The National Board of Directors of the Directors Guild of America has unanimously approved the preliminary agreement reached late Saturday by the guild’s negotiating committee, a deal that aims to set parameters around the use of artificial intelligence and increase streaming residue rates. to increase.
With the approval of the Board of Directors, the contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will be submitted to DGA members for approval. The guild expects to send materials to its members this week.
“We started negotiating a contract that would build for the future. This is a significant deal with benefits for every director, assistant director, unit production manager, associate director and stage manager,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter. “Our industry is changing and expanding rapidly, and this agreement is what we need to adapt to those changes, break new ground, and protect the DGA’s 19,000 directors and executive team members today and for years to come . Together with the rest of the DGA National Board, I am proud to enthusiastically recommend this preliminary agreement to our members for ratification. Together we will secure the future we deserve.”
The DGA’s progress on a new three-year master contract with Hollywood’s major studios and platforms comes against the backdrop of the Writers Guild of America’s strike, now in its second month. SAG-AFTRA, meanwhile, will begin negotiations with the AMPTP on June 7. Like the DGA, SAG-AFTRA’s current contract expires on June 30. SAG-AFTRA members have spoken out in favor of the WGA’s work stoppage and many actors on picket lines have expressed concern about the use of AI and compensation challenges in a rapidly changing television era. SAG-AFTRA is seen as closer than in years to calling a strike against Hollywood’s biggest employers, given the level of unease among working actors.
Other gains made by the directors include an additional day of shooting for episodic drama series and extensive TV editing and post-production rights. The DGA also praised the contract provisions “which confirm that generative AI cannot replace members’ duties.”
In its statement, the DGA emphasized its support for its fellow creative unions.
“Across the country, directors and their teams, writers, actors, crews and drivers have shown unwavering determination to demand that they share in the success of the movies and TV shows we make together,” said Glatter. “We are all union members and deserve fair compensation for our contributions. We do not negotiate in a vacuum and the benefits we achieved in our Preliminary Agreement would not have been possible without the strong support and unity of our members and the solidarity of our sister guilds and unions. We continue to support the actors who start negotiations tomorrow and the writers who continue to strike. We stand firmly behind SAG-AFTRA and the WGA in our joint fight for a vibrant, sustainable industry that values us all fairly.”
The DGA talks were led by Jon Avnet, chairman of the negotiating committee, co-chairs Karen Gaviola and Todd Holland, and national executive director Russell Hollander of the DGA. Thomas Schlamme and Nicole Kassell led negotiations to expand directors’ creative rights to television.