Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/618780
dga quarterly 9 Dear Members: They say age is just a number. Maybe, but when you're 80, there are a lot of numbers behind that number. As we enter the DGA's 80th year in January, I'm struck by a whole lot of other numbers that rather substantively and dramatically reflect the scope and impact of DGA history. • In the past 80 years, there have been more than 27,000 individuals who are now or have been members of the DGA. • That's more than 15,400 directors, 4,900 assistant directors, 2,300 UPMs, 2,800 associate directors, 950 stage managers, and 600 production associates. That's you. That's us. • We have helmed, production managed, or assisted on at least 18,000 feature films since 1936. And more than 35,000 episodes of dramatic television since 2005 alone, plus countless episodes of variety, news, sports, reality, daytime, and talk, not to mention thousands of documentaries and tens of thousands of commercials. • We have been nominated 1,683 times for DGA Awards. During the 67 DGA Awards dinners that have been held since 1948, 443 of us have won the award. • Eighty-one members have been recognized for extraordinary service to the Guild—our Aldrich, Capra, and Schaffner awards—and there have been 46 Honorary Life Members. Our Lifetime Achievement Awards for excellence in feature film and television have been presented to 35 directors. And an additional 49 individuals have received the DGA Honor during one of nine ceremonies in New York City. • This year alone, the DGA hosted more than 500 membership screenings in five cities. That is in addition to the more than 90 annual Special Projects, Council, and Committee events; Documentary and Global Cinema screenings; Q&As; seminars; and Visual Histories. Conservatively extrapolating those figures for 80 years, given the multiple variables involved, I'm guessing we've held more than 12,000 screenings/events in our history. • The 22 men and women who have served as president of the Guild have presided over hundreds of meetings. There are four annual meetings of the National Board and more than 50 meetings among the six category councils on both coasts each year. And that isn't counting the meetings of the more than 30 subcommittees of those councils. So let's figure that over 80 years with various leadership configurations, there have been more than 4,000 official leadership meetings and tens of thousands of subcommittee meetings—all dealing with the critical issues that affect the lives of the membership. Math wasn't my best subject, but I know these numbers are only a fraction of our story. In this issue is a 22-page historical timeline outlining key milestones in Guild history. Although we have achieved so much over 80 years, there's still a lot more to be done. Media keeps changing, shifting, sliding from daunting dreams to shrinking screens with unexpected speed. Some of our numbers remain stubbornly low, but our spirit and resolve to make this a Guild that works for you no matter what you look like, or where you're from, or what gender or ethnicity you happen to be, hasn't faded. Welcome to our birthday party in print (our 41st DGA Quarterly, by the way). Blow out your candles, and make a wish. Best, Paris Barclay PRESI DENT'S L E T TE R PHOTO: HOWARD WISE