January 10, 2011
Los Angeles – Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2010.
“2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the DGA, making the celebration of this year’s five nominees especially meaningful,” said Hackford. “Their inspired films radiate the passion and unique vision of each of these filmmakers, who are about to become part of our Guild's rich history. My sincerest congratulations to all five nominees.”
The winner will be named at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2011, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
DARREN ARONOFSKY
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. Aronofsky’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: Jennifer Roth
• First Assistant Director: Joseph Reidy
• Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
• Second Second Assistant Director: Travis Rehwaldt
• Location Manager: Ronnie Kupferwasser
This is Mr. Aronofsky’s first DGA Feature Film Award Nomination.
DAVID FINCHER
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Fincher’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: JoAnn Perritano
• First Assistant Director: Bob Wagner
• Second Assistant Director: Allen Kupetsky
• Second Second Assistant Director: Maileen Williams
This is Mr. Fincher’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. He previously won the DGA Commercial Award for Speed Chain (Nike), Gamebreakers (Nikegridiron.com), and Beauty for Sale (Xelibri Phones) in 2003 and was nominated in that category again in 2008.
TOM HOOPER
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Co.)
Mr. Hooper’s Directorial Team:
• Production Manager: Erica Bensly
• First Assistant Director: Martin Harrison
• Second Assistant Director: Chris Stoaling
This is Mr. Hooper’s first DGA Feature Film Award Nomination. He was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Movies for Television/Miniseries for John Adams in 2008.
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Nolan’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: Jan Foster
• First Assistant Director: Nilo Otero
• Second Assistant Director: Brandon Lambdin
• Second Second Assistant Director: Greg Pawlik
• Additional Second Assistant Director: Lauren Pasternack
This is Mr. Nolan’s third DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for The Dark Knight in 2008 and for Memento in 2001.
DAVID O. RUSSELL
The Fighter (Paramount Pictures and The Weinstein Co.)
Mr. Russell’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: Mark Kamine
• First Assistant Director: Michele Ziegler
• Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan
• Second Second Assistant Director: Timothy Blockburger
This is Mr. Russell’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
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 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award:
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 while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.
The winner in the Feature Film category will be announced at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on Saturday evening, January 29, 2011, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.
The DGA will launch a year-long celebration of the DGA’s 75th anniversary at the DGA Awards on January 29th. Past DGA Award winners Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, John Rich, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, the evening’s co-chairs, will join the program in special presentations to highlight game-changing moments in DGA history. Past-president Michael Apted is serving as chair of the year-long anniversary celebration, whose theme is “Game Changers.” Throughout 2011, the DGA will hold events honoring directors whose impact on film and television forever “changed the game” and influenced generations of filmmakers that followed.