Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1128544
2 I D G A M O N T H L Y photos: DGA members catch up with friends and colleagues at the Annual Membership Meetings in on both coasts. A record audience filled the Beverly Hilton Ballroom on Monday, May 13 as members gathered in Beverly Hills for the DGA's West Coast 2019 Annual Membership Meeting. A strong turnout also marked the Guild's East Coast Annual Membership Meeting at the DGA New York Theater on Tuesday, May 21. DGA President Thomas Schlamme presided over both meetings. In his President's Report on the state of the Guild, Schlamme pointed to the source of the DGA's strength, which boils down to a simple approach: "Honor our past, stay flexible in the present and keep a keen eye on the future." Schlamme then jumped into the subject that's close to everyone's minds, the upcoming round of negotiations. "This is the most important thing we do as a Guild," said Schlamme. "It's where we exert our collective bargaining strength and leverage on this business. While our major contracts expire on June 30, 2020, just over a year from now, we've been ramping up our preparations." Before touching on some of the major issues that would be addressed in the upcoming rounds of negotiations, Schlamme reiterated the recent appointments of Directors Jon Avnet and Todd Holland – who have served on a number of past Negotiations Committees – to lead the Basic Agreement negotiations as Co-Chairs together with DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander. They will take on this challenge in concert with a Negotiations Committee made up of nearly 80 members from all over, and across categories and genres. He also noted the upcoming work of the Theatrical Creative Rights Committee, chaired by 2019 DGA Annual Meetings in Los Angeles and New York