DGA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director Davis Guggenheim Discusses Still
French director Agnès Varda (Cléo from 5 to 7, Vagabond, The Beaches of Agnès) discusses her long career creating documentaries, features, and mixtures of the two that pre-dated and inspired several film movements of European cinema.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Member of the Second Alternate Board
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- AD / UPM Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Late Night With Seth Meyers Associate Director
Late Night With Seth Meyers associate director Amy Mancini is usually busiest after three in the afternoon.
Job Titles:
- AD / SM / PA Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Sustainability Coordinator Zoe Jones
Job Titles:
- AD / SM / PA Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Director Ashley Eakin moderated a conversation with UPM Debra F. Spidell, 1st AD Nandi Bowe and Production Accessibility Coordinator Kiah Amara on how disabled crew members are hired for above and below-the-line positions.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Alternate Board
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Biff Henderson discusses his 38-year stage manager career, starting out in the NBC-Radio Sales Department, and his 35-year association with David Letterman.
Director Brandon Sonnier - who unexpectedly joined the disability community after experiencing a life-changing, on-set accident - discussed his journey as an amputee in the industry during a conversation moderated by Director/1st AD Nandi Bowe.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Director Irene Taylor Discusses I Am
YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley considers how the Internet site is trying to convert all those hits into a plan to make money.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Stage Manager
Job Titles:
- Director Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
Job Titles:
- Director of the Academy Award - Winning
- Member of Committee
Chuck Workman discusses his career as a director of the Academy Award-winning short film Precious Images (1986), feature-length documentaries Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014) and Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (1990), and his early work as an editor of numerous commercials, feature film trailers and Academy Awards montages. See More
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
Job Titles:
- Director Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Stage manager David Auerbach enjoys the choreographed chaos of a typical morning at The Today Show. "It's like an amazing dance when things start changing," he says of the ripple effect caused by moving up, say, a cooking segment. "We're dealing with large tables, food, lighting crews, cameras changing… trying to get everything in place and [thinking] steps ahead on how what we've just changed is going to affect the rest of the show. It's very exciting."
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Featuring Director
Veteran Stage Manager David Wader discusses his 35-plus year career in musical and variety specials, award shows, situation comedies, and movies for television.
In viewing Man on Wire, Davis Guggenheim marvels in director James Marsh's deft reenactments, inspiring use of score and ability to build suspense.
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
UPM Dwight Williams speaks about his 50-year career in television and feature film as a First Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager, including his work on Malcolm D. Lee's Girls Trip, The Hughes Brothers' Dead Presidents; working with the late Director John Singleton on Baby Boy and other features; and his extensive Guild involvement.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Such Classic Films As Gentleman 's Agreement, a Streetcar Named Desire
In the autumn of 1973, Elia Kazan, director of such classic films as Gentleman's Agreement, A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, was honored by a two week retrospective of his films at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. At the conclusion of the program, Mr. Kazan gave this timeless talk to students.
Director Elia Kazan had the script of his life but couldn't find the money to make it. And, Brando wasn't interested. In this excerpt from Kazan: A Biography, the director puts the pieces together to create an American classic.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- AD / SM / PA Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Director Ernest Dickerson discusses his 30-year career as a director and shares insight into his creative process through recalling his feature films (Juice, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight), movies for television (Strange Justice, Our America), and his various episodic television credits (The Wire, Raised By Wolves, and Dexter).
Veteran news associate director and stage manager Esperanza "Candy" Martinez discusses her long career working for the news crew of WABC in New York, her mentorship of new directors, and her "passion projects" directing documentaries on African-American quilt making.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Executive Director
Director Félix Alcalá (ER, The Good Wife, Madam Secretary) discusses his directorial career in episodic television, movies for television, and feature film; his background as a cinematographer; and shares some of the lessons he's learned while behind the camera.
Director Gail Mancuso discusses her career in episodic television, her diligent preparation before a shoot, and finding excellent performances by letting her actors breathe.
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Third Vice - President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Alternate Board
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
DGA President Jack Shea and Past President Robert Wise toast the opening
of the Robert E. Wise library at DGA headquarters on April 25, 1998.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Mariscal
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Independent Directors Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Having spent his entire 29-year career at ABC's Chicago owned-and-operated affiliate, Jeff Kos worked his way up from the mailroom to directing the 5 and 10 pm newscasts.
