The U.S. Senate's second ranking member in seniority, Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), met with the DGA PAC Leadership Council (LC) on October 25 for a compelling Q&A luncheon in the Guild' sixth floor Boardroom. The intimate gathering, which offered LC members direct access to one of the nation's most enduring and knowledgeable legislative minds, covered many key industry issues: runaway production, piracy and copyright infringement, health care and creative rights under new technologies.

Senator Kennedy paid great respect to the Directors Guild, calling its members "the creative backbone for our nation and society." He spoke of his long-standing ties to the arts and John F. Kennedy's words that "when the dust of time gathers, it won't be the force of arms [that's remembered], but the creative aspects of the human spirit."

A veteran of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kennedy told LC members about first being "stirred to action" in the late '80s during hearings for the Patents and Copyrights Bill. Citing one example of a Calder sculpture repainted without the artist's input or consent, Kennedy noted the resonance for Guild members.

"The only thing Calder asked to do was to remove his name from the sculpture, and that was denied by the courts," Kennedy said. "The Visual Arts Bill, which protected the creative rights of altered works, resulted in political pressure, by those who supposedly represented the interests of creative artists, like I had never seen. This is what you're all up against: a systemic leveraging of your financial and creative rights. It is an issue that speaks to the core of my political soul."

"This is what you're all up against: a systematic leveraging of your financial and creative rights. It is an issue that speaks to the core of my political soul." –Senator Kennedy

Kennedy told LC members how film production leaving Massachusetts for Canada in 2002 resulted in more than $120 million of revenue lost to his home state. He responded to DGA PAC Chairman Taylor Hackford's comments about a bill pending before Congress, part of which would stimulate U.S. production levels through immediate state and federal tax deductions, with a big picture view of the legislative process.

"This type of legislation should not be a hard sell to Congress," the Senator said. "It is a labor issue, a job recovery issue that cuts across party lines. Your governor understands and is committed to this issue. Along with Congressman Dreier (R-CA), he can influence the California Republican Delegation. Republicans will want this legislation to move through because everyone wants job recovery. You tag this on to the train that's going through."

Kennedy promised to follow up on the issues laid out by LC members upon his return to Washington, quoting poet Robert Frost, in telling LC members: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep."

Among the LC members attending were Michael Apted, Warren Beatty, Burt Bluestein, Hart Bochner, John Bowab, Robert Butler, Thomas Carter, Lee Shallat Chemel, Wes Craven, Donna Deitch, James Frawley, Lesli Glatter, Wolfgang Glattes, Taylor Hackford, Charles Haid, Curtis Hanson, Victoria Hochberg, Rod Holcomb, Gregory Jacobs, Barnet Kellman, Joanna Kerns, Bob Kozicki, Kim Kurumada, Michael Lembeck, Demian Lichtenstein, Jonathan Lynn, Will Mackenzie, Robert Markowitz, Jonathan Mostow, Dan Petrie, Donald Petrie, Michael Robin, Jack Shea, Mark Tinker, Jesús Treviño and Lili Zanuck.