January 9, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CA - Directors Guild of America President Michael Apted today announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2006.
"Each of these five nominees has demonstrated a remarkable ability to blend craft and vision in the pursuit of masterful storytelling," Apted said. "What makes it truly meaningful to directors is that this award is decided solely by their peers – the men and women who know first hand the passion, sweat and fear that goes into creating feature films. My congratulations to each of the nominees."
The winner will be named at the 59th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 3, 2007, at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel Los Angeles.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
BILL CONDON
Dreamgirls
(Paramount Pictures)
Mr. Condon's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Patricia Whitcher
- First Assistant Director: Richard Graves
- Second Assistant Director: Eric Sherman
- Second Second Assistant Director: Renee Hill-Sweet
This is Mr. Condon’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
JONATHAN DAYTON & VALERIE FARIS
Little Miss Sunshine
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. Dayton and Ms. Faris' Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Michael Beugg
- First Assistant Director: Thomas Patrick Smith
- Second Assistant Director: Gregory Smith
- Second Second Assistant Director: Kate Greenberg
This is the first DGA Feature Film Award nomination for both Mr. Dayton and Ms. Faris.
STEPHEN FREARS
The Queen
(Miramax Films)
Mr. Frears' Directorial Team:
- Production Manager: Sue Claverly
- First Assistant Director: Stuart Renfrew
- Second Assistant Director: Rickay Graysmark
- Third Assistant Director: Lucy Egerton
This is Mr. Frears’ first DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies For Television for Fail Safe (2000) along with co-director Marty Pasetta.
ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU
Babel
(Paramount Vantage)
Mr. Iñárritu's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Ann Ruark
- First Assistant Director: Sebastián Silva
- Second Unit Director: Alfonso Gómez-Rejón
This is Mr. Iñárritu's first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
MARTIN SCORSESE
The Departed
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Scorsese's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Carol Cuddy
- First Assistant Director: Joseph Reidy
- Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
- Second Second Assistant Director: John Silvestri
This is Mr. Scorsese’s seventh DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for The Aviator (2004), Gangs of New York (2002), The Age of Innocence (1993), Goodfellas (1990), Raging Bull (1980) and Taxi Driver (1976). In 1999 Scorsese was presented with the Filmmaker Award at the inaugural DGA Honors Gala and he won the DGA’s highest artistic honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award (for distinguished achievement in film direction) in 2003.
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.
Fifty-one out of fifty-seven times since the DGA Award’s inception in 1949, the DGA Award winner has won the corresponding Best Director 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 winner in the Feature Film category will be announced at the 59th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.