Job Titles:
- Senior Coordinator, Director Programs
Job Titles:
- AD / UPM Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Special Assignments Executive
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- Special Projects Committee Chair
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
- Director
Jesús Treviño discusses his career as a director of documentaries, episodic series and movies for television and his work on the series Resurrection Blvd.. Treviño also shares his working philosophy, his responsibility as a director in representing his community, and his involvement with the DGA's Latino Committee.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Director Jim Sheridan discusses his 30-plus year directorial career in feature film, highlighting his work on My Left Foot (1989), In the Name of the Father (1993), and In America (2002) among other notable projects.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
John Boorman discusses his half-century career directing feature films (Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur, Hope and Glory); his collaborations with acclaimed actors Lee Marvin, Toshirô Mifune, Marcello Mastroianni, and Sean Connery; and how his WWII childhood experience influenced his career.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
Job Titles:
- Associate Western Executive Director
DGA's Associate Western Executive Director Jon Larson says, "As filmmakers face unprecedented challenges in terms of being recognized in a crowded marketplace, the Guild also provides a crucial forum through which our members can stay informed about evolving strategies to finance, distribute, brand, and finally protect their work in the digital age." At the same time, the Guild is actively signing new media agreements that take into consideration the economics of internet production, while safeguarding our members' interest in residuals as these projects migrate to other markets.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Assistant Secretary - Treasurer
Associate Director Joyce Thomas reflects on her 30-year career as an Associate Director with CBS and her distinguished service as a Guild leader.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Independent Directors Committee
- Chairman - IDC
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
- Member of the Officers Team
- National Vice - President
Job Titles:
- AD / UPMs
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Television Director and Producer
Television director and producer Lee Shallat Chemel (The Middle, Gilmore Girls, Murphy Brown) discusses her long career directing episodic comedy, how she got her start on Family Ties, and the importance of her Guild service.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Mariscal
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- President
Lesli Linka Glatter has brought a sense of urgency and psychological depth to such series as The West Wing, ER, Mad Men, and Homeland-and won two DGA Awards along the way. Yet she still finds time to serve the Guild and be an advocate for diversity.
During a recent trip to Midwest, DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter and National Executive Director Russell Hollander paid a visit to members of the Guild at their work on local productions.
Director Linda Mendoza reflects on her 35-plus year career in television, the importance of continual growth, and her affection for the comedy genre.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- AD / UPM Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
This is a Visual History Recording Visual History Interview Luis Valdez (La Bamba, Zoot Suit) details his extensive career directing groundbreaking theater, film and television about the Chicano experience. See More
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
- Co - Chair / Director Members
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman - IDC, East
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Director
- Chairman of Committee
Mel Stuart (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Wattstax, Four Days in November) discusses his long and varied career as a director and producer of everything from fantastical musical pieces to hard-cutting political documentaries. Stuart shares his working philosophies, among them, his Five Rules to "making it" in the film industry.
Melvin Van Peebles discusses his career with his son, director and actor Mario Van Peebles, including starting to direct in France, his award-winning film The Story of a Three Day Pass, and kicking off the blaxpoitation genre with his independently financed and produced Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
Job Titles:
- Featuring Director
- Member of Committee
Michael Apted's deep documentary experience informs his quest for authenticity, and as the issue of creative rights loomed after Thunderheart, that awareness sparked a decades-long involvement in DGA leadership.
Veteran feature and documentary film director and past-president of the DGA Michael Apted discusses his 45-plus year directorial career, highlighting his work on the Seven Up! documentary series, Coal Miners Daughter (1980), and Nell (1994) and reflecting on his presidency and Guild leadership over the years. See More
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Committee Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
- Special Projects
Michael Schultz recalls his career through four decades of directing, beginning in the theater, successes with Cooley High and Car Wash, and his prolific work in episodic television.
Director Michelle MacLaren chats with film school students during the 2017 DGA Open House.
Job Titles:
- Director Miguel Arteta Takes a Look - a Close Look - at Martin Scorsese 's the King of Comedy to Find Out What Makes It Tick
Director Miguel Arteta takes a look-a close look-at Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy to find out what makes it tick.
Mike Figgis discusses his 30-plus year career as director of such films as Stormy Monday, Leaving Las Vegas, and Timecode. Figgis reveals his passion for drama, innovation, and his unending desire to experiment within the realm of narrative filmmaking.
Job Titles:
- Featuring Director
- Fifth Vice - President
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Member of the Second Alternate Board
Associate Director Mimi Deaton discusses her 30-year career in the multi-camera format (The Facts of Life, Martin, Reba, The Neighborhood), her Guild service as a member of the Western AD/SM/PA Council for 23 years and her recognition by the Guild with the Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award.
Director Mimi Leder considers her volume of television and film titles, her growth alongside the early days of digital, and the distinct Directorial tactics that have defined her success.
