October 23, 2018
On October 23, DGA members living in the United Kingdom and Ireland received updates about the Guild’s activities when the London Coordinating Committee (LCC) hosted its Twelfth annual general membership meeting in London. On his second trip to London as president of the Guild, Thomas Schlamme gave a report that detailed the Guild’s efforts to improve the economic and creative rights for members who reside and work outside the United States.
Speaking before the audience gathered in the David Lean Room at BAFTA, President Schlamme began by thanking the LCC for hosting the event and acknowledged his predecessor, DGA Past President and current Secretary-Treasurer Michael Apted, for being the driving force that brought the LCC to life to address the unacceptable conditions directors were facing in the UK. He also recognized the presence of the Guild executives who made the trip to London, National Executive Director Russ Hollander and Associate National Executive Director Bryan Unger, who serves as the chief executive liaison to the LCC.
Schlamme spoke on a variety of subjects including: how the success of the last round of negotiations has translated into unprecedented gains for the Guild in multiple areas, how the DGA-Producer Pension & Health Plans continue to thrive, and the early preparations that are being made for the next round of contract negotiations.
Speaking on issues specific to the UK and Ireland, Schlamme urged those present to continue the work of bringing more projects shot in the region under the umbrella of DGA protection and in closing, reminded them all how important they are to their Guild.
“A lot of people think the DGA is a building in Los Angeles but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Schlamme. “Our Guild is our members. This is your union and distance will not divide our common goals, or our solidarity. Solidarity that is more important today than ever before. As the production companies and means of distribution become increasingly consolidated and international, so too must we as Directors and their team, stand together across borders and genres to protect our profession. We encourage you to get more involved. What we’ve found is when you do that, you get back what you put in – and then some.”
The meeting ended with a dinner as Schlamme, Hollander and Unger circulated around the room to answer questions from the attendees.
About the Committee
The London Coordinating Committee (LCC) was established in 2007 by the DGA National Board, which recognized the need to create a coordinating committee in the same way it already has with similarly sized populations of Guild members in San Francisco and Chicago. The Co-Chairs are Michael Caton-Jones and Jim Gillespie. The members include Directors SJ Clarkson, Coky Giedroyc, Tom Hooper, Richard Loncraine, Roger H. Michell, Mike Newell, Chris J. Newman, Jim Sheridan, Matthew Vaughn, Richard Whelan, Susanna White, Stephen Woolfenden, and David Yates.
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photos by Rune Hellestad