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 2003. Mr. Apted followed up the announcement by stating, "I offer my hearty congratulations to all the nominees for their outstanding achievements. A director has the responsibilities of shaping a story, creating a visual language, and bringing all elements of the filmmaking process together. These five individuals and their films clearly demonstrate how a director's skill, when combined with vision, can create excellence in filmmaking. I look forward to raising a glass in their honor on February 7th." The winner will be named at the 56th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 7, 2004, at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
	SOFIA COPPOLA LOST IN TRANSLATION (Focus Features) Ms. Coppola's Directorial Team: First Assistant Director: Takahide Kawakami Chief Assistant Director: Hiroya Igawa Second Assistant Director: Taiichi Sugiyama Second Second Assistant Directors: Motonobu Kato, Shu Fujimoto This is Ms. Coppola's first DGA nomination. top of page
	CLINT EASTWOOD MYSTIC RIVER (Warner Bros. Pictures) Mr. Eastwood's Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager: Timothy Alan Moore First Assistant Director: Robert Lorenz Second Assistant Director: Melissa Cummins Lorenz Second Second Assistant Director: Katie Carroll This is Mr. Eastwood's second nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Unforgiven (1992). top of page
	PETER JACKSON THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (New Line Cinema) Mr. Jackson's Directorial Team: Unit Production Managers: Nikolas Korda, Zane Weiner First Assistant Director: Carolynne Cunningham Key Second Assistant Directors: Guy Campbell, Marc Ashton This is Mr. Jackson's third nomination. Mr. Jackson has received two previous nominations for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). top of page
	GARY ROSS SEABISCUIT (Universal Pictures) Mr. Ross's Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager: Patricia Churchill First Assistant Director: Adam Somner Second Assistant Director: Basil Grillo Second Second Assistant Directors: Jeff Bilger, Kristina Peterson, Robert Skidmore This is Mr. Ross's first nomination. top of page
	PETER WEIR MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (Twentieth Century Fox) Mr. Weir's Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager: Todd Arnow First Assistant Director: Alan B. Curtiss Second Assistant Director: David Bernstein Second Second Assistant Directors: Steven F. Beaupre, Tyler T. Romary, Susan Ransom This is Mr. Weir's fourth nomination. He has received previous nominations for Witness (1985), Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Truman Show (1998). top of page
	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 1949 has the winner of the DGA Award not gone on to win the Best Director Oscar®. In 1968, Anthony Harvey took home Guild honors for The Lion in Winter, while the Oscar® went to Carol Reed for Oliver! In 1972, the DGA's selection of Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather was overlooked by the Academy in favor of Bob Fosse for Cabaret. In 1985, Steven Spielberg won his first DGA Award for The Color Purple, but Academy voters selected Sydney Pollack's work on Out of Africa. In 1995, Ron Howard was a DGA Award-winner for Apollo 13 but failed to even receive an Oscar® nomination. The Academy Award that year went to Mel Gibson for Braveheart. In 2000, Ang Lee was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh took home the Academy Award for Traffic. Lastly, in March of 2003, Rob Marshall won the DGA Award for Chicago at the 55th Annual DGA Awards while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.
	DGA Members: For information on the 2004 "Meet the Nominees: Feature Film" symposium please see the DGA Members Only Website If you do not know your user-name and password, please refer to the "need help?" link in the pop-up window.
	Media Representatives: For more information or press inquires please contact: Morgan Rumpf: at Directors Guild of America 310-289-5394 For press credential information please click here: 56th DGA Awards Press Credential Information
	56th Annual DGA Awards Related Items: Academy Award-winning director Mike Nichols to receive Guild's highest tribute at 56th Annual DGA Celebration 56th Annual DGA Awards Schedule DGA Awards History
	Other Related Items: Clint Eastwood: Conversations with a director and his team. - DGA Magazine September 2003 Gary Ross on making Seabiscuit. - DGA Ezine September 2003 Peter Jackson discusses making The Lord of the Rings trilogy. - DGA Magazine January 2002
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