Mira Nair discusses her 35-plus-year directorial career, highlighting her documentaries (Jama Masjid Street Journal, India Cabaret), independent features (Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding), and studio features (Vanity Fair, Amelia, Queen of Katwe).
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Production associate Nate Hapke thrives on the fast paced environment at General Hospital
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
Job Titles:
- AD / UPM Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Director Nora Gerard discusses her time directing CBS News Sunday Morning, her working relationship with her directorial team, and her experiences as a woman in the network television world.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the National Board
Director Norberto Barba reflects on his career in episodic television, his tenure as a leader in the Guild and his hopes for what the future of representation in Directing will entail.
Oz Scott (The Jeffersons, Picket Fences, CSI: NY), recounts his 30-plus year career directing episodic television and TV movies, his beginnings in theater (for colored girls who considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf), and his feature film, Bustin' Loose, starring Richard Pryor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- Secretary
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Alternate Board
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Penelope Spheeris discusses her career as a filmmaker, directing documentaries like The Decline of Western Civilization and studio films such as Wayne's World. Spheeris talks about growing up in her father's traveling carnival, as well as major influences in her life, including Janis Joplin and punk rock music.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
- Special Projects
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
- Featuring Director
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- National Executive Director
Job Titles:
- Committee Hosts Screening of Director Finn Taylor 's, Avenue of the Giants
Network news directors Sarah Carlson Brooke, Brian Nalesnik, Rob Vint, Brent Holey and David Distinti must not only stay ahead of fast-breaking developments but also frame reporting in ways that underscore the human drama.
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Independent Directors Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
- Fourth Vice - President
Job Titles:
- Director Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Committee Co - Chair
- Member of the Associate Board
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Director Stan Lathan discusses his 40-plus year career directing episodic and variety television (Sanford and Son, The Steve Harvey Show, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Def Comedy Jam); starting out at WGBH-TV; and his collaboration with iconic comedians Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley.
Director Stephen Frears discusses his 50-plus-year career working in feature film and television including: My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters, The Queen, Philomena and Florence Foster Jenkins.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Committee
Director Steve James recounts career highlights including the groundbreaking documentary Hoop Dreams and the six-year-long process to make the film, which led to directing narrative films like Prefontaine and critically-acclaimed documentaries like The Interrupters and Life Itself.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Alternate Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Director
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the DGA Website Advisory Committee
W.C. Fields always cautioned to steer clear of kids and animals. But Tim Harris says both pale when compared to being a 1st AD on tabletop food commercials. "I'd take a group of infants over a tray of deli meats any day of the week," Harris laughs. "Time is always your enemy. You have to coordinate precisely between each department because if the food stylist brings out the 'talent,' as it were, four hours before camera or grip is ready, your goal of making that roast beef platter look impossibly pretty isn't going to work. People stare at me when I say there's a right and wrong way to AD beer. But it's true! Tabletop is unlike any other area of the industry."
Harris' feelings about food commercials are tinted with some irony, given that he grew up a butcher's son on Chicago's South Side and was sawing away at pork chops when his friends were out playing. But his love for all things Chicago has resulted in a professional shorthand with his longtime peers. Whether it's creating timelines for a three-camera film shoot of a stand-up routine at the Second City Theatre, or putting a Big 10 Conference flag on the back of a production assistant's motorcycle and racing through Chinatown, Harris says he never has a problem asking Chicago-based crews to "go out on the craziest of limbs" just to get the job done.
When network TV season rolls around, Harris puts on his 2nd AD hat for ER, which comes to Chicago four to five times a year to capture the city's most iconic-and busiest-exterior locations. "As a second, I'm typically setting backgrounds," says Harris. "That's very challenging when you're talking about positioning more than 60 extras in high-traffic areas like the Lakefront and it's snowing." Harris recalls one season-ending shoot on Lower Whacker Drive, where several Chrysler 300s were sent tumbling into the Chicago River on a frigid, windy night. "They've done bigger shoots here, but to me, none more challenging nor quintessentially Chicago. The entire AD staff had to ensure everything was done safely and yet in a timely manner. Nobody moves faster than an episodic television crew on location, just like no one moves slower than a tabletop team setting up a motion-control shot on a stage. In the same week, I will get both those extremes, so flexibility is the biggest key to this job."
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- First Vice - President
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Board
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair
- Chairman of Committee
Job Titles:
- Category Representative
- Member of Committee
Randal Kleiser (Grease, The Blue Lagoon, White Fang) discusses his career as a director of feature films and TV movies, as well as, his active involvement in the DGA including serving in the Special Projects Committee.
Job Titles:
- Director of Commercial Contracts