Directors Guild of America - One Director To A Picture

One Director To A Picture

The rule that a film can only have one single director was adopted to preserve the continuity of a director's vision and to avoid producers and actors lobbying for a director's credit, or studios hiring multiple directors for a single film or television episode.

The rule is waived only for recognized directorial teams (as determined by the DGA) who have a history of working together and sharing a common vision, such as The Wachowskis, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Hughes brothers, Brothers Strause, and the Coen brothers. The Coens for years divided credit, with Ethan taking producing credit, Joel taking directing credit, and both of them sharing the writing credit (even though the two of them shared all three duties between themselves) until The Ladykillers. For instance, the DGA would not recognize Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller as a directorial "team" for Sin City because they had never worked together before, which resulted in Rodriguez quitting the DGA so that Miller would receive director's credit.

Not all Hollywood directors are DGA members. Notable directors such as George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez have refused membership or resigned from the guild over specific differences. Quentin Tarantino directed six feature films before becoming a DGA member, in 2012. Those who are not members of the guild are unable to direct for the larger movie studios, which are signatories to the guild's agreements that all directors must be guild members.