The Directors Guild of America (DGA) membership has voted by a large margin to agree a three-year deal with major studios and streamers, averting the possibility of another stoppage in Hollywood to add to the difficulties caused by the writers’ strike.

The film and television directors who make up the DGA membership approved the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by a vote of 87% in favour.

3. US Writers’ Strike ‘Could Cost Industry $600m’ small

The DGA have approved the deal with AMPTP by a vote of 87% in favour

The DGA said that the new agreement included extensive advances on wages, global streaming residuals, safety, diversity and creative rights. The deal also establishes minimum terms and conditions in two new areas — non-dramatic programmes made for SVOD and high-budget dramatic programmes made for AVOD — and includes new provisions confirming that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.

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Formal negotiations between the DGA’s 80-member Negotiations Committee and the AMPTP began on May 10 and concluded on June 3. Ratification voting opened on, June 7 and closed over the weekend.

The new contract’s three-year term will take effect on July 1 and will run through June 30, 2026.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May 2, shutting down several TV and film projects.

Hollywood actors, meanwhile, are in the midst of their own talks with studios. SAG-AFTRA union members have given their negotiators the power to call a strike if they cannot agree on a new contract by June 30.

DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter said: “We support the actors who are in negotiations and the writers who remain on strike, and we will stand with the IA and Teamsters when they negotiate their agreement next year. We won’t be satisfied until we all have fair contracts that reward us for our creative work — we must create a vibrant, sustainable industry that fairly values us all.”

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