The nominees are:
Read the Full Press Release Down Below:
BEN AFFLECK
Argo
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Affleck’s Directorial Team:
This is Mr. Affleck’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
KATHRYN BIGELOW
Zero Dark Thirty
(Columbia Pictures)
Ms. Bigelow’s Directorial Team:
This is Ms. Bigelow’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2009.
TOM HOOPER
Les Misérables
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Hooper’s Directorial Team:
This is Mr. Hooper’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King’s Speech (2010) and was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series for John Adams in 2008.
ANG LEE
Life of Pi
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Mr. Lee’s Directorial Team:
This is Mr. Lee’s fourth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Brokeback Mountain (2005) andCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and was nominated for Sense and Sensibility in 1995.
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Lincoln
(DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)
Mr. Spielberg’s Directorial Team:
This is Mr. Spielberg’s eleventh DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film three times for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Schindler’s List (1993) and The Color Purple (1985). He was also nominated in this category for Munich (2005), Amistad (1997), Empire of the Sun (1987), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Jaws (1975). Mr. Spielberg was honored with the DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
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The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award; only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award:
1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while Carol Reed took home the Oscar® for Oliver!
1972: Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA’s nod for The Godfather while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret.
1985: Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple while the Oscar® went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa.
1995: Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart.
2000: Ang Lee won the DGA Award for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Traffic.
2002: Rob Marshall won the DGA Award for Chicago while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.
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The winner in the Feature Film category will be announced at the 65th Annual DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on Saturday evening, February 2, 2013 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The DGA Awards will be hosted by director/actor/producer Kelsey Grammer.
DGA nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television and Commercials will be announced on January 9, 2013. DGA nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries will be announced on January 14, 2013. To download a press credential application, please visit the Awards section of the DGA website atwww.dga.org.
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About the DGA:
In the 77 years since its founding in 1936, the DGA has fought for the economic and creative rights of its members; protected their ability to financially benefit from the reuse of their work; established strong pension and health plans; and established jurisdiction in new technologies and distribution platforms. Today we represent 15,000 directors and members of the directorial team working in film, television, commercials, new media and other audiovisual media.
Divya
January 8, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Tom Hooper got in…I honestly did not see that coming. Looks like the guilds have liked ‘Les Mis’ much more than we thought. (And I think Universal got the news much before the rest of the world ‘cos something fishy was going on with the ‘Les Mis’ awards website just half an hour before the nominations were officially announced).
Last year, David Fincher got nominated for ‘Dragon Tattoo’ at the DGA but didn’t receive the Oscar nomination for Directing.
Call me stubborn but I’m still sticking to David O’Russell replacing Hooper on Thursday.
Divya(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
January 8, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Hooper could still miss out on Thursday, but the other four seem like locks now and pretty much all other contenders except Russell are more or less done for…
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John Reese
January 8, 2013 at 1:19 pm
No love for Tarantino. Oh well.
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Josh P.
January 8, 2013 at 1:22 pm
It’s not a shock that Hooper got in, but it’s no guarantee that he’ll get the Oscar nod. Personally, I agree with Joey that what Hooper did to that film should put him as far away from a Best Director lineup as possible, but that’s just me. I’m also still predicting he’ll get the Oscar nomination, by the way.
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Rico
January 8, 2013 at 1:27 pm
Hooper is getting in on Thursday–and deservedly so. Russell’s direction in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ was serviceable to the material, but, again, that movie was more about the writing and its actors. It’s not a “director’s” film. Hooper’s “Les Miserables”, on the other hand, is a director’s film. And whether Hooper is deemed to have failed at his job or not, he had the higher challenge in filmmaking to begin with. All that Russell had to do was direct a slightly-above-average romantic comedy. And I doubt it’s that hard to do.
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moviewatcher
January 8, 2013 at 1:34 pm
Sorry, I still gotst to predict PTA for Hooper’s spot. My brain just won’t allow me to drop him. Also, the DGA has only gone 5/5 with oscar’s BD category three times since 1990.
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Josh P.
January 8, 2013 at 1:51 pm
I hope to God you’re right and I am wrong. What justice that would be.
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Kofi
January 8, 2013 at 2:10 pm
Hooper?? WTF!
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Holden
January 8, 2013 at 2:25 pm
Ugh… Hooper. The rest are fine.
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Ryman
January 8, 2013 at 2:27 pm
NOOO!!!! Why Tom Hooper?! That guy butchered Les Mis. REALLY happy with the other nominations though. I happy with whoever wins as long as it’s NOT Tom Hooper. So far, Hooper has come off as the most undeserving contender of this decade. First he steals David Fincher’s Oscar and now he’s getting recognition for doing a BAD film with 95% close-ups and choppy editing. It’s like Michael Bay directed Les Mis or something. Just awful news.
