Christopher Nolan elected DGA president amid Hollywood union negotiations
Oppenheimer filmmaker takes the helm as talks with producers loom and the guild pursues set-safety and tax-credit reforms.
Christopher Nolan has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America, becoming one of the rare A-list talents to lead Hollywood’s most powerful directing union while still at the peak of his career. He succeeds Lesli Linka Glatter, who served two terms since taking office in 2021. Nolan has long been active in the DGA and currently sits on the union’s national board. "To be elected President of the Directors Guild of America is one of the greatest honors of my career," Nolan said in a statement, according to Variety. "Our industry is experiencing tremendous change, and I thank the Guild’s membership for entrusting me with this responsibility. I also want to thank President Glatter for her leadership over the past four years. I look forward to collaborating with her and the newly elected Board to achieve important creative and economic protections for our members."
During Glatter’s tenure, the DGA lobbied for set safety reforms, including a California pilot program requiring safety supervisors on productions funded by the state's film and TV tax incentive. The union also played a key role in expanding California’s tax credit this year, opening the door for more productions to qualify. Looking ahead, the DGA is expected to open talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers sometime in early 2026. The guild’s current contract runs through June 30, 2026, and during the last cycle in 2023, it was the only Hollywood union to secure a deal without a work stoppage. Nolan’s election comes fresh off his Oscar-winning run with Oppenheimer, which earned him two Academy Awards and proved once again his unique ability to balance big-screen spectacle with historical dramas. His next epic, The Odyssey, is slated to hit theaters in July via Universal Pictures.
Delegates also re-elected Laura Belsey as National Vice President and Paris Barclay as Secretary-Treasurer. Other officers elected include Todd Holland, Ron Howard, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Seith Mann, Millicent Shelton, Lily Olszewski, and Joyce Thomas. The leadership changes come as the guild eyes a new bargaining cycle with producers and continues to pursue protections for directors across film and television.