DGA Monthly

A P R I L 2 0 2 6 I 2 1 MEMBERSHIP REPORT PRIMARY CATEGORY CHANGES Gary L. Cormier to DIR Larissa Malarek to 1AD Erika Wortham to SM WESTERN REGION ADDITIONS James Graves, UPM Karen O'Brien, UPM Jake Relic, UPM Ami Werges, UPM IN MEMORIAM Neal J. Ahern Jr., UPM Kevin Arkadie, DIR Amanda Brotchie, DIR Bernie Cassar, 1AD Tony DeSanti, AD Janean Elkins, AD Woodie King Jr., DIR Jerry R. Leeds, UPM Mark Leja, 2AD Scott D. Printz, UPM Jerry Sandy, DIR Lisa E. Treadwell, SM Phillips Wylly Sr., UPM EASTERN REGION ADDITIONS Shirley Arrieta, 2AD Audrey N. Cerrone, 2AD Andrew Devlin, 2AD Hristo Dimitrov, 1AD Lucille Edlund, 2AD Jedon D. Hatcher, 2AD Erin M. McCormick, 2AD Jenny Napier, UPM Melinda White, DIR Remembering Tony DeSanti (1961-2026) On March 11, DGA President Christopher Nolan made the following statement about the passing of veteran Associate Director and Eastern AD/SM/PA Council Chair, Tony DeSanti. "The entire DGA community is deeply saddened by the passing of Tony DeSanti, a veteran Associate Director, Producer and the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council Chair. Tony leaves a lasting impact on our Guild through his dedication and service to his fellow members for the past 20 years. His leadership was marked by boundless enthusiasm and an innate ability to engage his fellow members and crews — whether in the production truck or at the negotiating table. "A DGA member since 1994, DeSanti was first elected to the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council in 2005. Tony served seven terms on the Council, ultimately being elected First Vice Chair in 2020 and Chair in 2024. As a vital member of three Network Negotiating Committees, he was an outspoken advocate for the rights and benefits of our members working in News, Sports, Operations, and non-dramatic entertainment. Tony had a larger-than-life personality and a rare ability to bring people together with warmth and kindness. He had a gift for making everyone feel that they were in exactly the right place and that their contribution truly mattered. He brought out the best in everyone around him, fostering careers and lifelong connections through his genuine care for others. A unifying presence within the Guild, Tony also championed inclusivity by finding common ground across the membership. We will miss Tony greatly. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his wife Dot, his three children and his many friends and colleagues during this difficult time." DeSanti's Career Biography: DeSanti was an award-winning broadcast Associate Director, Producer, and creative storyteller with over 35 years of experience crafting compelling content for some of television's most prestigious networks, including CBS Sports, CBS News, ABC News, ABC Operations, NBC Sports, and the Big Ten Network. Recent Visual History Addition View more excerpts and interviews in the Visual History Collection via the link on the homepage of www.dga.org. Andrew D. Cooke interviewed by Lyn Pinezich Location Manager Andrew D. Cooke discusses his experiences on films such as Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, Martin Brest's Scent of a Woman and Paul Haggis' DGA Award-nominated mini- series Show Me a Hero; strategies he pioneered over the years that have brought him success; and how technology has changed his work. Cooke on Vanilla Sky: "[UPM] Donald J. Lee Jr. called me one day, and said, 'How would you like to do something that no one else has ever done and no one else will ever get to do again? Shut down Times Square.' I was like, 'Ugh.' We had 80 PAs to shut down all the bus lines and the subway. With NASDAQ, I had to negotiate what was on the sign and that was all last minute. But, Patty [Willett], my wife, was working on the job too and we wanted to put a crane on the island that was over the subway and that's a huge deal. You have to get special insurance. We were doing a test the weekend before we were actually going to shoot. It was Friday afternoon and it was like, 'We need that insurance, or we can't rehearse on the island. We can't put the crane on,' and I'm like, "Oh my god!" I went down and Patty's on the phone. It was literally like 5:01 we got the insurance and the okay. That's addictive. That adrenaline is part of the whole thing. The adrenaline of accomplishing what you consider impossible or incredibly difficult and have it in the movie, or do it because you feel it's better for the movie is very gratifying. I'm very proud of all of that." The DGA's Visual History Program website contains hundreds of hours of videotaped interviews with Directors and Director's team members discussing their careers and reflections on all aspects of the creative process in film, television and other media. These interviews are indexed for quick retrieval of segments pertaining to specific topics of interest within a particular interview or across the entire collection.

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