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UBourgeois
January 8, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Though I liked Les Mis plenty and think Tom Hooper gets too much bile, he shouldn’t be there. Should be PTA.
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steve
January 8, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Yes, I agree with pretty much everybody. Will be hoping there’s some Academy love for The Master in Picture and Director despite the rest of the precursors.
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Thomas
January 8, 2013 at 3:36 pm
I really hope to hear these same 5 names on Thursday…They all deserve it! Hooper deserves it…a lot more than Russell
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Phill
January 8, 2013 at 3:44 pm
Ew….
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GL
January 8, 2013 at 4:08 pm
I am taking this into high consideration tbh. The reason being is that last year they nominated Fincher, and the year before that Nolan. Both Inception and GWTDT scored Oscars in the end while missing BD. I think we all know how Les Mis is a front-runner in some categories, but the fact is, what does that mean for “The Silver Linings Playbook”? Does this put Chastain above Lawrence? BFCA on Thursday and Globes on Sunday will probably give us a more concrete sign.
GL(Quote) (Reply)
John H Foote
January 8, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Hooper is there in place of some other major directors who should be in his spot — PT Anderson of course for The Master, followed by Tarantino for Django Unchained — Michael Heneke for Amour, and yes David O. Russell should indeed be there for Silver Linings Playbook — servicing the material???? Russell directed demanding material that could have easily become maudlin in the hands of another director — he found the humanity within the story — At least he accomplished that which is more than I can say for Hooper with his constant use of close ups, the most gutless sort of direction he could have resorted to using — the man made John Adams for HBO for God’s sake and it was a splendid period piece, with superb framing and constant use of long and medium shots that worked beautifully — so what was he thinking with Les Miserables and the overuse of close ups?? I grew so tired of looking at the pores in the skin of the actors, or staring up their nostrils — yes, yes, he was trying to get all the emotion out of the song, but that can be sung, and the body can be used to convey pain (it’s called body language) — he blew it, he just plain blew it and the nomination is silly — chances are Weinstein got his screeners out late (which I hear and have experienced) and Anderson’s film divided audiences and obviously directors. Having missed out on three potential nods here I cannot imagine all is well and rosy at the Weinstein Company today — Take solace in one fact — no way Hooper wins the Oscars. No way…
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JamDenTel
January 8, 2013 at 4:48 pm
In a word: yawn.o
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Will
January 8, 2013 at 5:56 pm
I really liked Les Mis and I think this crucifixion of Hooper’s direction is over the top (because he “stole” Fincher’s Oscar I guess) but his spot shouldn’t go to PTA, Tarantino, Haneke, or even Russell. It should go to Wes Anderson, if we are judging purely on directing, he deserves it.
Will(Quote) (Reply)
Josh P.
January 8, 2013 at 8:55 pm
My problem with Hooper’s direction of “Les Miserables” has nothing to do with the idea that he stole Fincher’s Oscar. I know Fincher deserved it, and in my heart, he was the best director that year, and I don’t need the official records to reflect that. I just had serious problems with how Hooper executed that film, and personally do not think he deserves any kind of “Best Director” title for it. But that’s just me. I just want to make it clear that I’m judging him based on his current work, not how things turned out in the past.
Also, while I’m not the biggest Wes Anderson fan, but his direction for “Moonrise Kingdom” serviced the story far better, so I’d agree with you to that extent.
Josh P.(Quote) (Reply)
Josh P.
January 9, 2013 at 1:20 am
Just another thing to notice: if this lineup is the same at the Oscars, then Ben Affleck will be the only nominee who hasn’t previously won a Best Director Oscar.
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Phill
January 9, 2013 at 2:02 am
Out of the Movies i’ve seen this year (Haven’t seen Silving Lingings, The Master, or Zero Dark, so can’t judge there) I’d say the top 5 directors are.
Drew Goddard – The Cabin in the Woods
Martin Mcdonagh(Sp?) – Seven Psychopaths
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
Thomas Twyker, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski – Cloud Atlas
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
(The funny thing is, only two of these movies show up on my top 5)
I know all 5 are wishful tinking (with the exception of Tarantino, who I believe has a shot.)Hooper? Good, but not award worthy. Lee? hahahahaha. Affleck? Good, but his weakest movie. Gone Baby Gone and The Town, sure. Speilberg? Lincoln is the most overated movie of the year. 6/10 at best. Shouldn’t be nominated for a thing.
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