Directors Guild of America

What is the Directors Guild of America? It’s more than 15,000 members of a labor organization protecting the legal and artistic rights for directors and their teams.  The DGA was formed in 1936 by some of the most known directors in Hollywood. They forged the DGA through decades of constant issues with production companies. There was a lack of job security, threats of being fired, and no creative freedom before the guild was formed.

Back in the 1900’s the cameraman, producer, or the production company had full control over the picture. The director wasn’t even involved in the editing process at all, and wasn’t called to production until just before the filming started.  At this time the director’s position was still being formed, and sound hadn’t quite hit the scene yet. Before the guild was formed there was a group called Motion Pictures Directors Association, but was really more of a secret society. It was not a guild or a union. There wasn’t any benefits or job security that the MPDA provided. In the beginning their only intent was to straighten up the reputation of Hollywood and motion pictures.

Finally when sound made its way to motion pictures in the 1930's, directors still had almost no creative freedom, and a complete lack of compensation. In 1933 Congress stepped in with the National Industrial Recovery Act giving unions the rights to collective bargaining. The Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild was formed in 1933 as well, but still nothing for the directors. In 1935 the National Labor Relations Board formed and thousands of crew joined the IATSE. Paramount’s last attempt was to force directors to take pictures assigned to them or be fired. This was the moment thirteen directors met up at King Vidor’s house. The guild was formed. At that time it was called The Screen Directors Guild.

Not only do director’s now have creative freedom, but security, privacy, contracts, and rights. They have pensions, 401K, health benefits, and job security. There’s committee’s, awards, education, and much more. Without the battle the directors fought in the 1930’s with the production companies, the DGA may have never been formed, and directing may have been extinct.

One of the biggest impacts the DGA works towards is the production incentives. The DGA works with each state with active incentive’s to keep film production within the United States. This is a huge impact not only for all directors, but also future aspiring directors like myself. Without tax credits, Section 181, American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, and the help of the DGA film production could easily move to another country. This would not only impact directors, but the entire movie industry as well as the United States as a country. Hollywood is the mother to Motion Pictures, and will always remain to be.  

Sitting at the Table

While reviewing TED talks this week I thought about who inspires me. Someone I could look up to and absorb motivation from.  I immediately thought of Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. TED Talks Not just because of her amazing experiences with working at Google and Facebook, but because she’s a successful businesswoman, wife, and mother. Sheryl encourages other woman not just to strive for excellence, but also to be comfortable in wanting to, and wanting more. Sheryl teaches woman to sit at the table, raise your hand, ask questions, and don't walk away before going away. It’s okay to want it all, and to have it all, if that’s what you want.

Sheryl is the minority because she’s a woman. She’s a successful COO of a major company. This is a position that is usually male dominant.  Sheryl talks about a company she went to for a board meeting of sorts, and she noticed the CEO of the company, she was visiting, was finicky during the break. This was due to the fact he had no idea where the woman’s restroom was. Sheryl had thought this was maybe due to the fact that they have recently moved to the building.  When finding out the company had been in the building for over a year, it had dawned on her that she was the first woman to have ever been there for a board meeting.

This is a scenario that is far too common. Women need to step to the plate, and take a swing rather than sitting on the bench watching the game.  Sheryl talks in depth about overcoming, leaning in, and sitting at the table in her book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.  Check out book here. This speaks to me not just because I am a woman, but I am also in a male dominant industry. With the motivation from Sheryl Sandberg I know I can and will step up, negotiate, lean in, and ask questions. I want to contribute to a world that is 50/50  not only in the home, but also in the workforce!