The Producers Guild of America has elected Hollywood veterans Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line as its new presidents, the organization said Tuesday.
Allain, a longtime producer behind films like "Dear White People," "Hustle & Flow" and "Beyond the Lights," is the first woman of color to assume the role in the organization's history. De Line's credits include "Ready Player One," "The Italian Job" and "Pain & Gain."
The nonprofit trade group represents more than 8,000 producers in film, television and new media and is behind the annual Producers Guild Awards, which has become the best bellwether for predicting the eventual best picture winner at the Oscars.
In a joint statement, Allain and De Line said that, "We will continue to educate the industry on the role of the producer, support producers' efforts for fair and commensurate compensation and benefits, welcome and encourage a more diverse membership, and endeavor to attain broader healthcare coverage while educating members on the current benefits and opportunities available to them."
They replace outgoing presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher who were in the role since 2018, during which they helped guide the guild through changes from the #MeToo revolution, the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More