Producers Guild Awards
Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher talk with Variety about their first year as guild presidents and the challenges that lie ahead
PGA co-presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher reflect on the progress they’ve made in their first year, and what lies ahead.
midway through their first year as co-presidents of the Producers Guild, Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher are pleased with their guild’s progress tackling some of the industry’s thorniest issues — sexual harassment and inequality among them — but fully aware how much more work needs to be done.
Luckily, as producers and former studio bosses, they pride themselves on their problem-solving abilities.
When allegations about producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced in October 2017, they joined the guild’s Anti-sexual Harassment Task Force, helping to for- mulate guidelines to combat such harassment in time for last year’s PGA Awards. Last June, they were elected co-presidents, taking over the role from Lori Mccreary and Gary Lucchesi.
Berman and Fisher are the first female pairing in the role — and fully aware of that significance. They bring a wealth of leadership experience to the presidency: Fisher, a former vice chair at Sony, runs Red Wagon Entertainment with her husband, Doug Wick, while Berman, former head of Fox Broadcasting Co. and Paramount Pictures, is co- owner of the Jackal Group production company.
“I think I can speak for both of us that we felt we were in a moment in time where we could actually make a difference, so that was very appealing to us,” Fisher says.
She and Berman are heading to the Jan. 19 PGA Awards with a new initiative intended to further cut down on sexual harassment. Called the Independent Production Safety Initiative, it will provide free