DGA AD/UPM Council, West Chairperson Cleve Landsberg will become the 25th recipient of the Frank Capra Achievement Award. The Capra Award is given to an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in recognition of their service to the industry and DGA.
A DGA member since 1985, Landsberg first became active in service to the Guild when he was appointed to the 1996 Negotiations Committee, a position he has held for every negotiations cycle since then. Landsberg is also a longtime member of the AD/UPM Council West, where he is currently serving his fifth term as Council Chair. Landsberg has served two terms on the National Board, one as an Associate Member and one as an Alternate Member. His additional Guild service includes the DGA Website Advisory Committee, the Information Committee, the Residency Committee, the Low Budget Committee, the Administrative Committee, chairing the Navigating the DGA Committee, the UPM Committee and the Multi-Camera UPM Committee, and co-chairing the Director/UPM Committee.
Landsberg recalls first being called into Guild service after catching the ear of then AD/UPM Council Chair Jerry Ziesmer with his opinion about an issue at a Council meeting. "I was quite vocal about what I saw as an incorrect interpretation of runaway production," said Landsberg. "Jerry recruited me to be part of a committee, and it just grew from there. I enjoyed contributing to the dialogue and felt I could do more. I also felt it was my obligation to give back to my profession in some way. So many people had helped me learn and grow along the way. It was incumbent on me to reciprocate."
Long before he joined the Guild, Landsberg seemed almost genetically predisposed towards a career in the industry. "My father, Klaus Landsberg, was a television pioneer, having founded KTLA-TV in Los Angeles for Paramount Pictures. My dad was the epitome of 24/7 with his work. The only way he could spend time with me was to bring me to KTLA after school, where the crew members looked after me. I was brought along to disaster news coverage and other live event TV shows. My dad unfortunately died from cancer when I was eleven, but a high school summer job led to me becoming a member of the KTLA stage/remote crew through most of my college years at UCLA. It was during that time I realized this was in my blood, and I wanted in for good."
The next natural step in his career evolution was joining the DGA. "After several years working in production and post-production, I knew I needed to be a member of the Directors Guild to further my career goals in production. I had already production managed and produced a lot, but most of the work opportunities I wanted required DGA membership. So I got in by achieving the required number of days doing AD and UPM work to qualify me."
Acknowledging that even hard work and dedication can only get you so far, Landsberg recalls some of the DGA member mentors he had along the way. "As far as my Guild service, I've had a few special mentors like Bob Jeffords, Kim Kurumada and Burt Bluestein. But my most important career mentors were Robin Clark and Mack Harding, two of the best AD/UPM members I had the pleasure to work with. They were always willing to collaborate with me and answer my many questions. Directors who taught me volumes about our craft were Joe Sargent, Lamont Johnson and Larry Peerce. I have many mentors who don't even know they mentored me; I studied several Guild colleagues along the way. I am indebted to them all."
Landsberg took these lessons and forged an impressive resume working as a UPM and producer on feature films such as Tom Shadyac's Bruce Almighty, Ted Kotcheff's Weekend at Bernie's, Michael Sajbel's The Ultimate Gift, James Orr's Mr. Destiny, and David Zucker's Baseketball; movies for television like Larry Elikann's An Inconvenient Woman, Joan Tewkesbury's On Promised Land, John Irvin's Crazy Horse, Lamont Johnson's The Broken Chain and Larry Peerce's The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson; and television series including Spenser for Hire, Earth 2, The District, and his current post as both UPM and co-producer of the ABC drama FlashForward.
Although Landsberg has many proud achievements in his life, one of the most meaningful came from an unusual request. "We all hope that our work will have a lasting impact on others; one of those moments happened last year. Out of the blue I was contacted by a grade school teacher from Alabama who was distraught that her VHS of a television movie (On Promised Land) I had been the UPM and producer on over ten years earlier had worn out. She couldn't find anywhere a copy to sell to her. She told me that she had been showing it to her class every year for over a decade, citing it as her best tool to teach values and race relations to the class. I was very proud to send her a fresh DVD."
Landsberg's tenure on the AD/UPM Council overflows with accomplishments such as the Council's new microsite, and AD/UPM Council-programmed seminars and events that benefitted not only his category but the full membership of the Guild. But he cites his being part of the DGA's last five Negotiating Committees as the work of which he's most proud. "The work we achieved together in negotiations - that is heavy lifting. It is very gratifying to contribute to such successful work."
Looking to the future, Landsberg hopes to be able to inspire others to continue with that practice of giving back to their Guild. "New members coming up should always remember they are part of a very special tradition. Our Guild is the gold standard in our industry. We are the beneficiaries of so much hard work and dedication by our colleagues over many decades. New members should learn about their Guild, their contract and their responsibilities as a Guild member. It is up to every member to respect what has been built for each of us."
In keeping with that feeling, Landsberg is truly moved that his peers have chosen to add his name to the long list of legendary AD/UPMs who have received the Frank Capra Achievement Award. "To be honored with the Frank Capra Award is quite humbling. It truly is icing on the cake because I get so much enjoyment from just being a part of this industry. Ironically, reading Frank Capra's autobiography 'The Name Above the Title' inspired me early in my career. Now to be receiving an award with the name of one of my idols on it is very special."
