DGA Monthly - Volume 5 - Issue 2 - February 2008 - click here to return to table of contents
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DGA President Michael Apted takes questions from the press corps - photos by Anna Pocaro - click images for larger views and more info

DGA President Michael Apted takes questions from the press corps - photos by Anna Pocaro - click images for larger views and more info
DGA President Michael Apted announces DGA Feature Film Nominees

DGA President Michael Apted takes questions from the press corps - photos by Anna Pocaro - click images for larger views and more info
President Apted and DGA Awards Committee Chair Howards Storm call the nominees to offer congratulations.
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W
ith the film world eagerly waiting to hear whom the DGA membership would be honoring this year, on Tuesday morning, January 8, 2008, Guild President Michael Apted announced the five nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for the year 2007.

“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,” said Apted. “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.”

Apted also explained how the DGA Feature Film Award is one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award, with the Guild’s selection going on to win the Best Director Academy Award fifty-three out of fifty-nine times since the inception of the DGA Awards in 1948.

The more than 13,500 members of the DGA were able to cast their votes for nominees three ways: mail, fax, and over the internet via the secure online voting system created for the DGA by Votenet. Members can use the same three methods to cast their vote in the Feature Film category. The deadline for Returning all Feature Film Final Ballots is Friday, January 25, 2008, 6:00 p.m. PST.

The winner will be announced at the 60th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 26, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON - click here for IMDB Filmography

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON

There Will Be Blood

(Paramount Vantage
and Miramax Films)

Mr. Anderson's Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: Daniel Lupi
  • First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
  • Second Assistant Directors: Eric Lasko, Ian Stone, Richard Oswald
  • Second Second Assistant Director: Jenny Nolan

This is Mr. Anderson’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
ETHAN COEN - click here for IMDB Filmography
 JOEL COEN - click here for IMDB Filmography

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 second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for Fargo (1996). This is Mr. Ethan Coen’s first DGA Award nomination.
TONY GILROY - Photo by: Myles Aronowitz - click here for IMDB Filmography

TONY GILROY

Michael Clayton

(Warner Bros.)

Mr. Gilroy’s Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: Christopher Goode
  • First Assistant Director: Steve Apicella
  • Second Assistant Director: Michael Pitt     
  • Second Second Assistant Directors: Matt Power, Jason Ivey

This is Mr. Gilroy’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
SEAN PENN -Photo by: Chuck Zlotnick - click here for IMDB Filmography

SEAN PENN

Into The Wild

(Paramount Vantage)

Mr. Penn's Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: John J. Kelly
  • First Assistant Director: David Webb
  • Second Assistant Director: Dylan Hopkins
  • Second Second Assistant Directors: John R. Saunders, Ian Calip

This is Mr. Penn’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
JULIAN SCHNABEL- click here for IMDB Filmography

JULIAN SCHNABEL

The Diving Bell
and the Butterfly

(Miramax Films)

Mr. Schnabel’s Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Managers: Stéphan Guillemet, A.F.R., Jon Kilik
  • First Assistant Director: Stéphane Gluck, A.F.A.R.
  • Second Assistant Director: Mathilde Cavillan

This is Mr. Schnabel’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

DGA Award Medallion

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:
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