Directors Guild Nomination Surprises

The Directors Guild Of America has announced its five nominations for Best Feature Film Director Of The Year. The winner generally goes on to win the Oscar in the same category, which has not occurred only six times in the past 63 years. Last year, Tom Hooper won at both the Directors Guild and the Oscars for THE KING’S SPEECH, although David Fincher was the early favorite to win the DGA Prize for THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Fincher will have another go at it this year with his nomination for direction of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (his third DGA nomination, along with THE SOCIAL NETWORK and BENJAMIN BUTTON). Another nominee with many past nominations is Martin Scorsese, who is being given the nod for his work on his first 3D fantasia HUGO (he has been nominated 7 times before, winning for THE DEPARTED). Also nominated many times is Woody Allen, who was a surprise choice for this year, although his box office success MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is an industry favorite. He has been nominated five times before, winning way back in 1977 for ANNIE HALL. Also getting a nod is Alexander Payne for the dramedy THE DESCENDANTS, his second DGA nomination (he was nominated in 2004 for SIDEWAYS). The only first-time contender among the nominees, French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, is the current favorite for his homage to silent cinema THE ARTIST. Conspicuously absent from the list was Steven Spielberg, who had two films out this year, WAR HORSE and THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN, and Terrence Malick, the iconoclastic director of THE TREE OF LIFE. The Directors Guild will announce its winners at a January 28 dinner in Los Angeles, with Kelsey Grammer as host.

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