Christopher Nolan is no stranger to demanding jobs. This is the movie director who crashed a real Boeing 747 onto his set doctrine And he flipped an 18-wheeler over in the middle of Chicago. dark knight. But even by his standards, the leadership roles he’s recently taken on in Hollywood are daunting.
In September, Nolan was elected president of the Hollywood Directors Guild. He took the helm of the 19,500-member Directors Guild of America during an increasingly difficult time for Hollywood and its employees. Production in the United States slowed significantly. Generative AI and the hype surrounding it threatens jobs. One Hollywood giant (Netflix) is swallowing up another (Warner Bros.).
Nolan is one of Hollywood’s most powerful directors, with shocking hits such as: oppenheimer and inceptionmay have left others with the headache of worker advocacy during a period of painful change. But instead, he felt it was time to step up.
“All of these changes, especially in the last 10 to 15 years, especially in the last five years, have presented significant challenges,” Nolan told a small group of reporters at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles on January 29. “I felt like I had something to offer in terms of supporting member representation during this turbulent time.”
In his first interview for the role, Nolan shed light on his approach to labor negotiations, AI, and corporate integration, while emphasizing that promoting jobs in the industry is one of his top priorities.
Nolan said early on that he wanted to examine the gap between consumer spending on entertainment and industry jobs with employers. He argued that consumer investment in union jobs is “very stable,” but in 2024 the union expects jobs to fall by 35% in television and between 8 and 12% in film. The DGA has not yet released numbers for 2025.
“How do you reconcile those things?” Nolan asked. “What’s happening with investments? Why aren’t we reinvesting in consumers? … We need to look at how new models have created this disconnect.”
The DGA is tackling the job slump by lobbying for more domestic production. After advocating for expanded production credits in California and New York, the union is now promoting federal tax incentives, a 25% federal rebate that can be combined with state rebates. Rep. Laura Friedman and Sen. Adam Schiff are also joining the campaign, and Nolan said there is “growing interest” in the idea.
He said employment will also be a key issue in the union’s 2026 labor negotiations with studios and streamers. Those talks are scheduled to begin May 11 after SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America begin their own negotiations. Nolan did not discuss specific proposals, but noted that the union’s lack of employment is “very problematic.”
One of the downstream effects of the job shortage is that the DGA has had to draw down its health insurance reserves. Health insurance is partially funded by employer contributions when members are working. Health care system problems are exacerbated by health insurance inflation.
“Health care costs are rising significantly in this country, and that’s one of the reasons for the last government shutdown,” Nolan said. “Everyone knows that and we’re going to do our part, but employers will have to step up and do their part by increasing their contribution rates in future negotiations,” he said.
The union also plans to focus on generative AI in future negotiations. In the 2023 deal, the DGA negotiated twice-yearly check-ins with studios and streamers about their use of the technology and mandatory consultation with directors before companies use generative AI for creative purposes. But Nolan said he wants labor groups to have a role in shaping how these tools are used in the future. The union also wants to regulate how its members’ work can be manipulated by AI, such as when Paramount contracts with showrunners to allow viewers to create new episodes of their favorite shows.
Nolan is optimistic, but cautious about the deal Disney signed with OpenAI in December. He argues that while licensing is a step in the right direction, unions need to see “how it will be paid for to members”.
Nolan added that companies could gain union support in generative AI deals “if they demonstrate how creators can benefit from those kinds of licensing opportunities.”
as hollywood reporter According to a report, labor bargaining groups for studios and streamers are considering offering unions longer-term contracts this year than usual. The Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance is considering offering a five-year contract instead of the usual three-year deal. Nolan said he didn’t completely reject the idea, but said it wasn’t “a realistic proposal in any way.”
He asked, “If we had agreed to a five-year contract in March 2020, what would have happened by now?”
This year’s labor-management negotiations will take place against a backdrop of great uncertainty over the future of business amid corporate consolidation. Netflix is attempting to buy Warner Bros. after Paramount completes its merger with Skydance in 2025, but the DGA has previously expressed concerns about the proposed deal.
Nolan said the union met with Netflix and Warner Bros.’ rival suitor Paramount to discuss the possibility of such an in-house marriage. He wants “meaningful commitments” about how the combined company will operate and how members will be affected. He said this was a “very worrying time for the industry”.
Those familiar with Nolan’s work may wonder if Nolan is worried that his commitment to theatrical distribution will loosen if the storied studio is acquired by Netflix, a company notoriously allergic to theaters. “I think the theatrical window will be kind of a clear symbol of whether Warner Bros. is going to operate as a theatrical distribution company or as a streamer,” he said. The director, who has released nine films for Warner Bros., typically focused on the theatrical experience and popularized filming with Imax cameras. (Odyssey, All of Nolan’s movies this year have been shot with Imax cameras. )
Theatrical window is certainly one element of concern for the DGA, and the union wants a 60-day theatrical window. But the bigger question is how the combined Warner Bros. entity will act as a buyer, seller, and exhibitor. And what is even more troubling is employment.
“Merger means job loss. It means consolidation. I mean, we all know that, and you look at history to see that,” Nolan said. “Our current focus is on looking at how we can ameliorate some of these concerns.”
