EXCLUSIVE: British directors including Asif Kapadia, Andrew Haigh and Otto Bathurst have signed an open letter venting frustration at the streamers for failing to engage over residuals.
The just-published letter organized by Directors UK comes more than 18 months after the trade body threatened to withhold its members copyright from the streamers if they didn’t come to the table and attempt to strike royalties deals. No such deals or even negotiation have been forthcoming and the trade body now feels an open letter backed by some of the UK’s top auteurs with combined credits including Black Mirror, The Crown and Slow Horses is its only recourse.
“We want to send a clear message to you all: royalties are a lifeblood for directors, however successful we may be at some point in our careers,” reads the open letter. “In the US, and in many countries in Europe and Latin America, practices have evolved to secure ongoing payments for directors – whether through collective bargaining or copyright laws. Please treat us with equal respect, and agree a timetable with Directors UK to conclude negotiations to ensure the future of the directing talent you rely on for your success.”
Watch on Deadline
Directors UK collects copyrights on behalf of its members. The body declined to tell Deadline whether it will follow through with its threat to withhold copyright from the streamers if they fail to negotiate now that the open letter is published. Last year, DUK research found that a majority of British directors said their residuals had fallen over the past five years.
The open letter chides the streamers for their “enthusiastic take up of UK tax incentive schemes” contrasted with the “very slow pace of discussions on an appropriate royalty scheme for UK directors.”
It praises the public broadcasters and Sky, who “for over 25 years… have contributed, along with their production partners, to a scheme which allows directors of UK television programmes to be paid copyright royalties for repeat showings and sales of the programmes they direct.” “While the ongoing payments made under this scheme are modest by anyone’s standards, they can be a crucial source of income in the highly precarious world in which we directors operate,” the letter adds.
The missive is signed by around 150 names including award-winning directors like Kapadia (Amy), Bathurst (Peaky Blinders) and Haigh (All Of Us Strangers), and others like Hettie MacDonald (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry), Dee Koppang O’Leary (Rivals), Benjamin Caron (The Crown), James Strong (Mr Bates vs the Post Office) and James Hawes (Slow Horses). Directors UK represents the interests of more than 8,500 British directors.
The streamers lack of engagement in the UK contrasts with the U.S., where the Christopher Nolan-led DGA will soon sit down with the AMPTP to thrash out a new contract. The previous deal saw a 76% increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms.
“Behind every programme you commission is a director whose creativity, craft and vision are integral to that success. You know the value we directors bring – now we need you to show it,” adds the letter.
DUK boss Andy Harrower said: “Royalties aren’t a luxury or a bonus; they are recognition of the continuing value of the shows that our members direct. It’s common practice in the US and many other countries for directors to receive ongoing payments, but that’s not the case for directors working for streamers in the UK. This needs to be fixed, and the streamers need to address this with more urgency.”
Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount, Apple and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have all been approached for comment.
The open letter in full
The global streaming services enjoy huge success, critically and commercially, and your catalogues are enjoyed by audiences around the world. But behind every programme you commission is a director whose creativity, craft and vision are integral to that success. You know the value we directors bring – now we need you to show it.
For over 25 years, all the UK’s public service broadcasters plus Sky have contributed, along with their production partners, to a scheme which allows directors of UK television programmes to be paid copyright royalties for repeat showings and sales of the programmes they direct. Before this scheme was established, most UK television directors would be paid once for their services and then never receive a penny, regardless of the ongoing popularity of the programme they created. While the ongoing payments made under this scheme are modest by anyone’s standards, they can be a crucial source of income in the highly precarious world in which we directors operate.
In contrast, your companies, which have been commissioning television programmes in the UK for over 10 years, have still not signed up to any form of royalty or residual scheme for the benefit of UK directors. This is despite the fact that we are legally one of the original owners of the copyright in the programmes we direct for these companies, and despite the best efforts of Directors UK, our copyright management organisation, to engage in negotiations.
While we applaud the investments you make in original UK production, we cannot help but note the contrast between your enthusiastic take up of UK tax incentive schemes and the very slow pace of discussions on an appropriate royalty scheme for UK directors.
We want to send a clear message to you all: royalties are a lifeblood for directors, however successful we may be at some point in our careers.
In the US, and in many countries in Europe and Latin America, practices have evolved to secure ongoing payments for directors – whether through collective bargaining or copyright laws. Please treat us with equal respect, and agree a timetable with Directors UK to conclude negotiations to ensure the future of the directing talent you rely on for your success.
Signed:
Joss Agnew
Josh Allott
Sallie Aprahamian
Jenny Ash
Will Aspinall
Steve Baker
Gilles Bannier
Benjie Bateman
Otto Bathurst
Simon Bell
Terry Black
Sam Blair
Dionne Bromfield
Al Campbell
Benjamin Caron
Justin Chadwick
Dan Clifton
John Crowley
Tim Dalby
Abigail Dankwa
Nick Deacon
Ian Denyer
Jamie Donoughue
Sam Donovan
Kate Dooley
Russell Eatough
Michael Engler
Avril Evans
Jeanie Finlay
Lucy Forbes
Julia Ford
Lottie Gammon
Ash Golder
Martin Gorst
Charlie Graham
Roman Green
Gillian Greenwood
James Griffiths
Andrew Haigh
Edward Hall
Sarah Harding
John Hardwick
Ben Hardy
James Hawes
Toby Haynes
Elliot Hegarty
Harry Hewland
Zoe Hines
Benjamin Hirsch
Jessica Hobbs
Tessa Hoffe
John Holdsworth
Simon Hynd
Alex Kalymnios
Asif Kapadia
Michael Keillor
Karen Kelly
David Kerr
Elliot Kew
Georgina Kiedrowski
Brian Kirk
Itamar Klasmer
Brian Klein
Dee Koppang o’Leary
James Levelle
Rob Lewis
Ed Lilly
Matt Lipsey
Jim Loach
Jeremy Lovering
Euros Lyn
Kit Lynch-Robinson
Hettie Macdonald
Neil Marshall
Charles Martin
Sarmad Masud
Jan Matthys
Colm McCarthy
Leo McCrea
Karen McGann
William McGregor
Chris McMillan
Saul Metzstein
Sam Miller
Marion Milne
Lisa Mulcahy
Marc Munden
Nick Murphy
Shannon Murphy
Bharat Nalluri
Amy Neil
Daniel Nettheim
Beatrice Ni Bhroin
Fergus O’Brien
Mark O’Brien
Chris O’Donnell
Sarah O’Gorman
Daniel O’Hara
Sam Ornbo
Ben Palmer
Tom Payne
Anthony Philipson
Alex Pillai
Matt Pinder
Wes Pollitt
Stuart Powell
Myriam Raja
Tom Ranson
Ben Reid
Barney Reisz
Erik Richter Strand
Jonathan Robinson
James Routh
Strahila Royachka
David Sant
Ollie Scarth
Richard Senior
Isabelle Sieb
Alice Smith
Seb Smith
John Strickland
James Strong
Emma Sullivan
Chris Sweeney
Sebastian Thiel
Delyth Thomas
Barnaby Thompson
Paul Thompson
Talya Tibbon
Susan Tully
Ed Venner
Nicole Volavka
Paul Walker
Luke Watson
Christian Watt
Paul Wells
Susanna White
Gavin Whitehead
David Whitney
Paul Wilmshurst
Andy Wilson
Jeff Wilson
Stephen Woolfenden
Will Yapp
Ross Young