W. Koch. Howard gave so much of himself to the Guild and the DGA Foundation. It is my honor to announce that Howard will be forever remembered as we rename our golf tournament to be the Howard W. Koch Memorial DGA Golf Tournament. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the DGA Foundation Howard so loved.
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