Betty Thomas

Thomas Schlamme has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America. The Emmy-winning West Wing director had been the guild’s 3rd vice president, and co-chaired the DGA’s last two film and TV contract negotiating committees.

“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen by my peers to lead our guild, and I greatly look forward to taking on the challenges facing our membership and industry,”  Schlamme said after being elected by the delegates to the DGA’s biennial convention in Los Angeles. “We have a more than 80-year foundation of leadership. Our strength comes from our solidarity and our ability to anticipate the future. Regardless of what lies ahead, I’m optimistic that our approach assures we are well prepared to protect our creative and economic rights. I am committed to representing the entire membership, and optimistic about tackling the world of tomorrow together.”

Earlier this year, the guild presented him with the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award for extraordinary service to the DGA and its membership.  A member of the guild for nearly 40 years, he served as a member of the Western Directors Council since 2003, as a member of the Creative Rights Committee since 2001, and was a founding member of the DGA Political Action Committee’s Leadership Council.

“It has been an honor serving this tremendous guild as president, and with Tommy taking the reins, I am confident the DGA is in good hands,” said outgoing president Paris Barclay. “We are the gold standard because of our strong leadership of active working directors, and Tommy is not only a leading television director who has helped shape the very landscape of the medium, he has served our Guild for years advancing our interests. I’m thrilled to see him take on this role, and know he’ll do a tremendous job guiding us into the future.”

“Tommy’s expertise in new media, and his in-depth understanding of new means of distribution were integral to the success of our negotiations, most recently when we achieved unprecedented gains in subscription video on demand residuals,” said secretary-treasurer Michael Apted, who served as Schlamme’s co-chair on the 2014 and 2017 negotiating committees. “He is the clear choice to lead our Guild through the obstacles of tomorrow.”

“The future is upon us and there is no room for complacency, that’s why I want Tommy in the lead,” said 1st vp Betty Thomas when placing Schlamme’s name in nomination. “Through nuance and guts he’s led us to better and better contracts. There is nobody better prepared or better suited for this role than Tommy Schlamme.”

“We are proud to have Tommy as our new President; he represents the interests of all our members across every category and region,” said national vice president Vincent Misiano.

Here’s thje complete list of the election results:

 President

Thomas Schlamme

National Vice-President

Vincent Misiano

Secretary-Treasurer

Michael Apted

Assistant Secretary-Treasurer

Scott Berger

First Vice-President

Betty Thomas

Second Vice-President

Brooke Kennedy

Third Vice-President

Jon Favreau

Fourth Vice-President

Ron Howard

Fifth Vice-President

Lesli Linka Glatter

Sixth Vice-President

Laura Belsey

Board Members

Zetna Fuentes

Karen Gaviola

Julie Gelfand

Nicole Kassell

Cleve Landsberg

Michael Mann

Kathleen McGill

Christopher Nolan

Kimberly Peirce

Liz Ryan

Steven Spielberg

Alternate Board Members

Jon Avnet

Valerie Faris

Todd Holland

John LiBretto

Seith Mann

Don Mischer

Jonathan Mostow

Matthew Penn

Donald Petrie

Dee Rees

Rosemary Rodriguez

Bethany Rooney

David O. Russell

Oz Scott

Millicent Shelton

Morgan Spurlock

Tim Story

Associate Board Members

Alan B. Curtiss

Louis J. Guerra

Duncan S. Henderson

Dennis W. Mazzocco

Tom McDermott

Second Alternate Board Members

Lee Blaine

Mimi (Marian) Deaton

Courtney Franklin

Bill Miller

Mary Rae Thewlis

Michele “Shelley” Ziegler

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Thanks to Mr. Robb for his timely reporting on this.

Arl

The Ol’ SAG Watchdog

*Headline Photo from Mr. Robb’s article.

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2012 Women and Minorities Data
by January 8, 2015 2:15pm
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Women and minority episodic TV directors face a “significant hiring disadvantage” getting into the business because of their gender and race, according to a new five-year study by the Directors Guild of America. The report found that only 18% of all first-timers are female, and that only 13% are minorities.

“There’s a big opportunity here for those in charge of hiring to make a difference – but they’re not,” said DGA president Paris Barclay. “Without change at the entry level – where women and minority directors get their first directing assignment – it’ll be status quo from here to eternity. Every director needs a first shot to break into the business – and what this report reveals is that studios, networks and executive producers need to challenge their own hiring practices and offer talented women and minority directors the same opportunities they are giving white males.”

The study, covering the 2009-2014 TV seasons, found that employment opportunities for first-time women and minority episodic TV directors are even worse than for women and minorities in all of primetime network and cable television. A previous DGA report found that women got 14% of those primetime jobs during the 2013-2014 season, and that minorities got 19%. Female minorities only got 2% of the primetime jobs..

DGA Study 2015

“The data makes it clear,” said DGA first vp Betty Thomas. “Even when hiring first-timers, the studios and executive producers are making choices that show they don’t actively support diversity hiring. First-time TV directors are new to the game and come from all areas of the industry including film school – so why is a woman or minority any less qualified than anybody else? It seems clearer than ever that we need to see different points of view. Most of the industry claims to want a more diversified directing workforce – here’s their chance. It could all start here.”

 The latest report found that writers made up 28% of the first-time episodic director pool; actors made up 18%; assistant directors/unit production managers comprised 10%; cinematographers/camera operators were 8%; editors totaled 5%; other crew made up 5%; and non-writing producers were 1%. The remainder of the group was made up of people who had previously directed in other genres including independent film, new media, commercials, music videos, student films and documentaries.

DGA Study 2015a

 

 

 

 

 

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Arl

The Ol’ SAG Watchdog

*Photo selected by Watchdog

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