February 7, 2000
Directors Guild of America President Jack Shea and Awards Committee Chairperson Howard Storm today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 1999 in the television categories of Dramatic Series Night, Comedy Series and Musical Variety. The winners will be announced at the 52nd Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, March 11, 2000 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series Night for 1999 are (in alphabetical order):
DANIEL ATTIAS
"46 Long" (The Sopranos) - HBO
Unit Production Manager: Ilene S. Landress, Henry J. Bronchtein
First Assistant Director: Mark McGann
Second Assistant Director: Michelle L. Keiser
This is Attias’ first DGA nomination.
HENRY J. BRONCHTEIN
"Nobody Knows Anything" (The Sopranos) - HBO
Unit Production Manager: Ilene S. Landress
First Assistant Director: Mark McGann
Second Assistant Director: Michelle L. Keiser
This is Bronchtein’s first DGA nomination.
DAVID CHASE
Pilot Episode (The Sopranos) - HBO
Unit Production Manager: Alysse Bezahler
First Assistant Director: Henry J. Bronchtein
Second Assistant Director: Kenneth G. Brown
This is Chase’s first DGA nomination.
ALLEN COULTER
"College" (The Sopranos) - HBO
Unit Production Manager: Henry J. Bronchtein
First Assistant Director: Michael DeCasper
Second Assistant Director: Kristin Cameron-Bernstein
This is Coulter’s first DGA nomination.
THOMAS SCHLAMME
Pilot (The West Wing) - NBC
Unit Production Manager: Jean Higgins
First Assistant Director: Tony Adler
Second Assistant Director: Brian Charles Bettwy
This year marks Schlamme’s fourth and fifth DGA Award nominations. (He is also nominated this year in the Comedy category for directing the Sports Night episode "Small Town.") Schlamme won the DGA Award in the Comedy category last year for his direction of the pilot for Sports Night. He was also nominated in 1996 for the Tracey Takes On... episode "Tracey Takes On...Romance" and in 1997 for the Tracey Takes On... episode "1976".
Note: The four DGA nominations for The Sopranos’ directors are the most by one series in one category in the same year. ER’s directors received four nominations in 1994: three in the Dramatic Series Night category and one in the Movies for Television category (for the two-hour pilot). Hill Street Blues’ directors received three nominations in 1981 and 1983 in this category, though it should be noted that there were only three nominees in this category in those years.
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for 1999 are (in alphabetical order):
JAMES BURROWS
"Yours, Mine, Ours" (Will & Grace) - NBC
Unit Production Manager/First Assistant Director: Dale White
Second Assistant Director: Caryn Rae Shick
Technical Coordinator: Russell D. Sherman
Burrows has now been a DGA Award nominee sixteen times, all in the Comedy Series category, putting him all alone in first place on the all-time list. His nomination last year (for the Will & Grace pilot) had tied him with George Schaefer. He has taken home the trophy three times. Burrows’ first nomination came in 1981 for the Taxi episode "Jim the Psychic." He was a ten-time nominee and two-time winner for Cheers, in 1982, 1983 (winner), 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 (winner), 1991 and 1992. He also won in 1993 for directing the pilot of Frasier, and was nominated again in 1995 for the Friends episode "The One With the Birth," and in 1997 for the pilot for Dharma and Greg.
PAMELA FRYMAN
"The Flight Before Christmas" (Frasier) - NBC
Unit Production Manager: Bill Carroll
First Assistant Director: Katy Garretson
Second Assistant Director: Marc Stirdivant
Technical Coordinator: Jim Rose
This is Fryman’s third DGA Award nomination. She was nominated in 1997 for the Frasier episode "Halloween (Part I)," and in 1998 for the Just Shoot Me episode "Two Girls for Every Boy."
KATY GARRETSON
"Dr. Nora" (Frasier) - NBC
Unit Production Manager: Bill Carroll
First Assistant Director: Marc Stirdivant
Second Assistant Director: Jerri Churchill
Technical Coordinator: Jim Rose
This is Garretson’s first DGA Award nomination.
VICTORIA HOCHBERG
"The Man, The Myth, The Viagra" (Sex and the City) - HBO
Unit Production Manager: Jane Raab
First Assistant Director: Mark McGann
Second Assistant Director: Michelle L. Keiser
This is Hochberg’s fourth DGA nomination, and first in this category. She won the DGA award in a prior category, Drama Show, Day, in 1987 for Just a Regular Kid: An Aids Story and in 1989 for Jacob Have I Loved. Hochberg was also a DGA nominee last year in the Children’s Programs category for the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids episode, "From Honey with Love."
THOMAS SCHLAMME
"Small Town" (Sports Night) - ABC
Unit Production Manager: Bruce Chevillat
First Assistant Director: Keri McIntyre
Second Assistant Director: Nicole Burke
This year marks Schlamme’s fourth and fifth DGA Award nominations. (He is also nominated this year in the Dramatic Series, Night category for directing the pilot for The West Wing.) Schlamme won the DGA Award in the Comedy category last year for his direction of the pilot for Sports Night. He was also nominated in 1996 for the Tracey Takes On... episode "Tracey Takes On... Romance" and in 1997 for the Tracey Takes On... episode "1976."
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety for 1999 are (in alphabetical order):
JERRY FOLEY
Late Show with David Letterman (Episode #1294) - CBS
Associate Directors: Randi Grossnack, Jessica Santini
Stage Managers: James "Biff" Henderson, Arthur "Corky" Ramirez, Frank Comito
This is Foley’s second DGA Award nomination. He was nominated last year for Episode #958 of Late Show with David Letterman.
DENNIE A. GORDON
Tracey Takes on... End of the World - HBO
Unit Production Manager: Stewart Lyons
First Assistant Director: Carol L. Vitkay
Second Assistant Director: Nina Halvorsen
This is Gordon’s first DGA nomination.
LOUIS J. HORVITZ
71st Annual Academy Awards - ABC
Associate Directors: James Tanker, Christine Clark Bradley, Kathleen Marie Fortine, Allan Kartun, Timothy Kettle, Michael Polito, Sharon Taylor
Stage Managers: Garry W. Hood, Dency Nelson, Denny Barry, Steve Burgess, Rita Cossette, Mervin Hawkins, Alissa Levisohn, Peter M. Margolis, Gary Natoli, Vincent Poxon, Jason Seligman, Doug Smith, Ken Stein, David Wader, Debbie Williams
This is Horvitz’s sixth DGA Award nomination. He won the Award in this category in 1997 for The Kennedy Center Honors and was also nominated in 1985 (Live Aid Concert), 1993 (The Kennedy Center Honors), 1995 (Sinatra: 80 Years My Way) and 1998 (70th Annual Academy Awards).
ROB MARSHALL
Annie - ABC
Unit Production Manager: John Whitman
First Assistant Director: Yudi Bennett
Second Assistant Director: Andrew Bernstein
This is Marshall’s first DGA nomination.
BETH McCARTHY MILLER
Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary - NBC
Associate Directors: Robert Caminiti, Ingrid Behrens, Mark Jankeloff, Axel Coen, Christopher Dalrymple, Martin M. Brumbach, Thomas A. Behrens
Stage Managers: Robert N. Van Ry, Gena Rose Rositano, Joseph L. Dicso, Christopher Joseph Kelly
This is McCarthy Miller’s first DGA nomination.