Veteran TV director Thomas Schlamme has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America for a two-year term, succeeding Paris Barclay.
Schlamme was selected by acclamation of the 147 delegates at the DGA’s convention on Saturday at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles.
Barclay announced earlier this year that he would not seek a third term in accordance with the DGA tradition of presidents only serving two terms. The DGA represents more than 17,000 members.
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Schlamme has been on the DGA national board since 2005 and was most recently third VP. He was co-chair of the 2014 and 2017 negotiating committees together with secretary-treasurer Michael Apted.
In February, the DGA honored Schlamme with the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award for service to the DGA and its membership. Schlamme joined the DGA in 1978.
“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen by my peers to lead our Guild, and I greatly look forward to taking on the challenges facing our membership and industry,” said Schlamme to the assembled delegates after the vote.
“We have a more than 80-year foundation of leadership. Our strength comes from our solidarity and our ability to anticipate the future. Regardless of what lies ahead, I’m optimistic that our approach assures we are well prepared to protect our creative and economic rights,” he continued. “I am committed to representing the entire membership, and optimistic about tackling the world of tomorrow together.”
The successor deal to the DGA’s master contract was negotiated late last year with the guild touting gains in residuals for streaming services. The new pact goes into effect on July 1.
“Tommy’s expertise in new media, and his in-depth understanding of new means of distribution were integral to the success of our negotiations, most recently when we achieved unprecedented gains in subscription video on demand residuals,” Apted said. “He is the clear choice to lead our Guild through the obstacles of tomorrow.”
Schlamme is best known as a TV director and has won nine Emmys and three DGA Awards. He teamed with Aaron Sorkin on directing and executive producing “The West Wing,” “Sports Night,” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” His credits include “Mad About You,” “ER,” “Friends,” “Spin City,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Parenthood,” “Boston Public,” “Mr. Sunshine,” “Murder in the First,” “Pan Am,” and “Manhattan.”
Schlamme’s feature credits include “So I Married An Axe Murderer,” “You So Crazy,” and “Miss Firecracker.” His most recent project is the FX drama series “Snowfall,” about the crack epidemic in L.A. during the 1980s, set to launch next month.
Vincent Misiano was elected national vice president at the convention and Apted was re-elected secretary-treasurer.
Also elected were first vice president Betty Thomas; second vice president Brooke Kennedy; third vice president Jon Favreau; fourth vice-president Ron Howard; fifth vice president Lesli Linka Glatter; sixth vice president Laura Belsey; and assistant secretary-treasurer Scott Berger.
National board members elected included Zetna Fuentes, Karen Gaviola, Julie Gelfand, Nicole Kassell, Cleve Landsberg, Michael Mann, Kathleen McGill, Christopher Nolan, Kimberly Peirce, Liz Ryan and Steven Spielberg. Alternate board members include Jon Avnet, Valerie Faris, Todd Holland, John LiBretto, Seith Mann, Don Mischer, Jonathan Mostow, Matthew Penn, Donald Petrie, Dee Rees, Rosemary Rodriguez, Bethany Rooney, David O. Russell, Oz Scott, Millicent Shelton, Morgan Spurlock and Tim Story.
