Directors Guild Backs Current Agent System

Board members of the Directors Guild of America stepped into the fray involving personal agents and managers in Hollywood, issuing a statement saying the guild recognizes the useful role of managers but is concerned about those acting as de facto agents.

The statement by directors, released Monday, said the guild “reiterates its support for the existing agency system.” It added that the guild will “take whatever steps are reasonable and necessary to preserve this system” and will continue to enforce agreements the guild has with talent agencies.

But the statement stopped short of criticizing any specific managers or citing any incidents it didn’t like.

The long-simmering issue of managers increasingly encroaching on the turf of agents has been brought to a head by the entry of Michael Ovitz--formerly Hollywood’s top agent when he ran Creative Artists Agency--into the personal management business with the new Artists Management Group.

Jack Shea, president of the guild, called the announcement a “general statement of opinion” and said the Ovitz situation was not the catalyst.