Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television for the Year 2004

January 10, 2005

LOS ANGELES, CA - Directors Guild of America President Michael Apted and Awards Committee Chairperson Howard Storm today announced the DGA's nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television for the year 2004. The winners will be announced at the 57th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2005 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first movie created expressly for television. The work of the five nominated directors exemplifies the power and strength of the art form for the past forty years - where controversial social issues and compelling personal stories are writ large for the small screen," said DGA President Michael Apted. "I congratulate these outstanding directors for their contributions to the continuing excellence of the tradition of movies for television."

And the nominees are (in alphabetical order):

ROBERT ALTMAN Tanner on Tanner, Parts 1-4 (Sundance Channel)

Mr. Altman's Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Manager: Derrick Tseng
• First Assistant Director: Allan Nicholls
• Second Assistant Director: Linda Perkins

This is Altman's fourth DGA nomination. His previous nominations include: The Player in 1992; Nashville in 1975; and M*A*S*H in 1970. In 2003 he won the DGA Honors Filmmaker award for outstanding contributions to filmmaking, and in 1994 he won the Guild's highest honor, the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award.

STEPHEN HOPKINS The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (HBO)

Mr. Hopkins' Directorial Team:

• First Assistant Director: Cliff Lanning

This is Hopkins' second nomination. He was also nominated in 2001 for the pilot episode of 24.

LLOYD KRAMER Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven (ABC)

Mr. Kramer's Directorial Team:

• First Assistant Director: Jim Brebner

This is Kramer's second nomination. He was nominated in 1988 for the documentary No One Dies Alone.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE The Brooke Ellison Story (A&E)

Mr. Reeve's Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Manager: Boris Malden
• First Assistant Director: Stephen Davis
• Second Assistant Director: Noreen Cheleden

This was Reeve's only DGA Award nomination.

JOE SARGENT Something the Lord Made (HBO)

Mr. Sargent's Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Manager: Karyn McCarthy
• First Assistant Director: Michele Ziegler
• Second Assistant Director: Joseph Incaprera
• Second Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan

This is Sargent's seventh DGA nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television in 1973 for The Marcus Nelson Murders. That year he also won the DGA Television Award for Most Outstanding TV Director 1973. Sargent's previous nominations include: For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story in 2000; A Lesson Before Dying in 1999; Miss Evers' Boys in 1997; World War II: When Lions Roared in 1994; and Miss Rose White in 1992.