Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/618780
dga quarterly 15 sion. Another challenge, and it's not some- thing that is really in the control of the Guild but it is something that we play an important role in—the industry has to be made up of storytellers who reflect what the society looks like. I think that has got to be an important thing that we message and participate in, that our future has got to be as an increasingly diverse organization—diverse from the perspective of gender, diverse from the perspec- tive of race, and diverse from the perspective of na- tionality. 5. Under your leadership, extensive research has become a staple for negotiations. What was your thinking be- hind that? It seems to me very simple and logical. If you're going to be negotiating about things that impact tens of thousands of people's lives, billions of dollars, and that are highly complex and involve having some idea about what might occur in the future, how things are developing and changing, any- one who does not realize their limitations and does not pour money into research is a fool. When we go into negotiations, our goal is to know as much or more about the producer's business than the people on the other side of the table. And the only way you're going to do that is to develop research capabilities internally, to develop very strong databases and data systems and to go outside and spend money, to hire the best minds that are available to you to generate creative ten- sion, to create an environment where you have many ideas that are willing to challenge each other so you can figure out how to pro- ceed. Whether it's leading a negotiation or 1. Since the Guild is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, what lessons can we learn from its history? The founders of the Guild got together in King Vidor's living room. But if you look through the stories of that meeting and that planning, they said we will not move to an- nounce the Guild until we have secured a very high percentage of directors to support our cause. And they all worked together, in- dividually and collectively in groups, to sign up active working directors, one by one to the cause, to build their army to deal with producers who did not want to recognize them as a collective entity. They made it clear that they were all there for each other. Unified collective action was the source of their strength. Those lessons still apply today. 2. How does the spirit that brought the founders together continue to be felt today? There is a great misunderstanding I've heard over the years which is that our founders were doing this only for fellow directors who weren't as successful or just starting out. The basic livelihoods of many of the found- ers was under attack by the studios. Many were facing a 50 percent pay cut. They saw where the business was going and knew the battle could not be won if they didn't unite the top of the craft along with the rank-and- file as one united front. One of the wonder- ful things about the Guild is that every time that we have confronted a challenge, big or small, the community has similarly united. That's one of our great strengths—ultimate- ly whether it's the people at the very top or people who are just starting, the community unites. 3. How would you describe the primary mis- sion of the Guild? The Guild's mission as a labor union is to protect and extend the creative and econom- ic rights of its members—but more than that, it encompasses protecting and nurturing the craft itself, educating about the craft, devel- oping the future of the craft. It means mak- ing sure that the economic rights of directors and their teams are protected so they can pursue these endeav- ors. But most importantly, the Guild is its members. The Guild is not a building. The Guild is not a staff. The Guild is the members. And because this common goal is dealt with in large part by bargaining and representing people with producers and companies that are involved in the financing, exhibition, and distribution of the work of our members, it involves creating something that is strong enough to be able to assert collective power. 4. What do you feel is the greatest challenge facing the Guild today? I think the greatest challenge may be one that we have continually and successfully faced over our 80 years, which is how to adapt to change and the new technologies. The DGA's leadership believes that audi- ences are always going to want to have visual stories. Stories are going to continue to be told in many ways, in many forms, and there are going to be new forms of exhibition, new forms of distribution, new types of technol- ogy continually developed. Thirty years ago I don't think anybody could have seen what directors are doing today in terms of exhibi- tion, distribution, and technology. No one saw SVOD (Netflix, Amazon) coming in 2007—and that was less than 10 years ago. So we have to create the soil for generation after generation of storytellers to be able to do that in a manner consistent with our mis- Forward Thinking In his 20 years as national executive director, Jay D. Roth has helped navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing industry. As the DGA celebrates its 80th anniversary, he ruminates on the past and future of the Guild. 1 0 Q U E STI O N S PHOTO: DGA ARCHIVES