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Lesli Linka Glatter, President of the Directors Guild of America and a top TV director-producer, gave a rousing speech on Saturday night at the DGA awards, as she recalled the recent L.A. fires, in which she, and so many others, lost their homes.
“Never have I been more pleased to be together with all of you our storytelling community,” Glatter said. “It’s no secret that these past few months, and this past year really, have been overwhelmingly difficult for our industry.” Glatter cited the pandemic, the strikes and now the L.A. fires. “What possibly could be next?” she asked wryly, to encouraging laughs from the audience.
“I was one of the thousands who lost their home during the wildfires,” Glatter continued. “And what sustained me and so many others in the middle of this deeply painful time was the incredible outpouring of compassion and support from friends and colleagues and community and yes, from total strangers only motivated only by kindness.”
Glatter thanked our first responders for their tireless efforts to protect the LA community and she called the current moment “an opportunity to reflect and this year especially to have gratitude and commit ourselves to action.”
That call to action? Directors must do everything they can to bring production back to L.A., where it is badly needed. “I urge you to insist that your projects be shot where they are set,” Glatter said. “If it’s California, demand to shoot in California, and the same is true for New York, Illinois, Georgia, Mexico… If we all commit to work together, bringing jobs back home to where they are most needed to our city of angels, which has been forced to its knees.”
Glatter added emphatically, “We simply cannot lose Hollywood,” and went on to say, “I start prep on my next project in March and I’m proud to say it’s shooting in Los Angeles.”
Glatter also recalled the experience of returning to the remnants of her home. “Last week I went back to what was left of my neighborhood,” she said. “Amidst the rubble and debris there was a tree still standing and it was filled with bright yellow flowers. How the f–k did that happen? In that moment, something cracked open for me… It forces you to look ahead toward the future and I believe that future is in this room, because we create the stories, and our stories will inspire.”
On January 10th, Glatter first revealed she had lost her home in an Instagram post, writing, “Sadly my house is gone, as is so much of the Palisades… this is heartbreaking for many. My heart goes out to all those who have lost so much and to those in danger.”
That same day, Glatter, whose many credits include The Morning Show, Homeland, The Walking Dead and Mad Men, sent a supportive note to DGA members about the “devastating loss” they were experiencing. “I am also angry and sad that this comes at a moment that we were poised to turn a corner after the pandemic, strikes and work contraction,” she wrote. “2025 was to be our year of resurgence. But what gives me hope is you.”
She added: “I have been so fortunate to call Pacific Palisades home. It is where I raised my son and have been living for over 20 years. Tuesday night, I lost my home along with hundreds of others in the Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and other communities where we have lived, worked and filmed for so long. This emergency and the hurt so many of us are feeling is far from over, but I know that no matter what, we will somehow persevere and come out on the other side of this.”
Glatter is an eight-time Emmy nominee and has been nominated for seven Directors Guild of America Awards, winning three.
