DGA TO START EARLY NEGOTIATIONS WITH PRODUCERS — WAY EARLY

The Directors Guild of America, which usually begins contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers early and rarely finds them volatile, has agreed to begin them a full seven months ahead of the expiration of the current agreement. In a statement issued jointly by the DGA and the AMPTP, they said that they had “agreed that neither organization will comment to the press regarding negotiations until negotiations have concluded.” The current contract expires on June 30 — the same time as SAG-AFTRA’s. The talks with that union are rarely so tranquil.