Movies - Feb. 14, 1989

For 24 years the Directors Guild training program has provided a route for outsiders--from geologists and school teachers to carpenters and computer programmers--to break into Hollywood. Now the guild is giving producers new financial incentives to hire its assistant director trainees by offering a 20% discount on many of their salaries. “It’s a way to increase training opportunities,” says the program’s administrator, Elizabeth Stanley. Graduates of the program include such directors as Walter Hill (“48 Hours”), Alan Rudolph (“The Moderns”) and producer Art Levinson (“The Money Pit”).