The Directors Guild of America's National Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution on violence and social responsibility at its June 26 meeting at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles, DGA President Jack Shea announced today.
"As the action of our National Board illustrates, the DGA is committed to being an active participant in this debate and an industry leader in the efforts to find solutions to this issue," Shea commented. "Our mission is both to ensure that the First Amendment rights of our members are not trampled upon by overzealous legislators and also to raise the consciousness level of the entertainment community with regard to the social responsibility of filmmakers."
The following is the full text of the resolution as passed by the DGA's National Board of Directors:
Whereas the DGA believes there are legitimate issues concerning the responsibilities of filmmakers and our industry to society; and
Whereas the DGA believes the First Amendment rights of filmmakers must be protected from unwarranted and unconstitutional government intrusion; and
Whereas the DGA believes that the issue of the portrayal of violence in motion pictures and television should be decided between filmmakers and their audience; then
Therefore be it resolved that in order to preserve and protect the First Amendment rights of directors, the Directors Guild of America shall actively participate in the ongoing legislative debate in the United States Congress on proposals to reduce violence in American society; and
That the DGA will provide defense and legal representation to director-members whose films become targets of unwarranted and unconstitutional government intrusion or who are themselves subpoenaed by government agencies; and
That the Guild will establish a DGA Task Force comprised of leading filmmakers to explore and research the issue of violence and seek to create a dialogue and educate Guild members, the creative community and the public-at-large about the issue of violence and the rights and responsibilities of Hollywood.
