December 20, 2007
Los Angeles, CA – DGA President Michael Apted and DGA Awards Chair Howard Storm today announced the recipients of two special DGA Awards recognizing lifetime career achievement and extraordinary contributions to the Guild.
Liz Ryan will receive the 2008 Frank Capra Achievement Award, which is given to an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
Barbara J. Roche will receive the 2008 Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award for an Associate Director or Stage Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
“The DGA’s special awards epitomize the distinguished work and dedicated service to the Guild that we prize so highly among our members,” said Apted. “It is our honor to recognize this year’s special award winners for the dedication they have shown in their careers and in their service as members of the DGA.”
Both awards will be presented at the 60th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 26, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Bios for both recipients are below:
Liz Ryan
After graduating from Harvard with a degree in sociology, Liz Ryan worked for Time magazine, then for the investment banking firm Morgan Stanley before finding her true calling and applying to the DGA-Producer Assistant Directors Training program. As a trainee she worked with film greats such as Brian DePalma, Woody Allen and John Huston. After graduating from the program in 1985, Ryan joined the Guild and continued to work with some of the best directors in the business including Jonathan Kaplan on Brokedown Palace, Christopher Guest on Waiting for Guffman, Peter Weir on Green Card, and Frank Darabont on the DGA Award-nominated The Green Mile. She has been a part of over sixty productions including television shows like NYPD Blue, Freaks and Geeks, The Office, and Quarterlife. She also worked as the First AD for one of the first DGA digital productions, Director Gil Cates’ Collected Stories, and as a Unit Production Manager and First Assistant Director on one of the first designated ‘mobisode units’ for the television series Lost.
Ryan has balanced her resume with an impressive record of Guild service including: three terms as DGA National Board Associate Member, one term as Alternate Member; eight terms as Co-Chair of the Women’s Steering Committee, and thirteen terms as a member of the DGA Western Assistant Director/Unit Production Manager/Technical Coordinator Council, where she currently serves as First Vice Chair. Ryan has also chaired the AD/UPM Council’s Runaway Production Committee since 1997, and is a long-time supporter of the DGA Assistant Directors Training Program, where she serves on the Executive Committee of their board, and continues to lecture and mentor trainees.
Barbara J. Roche
After graduating from Colgate University with a degree in history, Barbara Roche followed her heart and pursued a life in television production. After working her way up at ABC Sports, in 1978 Barbara Roche joined the Guild as an Associate Director on a variety special. After transitioning to Stage Managing, she went on to work on a myriad of classic sitcoms including The Jeffersons, Alice, and nine seasons on Night Court. Roche also worked on sports programs like ABC’s Wide World of Sports and The Olympics, news shows like Good Morning America and Nightline, daytime dramas such as General Hospital and Sunset Beach, variety shows like Donny & Marie and The Bob Hope Christmas Special, game shows like Wheel of Fortune, and a number of award-winning telecasts such as The Academy Awards and the DGA Award-winning special, Tony Bennett: An American Classic with director Rob Marshall.
Roche has been elected more than ten times to the Western Associate Director/Stage Manager/Production Associates Council; multiple times to the DGA National Board, first as an Alternate, then as an Associate and finally as Board Member; and has served on numerous committees including the DGA Negotiations and Pre-Negotiations Committees, the Special Projects Committee, and the Bi-Council Committee where she served as Co-Chair. Presently she continues to mentor others, taking part in seminars and encouraging observation on sets as well as working on the DGA Reality Committee and exploring opportunities in new media.