Directors Guild of America nominees announced

The DGA nominations are a key indicator of Oscar nominees.

LOS ANGELES: Film-makers Steven Spielberg, Kathryn Bigelow, Ben Affleck, Tom Hooper and Ang Lee received nominations from the Directors Guild of America (DGA), ahead of the Oscar nominations this week.

Affleck, 40, landed his first Directors Guild film award nomination for Iran hostage thriller Argo, alongside fellow US directors Bigelow and Spielberg, Taiwanese director Lee and British film-maker Hooper.

Bigelow received a nod for her Osama bin Laden-manhunt thriller Zero Dark Thirty, Spielberg for his US Civil War-era drama Lincoln, Lee for his 3D adaptation of best-selling novel Life of Pi and Hooper for his screen adaptation of hit musical, Les Miserables.

“These directors represent the highest standard of film-making, and their films are a testament to artistic achievement, innovative storytelling and the passion that film-makers share with their audiences,” DGA President Taylor Hackford said in a statement.



Notably absent from the list this year was director Quentin Tarantino, whose latest film Django Unchained, a spaghetti-western slave retribution tale, has been gaining awards buzz after landing five Golden Globe nods including best director.

Film-maker David O Russell also didn’t get a DGA nomination, despite his quirky comedy Silver Linings Playbook also building awards steam and going into the Golden Globe awards on Sunday with four nominations.

The DGA nominations are often a key indicator of Oscar nominees and winners, as DGA members are often also members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars. The Academy Award for best picture also often goes to the winner of the DGA’s best director award.

The winner of the DGA feature film category will be revealed at a dinner ceremony hosted by former Frasier star Kelsey Grammer on February 2 in Los Angeles, three weeks before the Academy Awards.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2013.              

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