Since 1964 when Universal Pictures first teamed with NBC to make original two-hour “world premiere movies,” more than 5,800 Movies for Television have been made. On Tuesday, June 20, 2006, the DGA celebrated this milestone with the gala event, “Movies for Television: Four Decades of Directorial Excellence.”
Following a VIP reception in the DGA’s Los Angeles headquarters atrium and patio, guests and participants filled Theatre One to capacity to hear from those working in the genre. The evening was hosted by Fifth Vice-President Betty Thomas, winner of the 1996 DGA Award for her movie for television The Late Shift.
“Like feature films and series television, movies for television run the gamut in terms of content and tone,” said Thomas. “They can be lush historical epics, socially compelling dramas as well as campy women-in-peril pictures. And there is an audience for them all. Movies for television and miniseries have long been shared experiences – reaching larger audiences in one night than most feature films do in their entire run. Unfortunately, the men and women who make these films lack recognition for their fine work. This is something the DGA believes needs to change. Tonight we begin that process by kicking-off our “Four Decades of Directorial Excellence” campaign focusing on the quality, artistry, and sheer entertainment value of the genre, and the important role of the directors who make them.”
“The real life of the American people and of people around the world is invested in television and movies for television,” said Frank Pierson director of the DGA Award-winning Conspiracy (2001). “To be able to share some of our thoughts and feelings about this fragile planet that we share with all of those people is an extraordinary, extraordinary gift for which I am so deeply grateful. I am proud to be part of this celebration and so proud to have been part of this revolution that found a way to tell our stories through a medium that goes to so many and perhaps might make some difference, somewhere, in the hearts and souls of a few people somewhere out there, this night and every night.”
Other speakers included: Quinn Taylor, Senior Vice President Movies and Miniseries for ABC; Kary Antholis, Senior Vice President Miniseries HBO Films; and actors Thora Birch (Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story); Joe Mantegna (The Rat Pack), Ed Begley, Jr. (The Late Shift); CCH Pounder (Boycott); Peter Fonda (The Laramie Project); and Helen Mirren (Elizabeth I) who commented, “I have experienced first hand the glorious obsessions, the unbelievable energy, the single-minded total focus of a director of a television film. Not enough money, not enough time but they are going to make this bloody thing the best it can be. I am honored to have worked with so many brilliant directors and I salute you all for the fine work you have done.”
Mirren then introduced a DGA-commissioned clip montage edited by Academy Award-winning director Chuck Workman, which featured a representative sample of the weight, diversity and breadth movies for television made by DGA members over the past four decades.
Following the screening, Thomas thanked the Guild’s Movies for Television Campaign Committee, and Mike Robe and Robert Markowitz, co-chairs of the DGA’s Movies for Television Committee, for their tremendous work spearheading the event and the ongoing campaign. The evening was capped as all the directors in the audience who had ever made a movie for television rose to receive a well-deserved round of applause before everyone retired to the lobby for the after-party.
