DGA Chief on TV and Film’s Downturn, Fighting for a Federal Production Tax Incentive and Hollywood’s Health Plan Problems: ‘Our No. 1 Priority Is Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’

Key Highlights

• The health plans that cover most of the creative community are under water as costs soar, at the same time that the expansion of generative AI tools in content creation is creating vexing issues around copyright protection and creative consent.
• And then there’s the wave of consolidation among studios and the sharp downtown in TV and film production jobs in the U. S., let alone Southern California.
• Related Stories Timothée Chalamet's 'Marty Supreme' to Get China Theatrical Release Timothée Chalamet Thanks French Fans for Showing Up at ‘Marty Supreme’ Paris Premiere, but Says He ‘Would Have Liked for It to Be Free’: ‘I Know You Were Charged a Lot’ Russ Hollander, national executive director of the Directors Guild of America, sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast as SAG-AFTRA prepares to kick off the collective bargaining cycle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
• Popular on Variety For a change, the DGA will not be the first up at the table with the major studios and streamers.
• Here, Hollander explains that decision, and weighs on all the major issues swirling around the guild that he has led since 2017.