Director Taylor Hackford was re-elected president of the Directors Guild of America by acclamation at the Guild’s National Biennial Convention held today at DGA national headquarters in Los Angeles.
Additionally, 140 delegates representing the 14,500 members of the DGA elected a new slate of officers and members of the National Board of Directors.
Hackford, who joined the DGA in 1974, was first elected president in 2009. He began his service to the Guild as a member of the Special Projects Committee and served as chair of the DGA PAC and co-chair of the PAC Leadership Council (together with Paris Barclay). Hackford was elected to the Western Directors Council in 1996, became a member of the National Board in 2002 and was elected third VP of the National Board in 2005. He has also served on the Creative Rights Committee and currently co-chairs the DGA Task Force on Social Responsibility.
In 2007, the Guild honored Hackford with the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award for extraordinary service to the DGA and its membership.
“It is my honor to accept once again the position of president of the Directors Guild of America in this, our 75th anniversary year,” said Hackford. “This is the greatest distinction anyone can have in this town. I am so proud to be a member of this Guild and to be part of the leadership, and I can promise you that, as I have in the last two years, I will work as hard as I possibly can to represent our members and fight for their creative and economic rights — whether that be at the bargaining table, on the set or in Washington, DC.”
“I’ve been proud to serve by Taylor Hackford’s side for the past two years,” said Steven Soderbergh, who placed Hackford’s name in nomination. “People don’t realize how much work, time and dedication it takes to do this job–it’s not easy by any means–and I have no doubt that Taylor will continue to serve the members of this Guild with the same passion and skill that he’s already given to us for the last two years.”
Soderbergh was re-elected national VP of the DGA; Gilbert Cates, who formerly served two terms as DGA president, was re-elected secretary-treasurer.
Also elected were first VP Paris Barclay; second VP William M. Brady; third VP Betty Thomas; fourth VP Gary Donatelli; fifth VP Thomas Schlamme; sixth VP Vincent Misiano; and assistant secretary-treasurer Scott Berger.
In more than 35 years as a director, Hackford has helmed an extensive list of feature and documentary films. His feature films include An Officer and a Gentleman, Against All Odds, White Nights, Everybody’s All-American, Dolores Claiborne, The Devil’s Advocate, Proof of Life, Ray and Love Ranch. His documentaries include Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock n’ Roll and When We Were Kings. He is currently preparing to shoot Parker from a novel by Donald Westlake.
Hackford was nominated for a DGA Award and an Academy Award for best director for An Officer and a Gentleman in 1983 and for Ray in 2005. He won the Academy Award for live-action short Teenage Father in 1979. Hackford also won a Grammy for the soundtrack to Ray.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More