Calling the election “one of the greatest honors of my career,” Christopher Nolan was named the new president of the Directors Guild Of America on Saturday night. The Oppenheimer director takes over the position from Lesli Linka Glatter, a prolific TV director whose credits range from Amazing Stories up through a recent installment of The Morning Show.
Nolan, meanwhile, is, well, Christopher Nolan: The rare director to come to international name recognition pretty much solely through his work in the 21st century, balancing artistic instincts with a rock-solid sense for commercial success. As Warner Bros. learned to its ongoing irritation (and loss of delicious Oscar wins) after they ticked him off with how they handled distribution of Tenet a few years back, he’s also one of the most serious advocates for the continuing primacy of the movie theater experience currently working, pushing back at every turn at the slide toward streaming supremacy.
In addition to Nolan, the DGA—which represents the vast majority of Hollywood directors, or at least those who want to make movies with the major studios who are contractually bound to hire guild talent—swapped out its whole slate of officers at its convention this weekend. That includes (per Deadline) an incoming slate that included the usual mix of well-known names and less immediately recognizable ones: Laura Belsey as National Vice President, Paris Barclay re-elected as Secretary-Treasurer, Todd Holland as First Vice-President, Ron Howard as Second Vice-President, Gina Prince-Bythewood as Third Vice-President, Seith Mann as Fourth Vice-President, Millicent Shelton as Fifth Vice-President, Lily Olszewski as Sixth Vice-President and Joyce Thomas as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer.
Unlike its colleagues in the acting and writing guilds, the DGA—which boasts a membership of 19,500 film and TV creators—got through its 2023 round of contract negotiations with the studios without going on strike. Wins in that last contract included guarantees that directors wouldn’t be replaced with generative AI, and increased shares of streaming residuals for members. In his address to the convention, Nolan told delegates that he looked forward with collaborating with his newly elected Board to achieve important creative and economic protections for our members.”
