DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter opened tonight’s DGA Awards gala with a history lesson and a look ahead at the “exceptional challenges” facing the guild next year when it begins negot…
, reached just days before the Covid pandemic shut down production across the country, is set to expire June 30, 2023.
, also said: “Strong and thoughtful leadership is exactly what the DGA and our industry need right now. These have been and continue to be challenging times. Beyond external concerns like Covid, there are changes within the industry – including an ever-accelerating consolidation of the companies we work for while at the same time a monumental sea change in how our content is distributed. Addressing these issues requires us to be vigilant and forward-thinking.
“We established jurisdiction and the first contracts in new media for original content made for streaming. And for every contract since we have built upon those gains. In the midst of the pandemic, we created an industry coalition, collaborating closely with SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and the Teamsters to develop safety protocols with the Producers that allowed film and television production to resume safely when much of the country was shut down – keeping DGA members employed and our industry thriving.
“There is no higher honor than being recognized by one’s peers who understand what it takes to put that vision on the screen – whatever size that screen may be. And looking out at this room of so many storytellers, I am once again reminded that even on the hardest days on set, 2 a.m. of a bad night, when everything is going wrong, eating a soggy grilled cheese sandwich that you don’t even want – we are so, so lucky to be doing what we do, to be storytellers.