Oral Histories

Interview of Scott Roth

Labor and entertainment law attorney. Served as executive director of the Art Directors Guild. Art Directors Guild Service Award honoree.
Series:
The Crafts in Hollywood: Production Design
Topic:
COVID-19 Pandemic
Film and Television
Biographical Note:
Labor and entertainment law attorney. Served as executive director of the Art Directors Guild. Art Directors Guild Service Award honoree.
Interviewer:
Collings, Jane
Interviewee:
Roth, Scott
Persons Present:
Roth and Collings.
Place Conducted:
Sessions one and two: Library Special Collections in the Young Research Library, UCLA. Because of the necessity of restricting personal contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, the third session was conducted by phone.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Jane Collings, principal editor and interviewer, UCLA Center for Oral History Research; Ph.D., Critical Studies in Film and Television, UCLA.
Processing of Interview:
The interviewer prepared a timed log of the audio recording of the interview. Roth was given the opportunity to review the log in order to supply missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the contents. Roth made a few additions, which were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.Some months after the oral history interview was completed, the UCLA Center for Oral History Research recontacted Roth to invite him to participate in another interview session documenting the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film and television industry. The final session thus focuses primarily on the personal, professional, and industry-wide effects of the pandemic.
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Audio:
Series Statement:
This series of interviews was undertaken in collaboration with the Art Directors Guild. Its aim is to document the lives and work of Guild members and staff who have made a significant contribution to film and television history. Interviews capture the work of title artists, set designers, art directors, production designers, and many other categories. The contribution of labor unions in shaping the conditions of the work is also addressed.
Early interest in politics--Attends UCLA Law School--Employed with National Association of Government Employees, followed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission--The Directors Guild of America participates in a class action suit against Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures for gender discrimination--Instrumental role in the merger that resulted in the formation of the Art Directors Guild (ADG) as Local 800--Advantages of the merger.
More on the class-action suit for gender discrimination against Columbia and Warner’s--ADG's participation in labor negotiations--Hires a PR firm to raise profile of ADG--ADG forced by United States Department of Labor to hold elections for executive director position--Motion picture industry health plan work--Work on Assembly Bill 1839--Protects interests of ADG members in work with City Council Member Wendy Greuel--The ADG Film Society and Gallery 800--ADG member recruitment.