TV & VIDEO - Jan. 23, 1989

Tonight’s airing by ABC of a truncated version of “The Day After” is spurring the Directors Guild of America to continue to pursue legislation on Capitol Hill that would “protect the reputation of the artist from any mutilation of his work,” says a DGA spokesman. About 23 1/2 minutes have been cut from the 1983 landmark TV film that graphically dramatizes the aftermath of nuclear war. In a letter to ABC Entertainment President Brandon Stoddard, DGA executive director Glenn J. Gumpel said airing the cut and compressed film “is potentially damaging” to the reputation of its director, Nicholas Meyer. Meyer has vigorously protested the trimming, calling it “censorship” and wanting his name removed from the credits.