The Directors Guild of America have reached a tentative agreement; however the writers’ strike is set to continue as it enters its fifth week. Source: Jengod/Wikimedia
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) have reached a ‘historic’ but tentative deal for wages, work hours, residuals, and work protections regarding artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT — however the writers’ strike continues as negotiations proceed for the Writers Guild.
With current contracts set to expire on June 30, the new deal sets the terms for a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer (AMPTP), the organisation which represents studios in America.
“We have concluded a truly historic deal,” said Jon Avnet, chair of DGA negotiations committee in a statement. “It provides significant improvements for every Director, Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Director and Stage Manager in our Guild.”
Under the new contract, DGA members, totalling about 19,000, will see a 5% wage increase during the first year, 4% in the next, and 3.5% in the third year. Assistant directors would have their workday reduced by one hour.
The contract also states that “generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members”.
The contract has also been influenced by the tragic firearm incident on the set of Rust in 2021, in which a firearm was accidentally discharged by Alec Baldwin, resulting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. As a result, live ammunition have been banned on film sets.
However, the writers’ strike still continues as it enters its fifth week.
The strike has halted the production of many Hollywood and other film projects, such as the second season of Severance, the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, and even early meetings for the next Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland.
Chris Keyser, co-chair of the Writers Guild said in a video over the weekend that the Writers Guild will not let up until it achieves “the contract it deserves”.
Keyser also thanked the DGA and other industries for their solidarity.
“We wish the DGA the best in their negotiations,” said Keyser. “(Sister guilds) give us strength, but we are strong enough. We have always been strong enough to get the deal we need using writer power alone.”
The DGA will now proceed to ask its members to vote on the contract, with the ratification vote scheduled for Tuesday, June 6.
