Weekend Digest: AI's Impact as the DGA Cuts a Deal

One down, two to go, as AMPTP concludes its first union negotiation of the summer

MONTH TWO BEGINS Picket signs at Greta Gerwig Appreciation Day at the Fox lot Thursday. (credit: Elaine Low)

A deal is done — for the Directors Guild, that is. The DGA struck a tentative agreement with the AMPTP late Saturday night, averting a strike for its 19,000 members. The deal will go to the national board for approval on Tuesday.

“In these negotiations we made advances on wages, streaming residuals, safety, creative rights and diversity, as well as securing essential protections for our members on new key issues like artificial intelligence — ensuring DGA members will not be replaced by technological advances,” said DGA negotiating committee chair Jon Avnet in a statement.

Word had it that AI had become a front-burner issue, and the DGA highlighted in a summary of the new deal terms that it had come to a “groundbreaking” agreement that “AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.”

DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter nodded to the significance of the AI talk in a statement as well, noting the deal with the studios “recognizes the future of our industry is global and respects the unique and essential role of directors and their teams as we move into that future. As each new technology brings about major change, this deal ensures that each of the DGA’s 19,000 members can share in the success we all create together.”

Here are the major deal terms the DGA spotlighted in a release last night, in the guild’s words:

Wages and Benefits: Groundbreaking gains in wages and benefits including a 5% increase in the first year of the contract, 4% in the second year and 3.5% in the third year. Additional 0.5% to fund a new parental leave benefit.

Global Streaming Residuals: Substantial increase in the residuals for dramatic programs made for SVOD by securing a new residual structure to pay foreign residuals. The result is a 76% increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms so that residuals for a one-hour episode will now be roughly $90,000 for the first three exhibition years.

Artificial Intelligence: Groundbreaking agreement confirming that AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.

Non-Dramatic Programs: Established the industry’s first-ever terms and conditions for Directors and their teams on non-dramatic (Variety and Reality) programs made for SVOD. Improved residuals and for the first time, Associate Directors and Stage Managers will now share in the residuals.

High Budget AVOD Terms and Conditions: Achieved the industry’s first-ever terms, creative rights protections, working conditions and residuals for scripted dramatic projects made for free to the consumer streaming services such as Freevee, Tubi and Roku. Unit Production Managers and Assistant Directors will share in the residuals.

Feature Directors: Historic first-time compensation for the months of “soft prep” Feature Directors currently perform for free prior to the start of the Director’s official prep period.

Episodic Directors: For Pay TV and SVOD, Episodic Directors won expanded paid post-production creative rights; and gained an additional guaranteed shoot day for one-hour programs – the first additional day added in more than 40 years.

Reduction in Hours: Unprecedented reduction in the length of the Assistant Director’s day by one hour.

Safety: Achieved concrete safety advancements including the first-ever pilot program to require the employment of dedicated safety supervisors; expanded safety training programs for both Directors and their teams, and the ban of live ammunition on set.

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ICYMI: 5 Days of Strikegeist

• Happy monthi-versary, writers strike. WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser has some choice words for the AMPTP, both in an official WGA video and in a brief chat with us on the picket lines.

• Did you know that Drew Carey is running up a tab of around $10,000 a week at Big Boy’s diner in Burbank, where he is generously comping all WGA member meals for the duration of the strike? He’s also paying for writers’ meals at Swingers on Beverly. Meanwhile, I spotted Jennifer Garner on the picket line at Fox, where she brought loads of Fresh Brothers pizza.

• Productions have dwindled to just a single TV series with a permit this past week, as writers continue to, as they chant on the lines, “Shut. It. Down.”

• Better Things actor Rebecca Metz chatted with The Ankler contributor Nicole LaPorte about SAG-AFTRA’s strike vote authorization.

• And here’s one for The Ankler subscribers: As the strike goes on, things are getting awwwkward between studio execs and writers, Nicole and Peter Kiefer report.