The directors hit the table several months early.

With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) still on strike, it was announced that the Directors Guild of America (DGA) would begin negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) this weekend. This is a full five months before the DGA's contract with the producers is set to run out. Both sides have agreed to a press blackout during the strike.

There have been several weeks of pre-sessions leading up to this round of negotiations, and DGA president Michael Apted issued a letter that said that the directors "would not enter negotiations with the AMPTP unless we were within shouting distance of an agreement on our two most important issues: jurisdiction for our members to work in new media and appropriate compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet and other new media platforms."

"Now we believe it is time to move forward with the goal to hammer out an agreement," Apted continued. "I am very mindful of how many members are unemployed and believe that our reaching a deal will bring the industry closer to getting back to work." He went on to say that there are still "hurdles to jump. However, we would not be going forward unless we believed we could make a good deal."

WGA West president Patric Verrone sent an e-mail to the members of the writers' guild about the negotiations between the DGA and the AMPTP. He wished the directors well in their talks with the producers, but he pointed out that the directors do not represent the writers or the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). "If the DGA is able to reach an agreement with the AMPTP," he explained, "we will carefully analyze the terms to see whether or not they advance our interests, and SAG will do the same."

For more information, check out United Hollywood and Deadline Hollywood Daily. The full content of the e-mail Verrone sent to the WGA can be read here. Thanks to veggie for sharing this information and to speed_cochrane for bringing it to our attention.

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