Directors Guild of America President Michael Apted today announced that Secretary-Treasurer Gil Cates has been appointed to chair the Feature Film and Television Negotiating Committee, and that Fourth Vice President William M. Brady has been appointed to chair the Network Staff Negotiating Committee. The appointments were approved by the National Board at its most recent meeting.
“While our current agreements expire in June of next year, the Board felt that it was important to begin preparing for negotiations on the complex issues confronting our industry,” DGA President Michael Apted said. “We need our most skilled colleagues in this difficult time, and we are extremely fortunate to have Gil again leading the charge for our AMPTP negotiations on the West Coast. Bill’s experience will be critical to addressing our network issues in New York. I anticipate that the Board will appoint full Negotiating Committees in the spring of this year.”
The DGA’s current three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires June 30, 2008.
Cates, who served two terms as DGA President between 1983-87, most recently chaired the Negotiating Committee in both the 2005 and 2002 rounds of contract talks with the AMPTP. He has been an active member of the DGA’s National Board for more than 20 years. Cates is a distinguished feature film and television director, who has also produced a record 13 Academy Awards® broadcasts. He also currently serves as the producing director of the Geffen Playhouse.
Brady currently serves as Fourth Vice President of the Guild and has been a member of the National Board since 1999. He most recently served as chair of the Network Staff Negotiating Committee in both 2002 and 2005. Brady has been a director with CBS News in New York since 1982, and prior to that at WCBS-TV in New York since 1977.
