DGA Email Scandal: Members Urged Not to Elect 10 Writers to Board, Including Boots Riley and Craig Mazin
variety.comMatt Donnelly Senior Film Writer In a sign of Hollywood’s escalating internal tensions, a prominent Directors Guild of America member openly advocated against the election of 10 writer-directors to the guild’s board earlier this month on the grounds that they were “primarily writers” and hailed from “fringe groups.” In a leaked email that has been shared widely in the creative community, Linda Montanti, chair of the guild’s Western AD/UPM Council, urged a bloc of DGA voters to not support the board candidacies of a number of multihyphenates who are members of both the DGA and WGA — some of whom have been outspoken about strike issues.
The list includes writer-producer Boots Riley, Oscar-winning “CODA” writer-director Sian Heder, actor-filmmaker Justine Bateman, actor-writer Paul Scheer and “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin.
The unorthodox move prompted DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter to contact the members affected to assure them that Montanti’s move was not condoned by top DGA leaders.
Two days ahead of the DGA’s Aug. 5 biennial National Convention held at the DGA Theater, Montanti sent an email message to an unknown number of fellow union members with the subject line: “Director members from fringe groups that we have been asked not to support.” At the time it had not been made public that the names referenced in Montanti’s email were seeking election to the board.
Read more on variety.com
