The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Independent Producers Association (IPA) have negotiated a DGA-IPA Low Budget Agreement, DGA President Martha Coolidge and IPA Chairman Pierre David announced today.
The new Low Budget Agreement (LBA) can be applied to productions with budgets up to $7 million, and is effective from September 30, 2002 until August 30, 2005. The Agreement is structured in four tiers: films produced for less than $1 million; films with budgets greater than $1 million and less than $2.5 million; films made for more than $2.5 million but less than $3.5 million; and films produced for $3.5 million to $7 million. The previous LBA capped out at $6 million. The new agreement covers all films, except those primarily financed by or developed by a television broadcaster or cable company.
"We're pleased that the IPA and the Guild were able to work so closely together to achieve this agreement." IPA Chairman Pierre David said. "This agreement addresses the major concerns independent producers had with doing movies under a DGA agreement. It demonstrates the commitment of the IPA and the DGA to bring production back to the U.S. and to have more work done under a DGA agreement."
"The DGA and IPA spent over two years coming up with a Low Budget Agreement that is more beneficial to our members and attractive to independent producers," DGA Western Executive Director Bryan Unger said. "We believe that the substantial modifications we've made will make independent film production easier both for DGA members and for indie producers. The new Agreement is more user-friendly and addresses the conditions of the independent film world as it exists now."
