DGA’s board backs tentative contract with major studios
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The Directors Guild of America’s national board on Friday unanimously recommended its membership vote in favor of a four-year contract with the major studios that would increase wages, boost contributions to its health plan and establish guardrails surrounding AI technology.
“We entered this negotiation with three main priorities: secure our Health Plan, protect jobs, and ensure that our members remain secure as AI continues to impact our industry,” DGA President Christopher Nolan said in a statement. “We succeeded in these areas and gained in many others.”
Under the proposed contract, major studios would increase their contributions to the DGA’s health plan by 24.4% over four years, the largest since the plan was founded. In return, the DGA would recommend changes to its plan’s trustees including “modest” increases to the eligibility threshold and annual premiums, the DGA said on Friday.
The contract also increases minimum salaries for most jobs by 2.5% in the first year and up 3% for each of the following years in the agreement. Directors of network non-prime time strip dramatic programs will see their minimum salaries increase 2.5% for each year .
To many of California’s lawmakers, the state’s film and TV tax credit isn’t enough. Sen. Adam Schiff has introduced a federal-level tax credit to bring productions back to the U.S.
The union, which represents more than 19,500 directors and their teams in movies, TV and commercials, said the agreement creates support for a federal production incentive to keep filming jobs in the U.S.
The proposed agreement secures a commitment that senior management at the major studios “would engage in meaningful advocacy for a federal production incentive above and beyond the ongoing lobbying efforts of the Motion Picture Association,” according to the DGA.
The contract also adds more rules around the use of AI technology, including requiring that directors oversee any footage created by artificial intelligence .
Studios will also be required to notify the DGA if an employer decides to license a director’s work to train a generative AI system to create new work. The agreement also establishes an employer-funded program to enhance directors’ AI skills, the union said.
OpenAI is providing the technical tools for an AI-animated film called ‘Critterz,’ which is set to debut next year.
“With these gains, a four-year Agreement was both appropriate and necessary to provide stability and potential for growth at a moment when the industry has been experiencing contraction,” Nolan said in a note to members on Friday.
The DGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached the tentative contract earlier this week. At that time, AMPTP said “we appreciate the hard work and commitment of our guild partners in achieving a fair deal that helps advance a stable and successful entertainment industry.”
DGA members will have until June 25 at 5 p.m. to vote on the plan. If approved, the contract would go into effect July 1 and run through June 30, 2030.
