Directors Guild announces deal with Hollywood producers

The Directors Guild of America (DGA), a union that represents film and television directors, announced on Saturday that it has reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood producers. 

In a news release, DGA said its deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will include a five percent wages and benefits increase in the first year of the contract, with raises of 4 percent and 3.5 percent in the next two years of the deal. 

The three-year deal will also reduce the length of workdays for Assistant Directors and implemented safety guidelines, including the first-ever pilot program to require the employment of dedicated safety supervisors; expanded safety training programs for both directors and their teams, and the ban of live ammunition on set. 

In a statement, DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter said that the deal will “recognize the future of our industry is global and respects the unique and essential role of directors and their teams as we move into that future.”

“I am so proud of the phenomenal leadership and dedication of Negotiations Chair Jon Avnet, Co-Chairs Karen Gaviola and Todd Holland and our Chief Negotiator, National Executive Director Russ Hollander, and our more than 80-member Negotiations Committee,” Glatter said. “I’m also incredibly grateful to the DGA staff, who worked tirelessly for the past year and a half to achieve this excellent deal.”

The agreement comes during the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA). 

WGA, a union that represents more than 11,000 professionals in the entertainment industry, launched its strike early last month in an effort to get better compensation for content produced for streaming services. 

The writer’s strike has also resulted in MTV pre-taping its annual Movie & TV Awards last month, as host Drew Barrymore shared her decision to pull out of her hosting duties in support of the ongoing strike. 

DGA, which began negotiations with AMPTP on May 10, said that its national board will hold a meeting on Tuesday to consider approving the tentative deal. 

According to the Washington Post, the deadline for the new DGA deal is June 30.