Director's Guild of America

So, like, what is it?

I heard about Robert Rodriguez leaving the DGA because they wouldn't let him share the director's credit for Sin City with Frank Miller. I also remember the story about George Lucas wanting to appoint Spielberg to direct Jedi, but couldn't because he was no longer a member of the guild, all because the credits for Empire didn't appear 'til the end of the film.

So what's the deal? Why do they tell directors how to make their films? What makes them so powerful? And what are your opinions on the DGA?

__________________
TOP 100 | "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

All the professional guilds in Hollywood are there ostensibly to protect their members. You only seem to hear about them when there's some obnoxious snafu they can't seem to overlook and correct quickly, but if they were consistenly a hinderance for directors, they wouldn't continue to exist, would they?

Tarantino has never belonged to the Guild, so he didn't have to make the dramatic gesture of ripping up his card to get Frank Miller a proper Sin City credit.

The Directors Guild is there largely for collective barganing. That may seem unnecessary in this age where "autuer" is tossed around even for hacks like Michael Bay, and anybody with a couple even mildly successful projects under their belt can negotiate multi-million dollar deals for a mainstream project. But it wasn't always so of course, and especially as the old Studio System began to crumble in the '60s and had completely evaporated by the '70s, the Guilds all negotiated and set minimum fees for work, established benefits, etc.

But beyond the money stuff, they also are there to assure that no director is fired and his credit taken from him without arbitration and an agreement between the parties. Things like that could happen, and without an organization with some sort of power behind it you can almost bet it would happen from time to time. The Guild also includes members who work in television and commercials, so their clout protects all of 'em - currently over 10,000 members total.

All the professional guilds in Hollywood do much the same thing. The Screen Actors have a guild of course, but so do screenwriters and cinematographers and editors and grips and stuntmen and everybody else on the set...except for maybe craft service (though I wouldn't be shocked to learn they've got official respresentation and a union too).

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Pft. Why does Hollywood?

__________________
www.esotericrabbit.com

To try and bring in a bigger audience, I guess.

Unions sticking around beyond the peak of their usefulness (and necessaryness, if that's a word and all) is nothing new, in any industry. They're generally formed for good reasons, but tend to stick around whether those reasons go on existing or not.

I'm in total agreement.
Prepare for the Apocalypse.

That said, it depends on the union a whole lot. IATSE is awesome to it's members. They get great pay, great benefits and support people in finding employment. Equity/SAG/AFTRA - totally different story. In my experience, they're practically useless for most actors. I don't hear much badmouthing of the DGA, but I only know a couple of directors. They do seem to get more static from studio suits than the union.

__________________
Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10