The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have struck a deal after just five days of negotiating. In a press release announcing the agreement Gil Gates, chair of the DGA's Negotiations Committe and Oscar show producer, stated, "Two words describe this agreement -- groundbreaking and substantial. The gains in this contract for directors and their teams are extraordinary -- and there are no rollbacks of any kind."

The three year deal puts directors in a much better position to benefit financially from their work. Directors will receive residuals for ad-supported and streaming video clips hosted on the internet. The DGA also gained control over material produced specifically for the internet as well as receiving double the current pay rate for material downloaded from the internet.

Now, how does this affect the upcoming Academy Awards? Well, it doesn't directly affect the show however the DGA reaching an agreement with the AMPTP might spark the Writers Guild into action. The WGA and the AMPTP are miles apart on internet revenue, but the DGA deal may be a good launching point for a new round of negotiations.