The Directors Guild of America has unveiled nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for its 69th annual DGA Awards, with helmers Damien Chazelle for La La Land, Barry Jenkins for Moonlight, Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea, Denis Villeneuve for Arrival and Garth Davis for Lion earning noms. All are first-time nominees in the category, though Davis previously was nominated in the TV Commercial category. The latter was perhaps the most surprising as his film, more than its director, had been most speculated by pundits. The DGA membership clearly loved it.
The guild also unveiled its First-Time Director noms — that list gives Lion‘s Davis two nominations for the same film and raises the profile of the Weinstein Company pic as Davis has not scored any directorial mention in precursor awards. In the short history of the First-Time Director category, this also is the first time one person has been nominated in both DGA categories.
Also on the first-time list: The Birth of a Nation‘s Nate Parker, who has been given a reprieve and vote of confidence by the DGA after his movie fell off the radar, in part due to controversy over a rape charge from his college days that surfaced several months ago. Deadpool’s Tim Miller also got a nomination on the first-time director list for Deadpool, a movie that has been doing extremely well on the awards circuit despite it falling in the less awards-magnet comic book hero genre and that it came out way back in February. With PGA, WGA, Golden Globe and now some DGA recognition this is very impressive. The Edge of Seventeen’s Kelly Fremon Craig and 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg round out that list.
Left out of the marquee category mix this time are big names including Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge, Denzel Washington for Fences, Clint Eastwood for Sully and Martin Scorsese for Silence. BAFTA and Golden Globe directing nominee Tom Ford also was left off the list.
Last year, Alejandro G. Iñárritu made it back-to-back wins by taking the trophy for The Revenant, following Birdman the year before. Those both led to Oscar Best Director triumphs. Since its inception in 1949, the winner of the DGA and the winner of the Best Director Oscar have differed only seven times. It is considered one of the most reliable barometers of eventual Oscar success.
The DGA Awards will be doled out February 4 at the Beverly Hilton.
Here are the noms:
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM FOR 2016
DAMIEN CHAZELLE
La La Land (Lionsgate)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Michael Beugg
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Paula Case
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Bart Lipton
Second Second Assistant Director: Brett Robinson
Additional Second Assistant Director: Dodi Rubenstein
GARTH DAVIS
Lion (The Weinstein Company)
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Chris Webb
First Assistant Director: Ananya Rane (India Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Mark Ingram (Australia Unit), Sunny Tiku (India Unit), KP Singh (India Unit), Shaunak Kapur (India Unit)
BARRY JENKINS
Moonlight (A24)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Jennifer Radzikowski
KENNETH LONERGAN
Manchester by the Sea (Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Declan Baldwin
First Assistant Director: Michael J. Moore
Second Assistant Director: David Blazina
Second Second Assistant Directors: Tim LaDue, Scooter Perrotta
DENIS VILLENEUVE
Arrival (Paramount Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Stan Wlodkowski
First Assistant Director: Donald L. Sparks
Second Assistant Director: Brigitte Goulet
Second Second Assistant Director: Karine P. Labelle
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF A FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR FOR 2016
GARTH DAVIS
Lion (The Weinstein Company)
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Chris Webb
First Assistant Director: Ananya Rane (India Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Mark Ingram (Australia Unit), Sunny Tiku (India Unit), KP Singh (India Unit), Shaunak Kapur (India Unit)
KELLY FREMON CRAIG
The Edge of Seventeen (STX Entertainment)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Brendan Ferguson
Production Manager: Dan Clarke
First Assistant Director: James Bitonti
Second Assistant Director: Daniel Mansfield
TIM MILLER
Deadpool
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: John J. Kelly
First Assistant Director: James Bitonti
Second Assistant Director: Daniel Mansfield
NATE PARKER
The Birth of a Nation (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Mark Moran
First Assistant Director: Tomas Deckaj
Second Assistant Director: Mark C. Stevens
Second Second Assistant Director: Scott Bowers
DAN TRACHTENBERG
10 Cloverfield Lane (Paramount Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Dohrmann
First Assistant Director: Jason Blumenfeld
Second Assistant Director: Paul B. Uddo
Second Second Assistant Director: Jonathan M. Warren
Location Manager: Batou A. Chandler
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