Doctor Strange Director Reveals Opposition to DGA’s New Contract

The Directors Guild of America has tentatively reached an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, seemingly avoiding a strike that could sideline even more productions than those put on pause by the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. Though voting by the DGA goes through June 23rd as guild members vote to approve or deny the contract, one prominent filmmaker revealed Saturday he voted “No” on the matter.

Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson tweeted that he’s voting no, largely because of the lack of transparency with streaming platforms in a increasingly digital age.

“I love the DGA — they have protected me during some of the most difficult situations of my career. However, I am voting NO on the ratification of this contract because the time to go after transparency in domestic streaming data is now,” Derrickson tweeted. “It is ludicrous that we don’t get to know how many people are actually viewing our work — or how much revenue it generates. This information is consequential to our lives, yet the NegCom (per their own admission) did not even attempt to get us honest answers in this area — a decision that does DGA members a grave disservice.”

Earlier this month, DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter applauded the agreement, touting the agreements multiple industry firsts.

“In this agreement, we were able to win many significant advancements, including a number of important industry ‘firsts’ including: essential protections regarding AI, terms and conditions in non-dramatic SVOD programs as well as high-budget AVOD programs, Feature Director compensation for ‘soft prep,’ expanded paid post-production for Episodic Directors, a new foreign streaming residuals structure based on subscribers, and banning live ammunition on sets. We also obtained critical improvements in wages, streaming residuals, safety, diversity, and additional creative rights gains. What is particularly striking about the agreement is the breadth and depth of the achievements made, providing significant new benefits for members in every category.”

In addition to the ongoing WGA strike, the Screen Actors Guild recently authorized a strike should its ongoing negotiations with the AMPTP falter.

Both Doctor Strange films are now streaming on Disney+.