The Directors Guild Of America has announced their nominees today and frankly, there aren’t any surprises here. Five individuals have been nominated for the Guild’s Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award and the five names here are exactly who you would expect to see on such a list.
My personal pick would be David Fincher although it’s unlikely that he’ll be chosen. I’ve always been a huge Fincher fan and of the movies listed below, I enjoyed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the most. That being said, all the directors listed here are worthy of their nominations and whoever does win will be well deserving of their award.
Now, speaking of Fincher, some may see him as a surprise pick due to Dragon Tattoo‘s recent performance so far in terms of awards and nominations. While once a near shoe in for major awards, over the last few weeks, the film’s chances of securing any serious Oscars has been looking bleaker.
In terms of snubs, I’d say Terrence Malick was the only one. Some may argue Spielberg for War Horse or even Tate Taylor for The Help but for me, I think this list is pretty fair, aside from the absence of Malick.
The winner will be announced at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2012. Check out the nominees below and keep in mind that this list may very well be identical or extremely close to what we see at the Oscars. Furthermore, with the announcement of these nominations, it’s almost certain that all five of these films will be in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars.
WOODY ALLEN
Midnight in Paris
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Mr. Allen’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Matthieu Rubin, Helen Robin
First Assistant Director: Gil Kenny
Second Assistant Director: Delphine Bertrand
DAVID FINCHER
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
(Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)
Mr. Fincher’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Daniel M. Stillman
First Assistant Director: Bob Wagner
Second Assistant Director: Allen Kupetsky
Production Manager (Sweden Unit): Karolina Heimburg
Second Assistant Directors (Sweden Unit): Hanna Nilsson, Pontus Klänge
2nd Second Assistant Director (Sweden Unit): Niklas Sjöström
2nd Second Assistant Director (U.S. Unit): Maileen Williams
Unit Production Manager (Zurich Unit): Christos Dervenis
Unit Production Manager (U.K. Unit): Lara Baldwin
Second Assistant Director (U.K. Unit): Paul Taylor
MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS
The Artist
(The Weinstein Company)
Mr. Hazanavicius’ Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Antoine De Cazotte
Production Manager (FR): Ségoléne Fleury
First Assistant Director (FR): James Canal
First Assistant Director (US): David Cluck
Second Assistant Director (US): Dave Paige
Second Second Assistant Directors: Karla Strum, Ricky Robinson
ALEXANDER PAYNE
The Descendants
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. Payne’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: George Parra
First Assistant Director: Richard L. Fox
Second Assistant Director: Scott August
Second Second Assistant Director: Amy Wilkins Bronson
MARTIN SCORSESE
Hugo
(Paramount Pictures)
Mr. Scorsese’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Charles Newirth, Georgia Kacandes, Angus More Gordon
First Assistant Director: Chris Surgent
Second Assistant Director: Richard Graysmark
Second Assistant Directors: Tom Brewster, Fraser Fennell-Ball
Production Managers (Paris Unit): Michael Sharp, Gilles Castera
First Assistant Director (Paris Unit): Ali Cherkaoui