The 2008 Directors Guild of America's list of nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in films released in 2007 was dominated by first-time nominees. Only Joel Coen, one-half of the No Country for Old Men directing team, earned a DGA nomination prior to this year.
DGA President Michael Apted announced the Guild's top five on January 8th saying , "2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the DGA Awards. We are very proud to have today's five nominees join the illustrious list of directors that have been nominated for directorial excellence in feature filmmaking over the past 59 years. What makes this award truly meaningful to directors is the knowledge that only this one is decided by their peers - the men and women who know first-hand the passion, sweat and fear that goes into each production."
Filmmaker and funnyman Carl Reiner handled hosting duties for the 21st time at the 2008 DGA Awards held January 26th. The Directors Guild Awards have a proven track record of predicting which director will go on to win the Best Director Oscar. Only six times since the DGA began handing out Directorial Achievement awards in 1948 has the winner of its top honor not gone on to win the Academy Award for Best Director. The latest mismatch between the two groups was in 2003 when Rob Marshall was named the winner of the DGA Award for his work on Chicago while Roman Polanski took home the Oscar for The Pianist.
The DGA Nominees and Winners
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Sean Penn -Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Winners: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Source: Directors Guild of America
