Los Angeles – Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced that Robert Iger, President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and Barry Meyer, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., will be honored with the DGA Honorary Life Member Award at the Guild’s 62nd Annual DGA Awards on January 30, 2010.
The DGA Honorary Life Member Award, a significant honor bestowed by the Guild over the past 72 years, is given in recognition of outstanding creative achievement, leadership in the industry, contribution to the DGA or to the profession of directing. Past industry recipients have included Louis B. Mayer (1952); Walt Disney (1955); Jack L. Warner (1965); Darryl F. Zanuck (1968); Lew Wasserman (1975); Barry Diller (1990); and Jack Valenti (2001).
“The DGA is proud to bestow the Honorary Life Member Award upon Bob Iger and Barry Meyer for their outstanding achievements and service to the motion picture industry,” said Hackford. “As the entertainment community grapples with evolving business models and the promise – and peril – of new technologies, Bob Iger and Barry Meyer are helping to lead the industry in the fight against piracy, the encouragement of diversity and the development of new business models that will enable our business to thrive.” Hackford added, “Bob and Barry are forward-thinking leaders who truly value the contributions of directors and their teams in these changing times. We are pleased to welcome them as members of our DGA family.”
“I have dealt with both Bob and Barry many times over the years about complex issues related to the industry and negotiations,” said Gil Cates, who is currently the DGA’s Secretary-Treasurer and served as DGA President from 1983-1987 and as Negotiations Committee Chair in 2002, 2005, and 2007. “Both of these men have led the way in finding solutions to complicated business and industry issues that affect the Guild and all of us. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but even when we don’t agree, they’ve always tried to understand our point of view.”
Bios for 2010 Honorary Life Membership Recipients Below:
Robert Iger became President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company on October 1, 2005 and is only the sixth CEO in Disney’s 82-year history.
Previously, Iger served as President and Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company, a position he had held since June 2000, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s worldwide operations including its filmed entertainment and media networks.
Iger began his career at ABC in 1974, where he guided the complex merger of ABC with The Walt Disney Company. During his time at ABC, he oversaw its broadcast television network and station, cable television, radio and publishing businesses, which included ABC, ESPN, Lifetime, A&E and The History Channel. He joined the Disney senior management team in 1996 as Chairman of the Disney-owned ABC Group and in 1999, was given the additional responsibility of President, Walt Disney International.
He is a member of the board of directors for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. He is a trustee of the American Film Institute Board and serves on the Executive Advisory Board of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Barry Meyer became Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. on October 4, 1999 after having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office since April 1994.
Meyer joined the Company in 1971 as Director, Business Affairs for Warner Bros. Television, after serving in both the legal and business affairs departments of the ABC Television Network. In 1972, Meyer was named Vice President, Business Affairs, Warner Bros. Television. In 1978, he became Executive Vice President for the television division and in 1984, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. Inc., taking charge of all of the Studio’s television operations.
In 1994, Meyer took on added responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer, which included oversight of the Company’s general operations as well as all of the Studio’s television production and distribution operations (including Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and the domestic and international television distribution divisions). Meyer was also an integral architect in the formation of The WB Television Network, which went on the air in January 1995 and played a similar role in the founding of The CW.
Meyer often serves as a key advisor on industry-wide production, labor and regulatory issues. He is a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinema-Television; a member of the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture Association of America; a member of the Board of the Museum of Television & Radio; a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; a member and former Governor of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; a member and past member of the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society; and is involved in numerous charitable and civic activities, including serving on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch.
- The Honorary Life Member Award will be presented to Robert Iger and Barry Meyer at the DGA Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.
- Recipients of the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award for Feature Film, Lifetime Achievement Award for News Direction, Frank Capra Achievement Award and Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Awards to be announced on Monday, November 30, 2009.
