January 26, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CA - The winners of the 2007 Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards and the recipients of the Guild's 2008 Career Achievement Awards were announced tonight during the 60th Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen won the DGA's Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for No Country for Old Men.
Following the welcome from DGA President Michael Apted to an audience of more than 1,500 guests, Actor/Director/Comedian Carl Reiner hosted the Awards ceremony for the twenty-first time. Presenters included: Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), DGA Secretary-Treasurer Gil Cates, Kristin Chenoweth and Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies), Marion Cotillard* (La Vie En Rose), Daniel Day-Lewis* (There Will Be Blood), Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Emile Hirsch and Hal Holbrook* (Into the Wild), Helen Hunt (Then She Found Me), Katheleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), John Larroquette (Boston Legal), Debra Messing (The Starter Wife), Ellen Page* (Juno), Anna Paquin (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), Amy Ryan* (Gone Baby Gone),Tilda Swinton* and Tom Wilkinson* (Michael Clayton), Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty), and 2006 DGA Feature Film Award-winner/DGA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Martin Scorsese. (*2008 Academy Award Nominee)
The DGA's Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only six times since the DGA Award's inception in 1949 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director. (See list at the end of this release.)
The winners of the 2007 Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the recipients of the Guild's 2007 Career Achievement Awards are:
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2007:
JOEL COEN & ETHAN COEN
No Country for Old Men
(Miramax Films and Paramount Vantage)
The Coens' Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Graf
- First Assistant Director: Betsy Magruder
- Second Assistant Director: Bac DeLorme
- Second Second Assistant Director: Jai James
This is Mr. Joel Coen's and Mr. Ethan Coen's first DGA Award. Joel Coen was previously nominated for Fargo (1996).
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television for 2007:
YVES SIMONEAU
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
(HBO)
Mr. Simoneau's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager - US: Chrisann Verges
- First Assistant Director - US: Cas Donovan
- Second Assistant Director - US: Adam Martin
This is Mr. Simoneau's first DGA Award.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series Night for 2007:
ALAN TAYLOR
Mad Men - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Pilot)"
(AMC)
Mr. Taylor's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Scott Hornbacher
- First Assistant Director: Mark McGann
- Second Assistant Director: Maggie Murphy
- Second Second Assistant Director: John Silvestri
- Second Assistant Director/Location Manager: April Taylor
This is Mr. Taylor's first DGA Award.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for 2007:
BARRY SONNENFELD
Pushing Daisies - "Pie-lette"
(ABC)
Mr. Sonnenfeld's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Gabriela Vazquez
- First Assistant Director: Chris Soldo
- Second Assistant Director: Greg Hale
- Second Second Assistant Director: Renee Hill-Sweet
This is Mr. Sonnenfeld's first DGA Award.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety for 2007:
GLENN P. WEISS
The 61st Annual Tony Awards
(CBS)
Mr. Weiss' Directorial Team:
- Associate Directors: Gregg M. Gelfand, Robin Mishkin Abrams, Ken Diego, Ricky Kirshner
- Stage Managers: Garry W. Hood, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Lynn Finkel, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Dean Gordon, Arthur Lewis, Tony Mirante, Jeff Pearl, Rose Riggins, Lauren Class Schneider
This is Mr. Weiss' first DGA Award. He was previously nominated in 2006 for The 60th Annual Tony Awards, in 2005 for The 59th Annual Tony Awards, in 2002 for The 56th Annual Tony Awards, and in 2001 for The 55th Annual Tony Awards.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs for 2007:
BERTRAM VAN MUNSTER
The Amazing Race - "Episode #1110"
(CBS)
Mr. Van Munster's Directorial Team:
- Segment Director: Evan Weinstein
This is Mr. Van Munster's first DGA Award. He was previously nominated for The Amazing Race Episode #102" in 2006 and for "Episode #805" in 2005.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials for 2007:
LARRY CARPENTER
One Life To Live - "Episode #9947"
(ABC)
Mr. Carpenter's Directorial Team:
- Associate Director: Teresa Anne Cicala
- Stage Managers: Alan P. Needleman, Keith Greer
- Production Associate: Anthony Wilkinson
This is Mr. Carpenter's second DGA Award. He won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials for One Life to Live "Episode #8849" in 2003 and was also nominated for that series for "Episode #9686" in 2006, "Episode #9385" in 2005 and "Episode #8655" in 2002.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2007:
ASGER LETH
Ghosts of Cite Soleil
Sony BMG Feature Films
This is Mr. Leth's first DGA Award.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for 2007:
NICOLAI FUGLSIG
Production Company: MJZ UK
Tipping Point, Guinness - BBDO
It's Magic, JC Penney - Saachi & Saachi NY
- First Assistant Director: Thomas Smith
- Second Assistant Director: Kate Greenberg
Journey, Motorola - AMV BBDO
This is Mr. Fuglsig's first DGA Award.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs for 2007:
PAUL HOEN
Jump In
(Disney Channel)
This is Mr. Hoen's first DGA Award. He was previously nominated in this same category for Searching for David's Heart in 2004 and the Even Stevens episode "Take My Sister... Please" in 2000.
Special Awards 2008:
DGA Honorary Life Member Award
DGA National Executive Director, JAY D. ROTH
Given in recognition of outstanding creative achievement, contribution to the DGA or the profession of directing.
Frank Capra Achievement Award
LIZ RYAN
Given to an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award
BARBARA J. ROCHE
Given to an Associate Director or Stage Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
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 1949 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award. The six exceptions are as follows:
- 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 at the 55th Annual DGA Awards while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.
The 61st Annual DGA Awards will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009.