January 5, 2006
LOS ANGELES, CA - Directors Guild of America Vice President Betty Thomas today announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2005.
“What makes the DGA award truly meaningful to directors is the knowledge that only this award is decided solely by their peers – the men and women who know the passion and energy that go into each production,” said Thomas in announcing the nominations. “My congratulations to all five nominees for demonstrating how vision, when combined with skill and talent, can result in remarkable achievements on the screen.”
The winner will be named at the 58th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2005, at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel Los Angeles.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
GEORGE CLOONEY
Good Night, And Good Luck
(Warner Independent Pictures)
Mr. Clooney's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Barbara A. Hall
- First Assistant Director: David Webb
- Second Assistant Director: Melissa V. Barnes
- Second Second Assistant Director: Richard Gonzales
This is Mr. Clooney's first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
PAUL HAGGIS
Crash
(Lions Gate Films)
Mr. Haggis' Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Betsy Danbury
- First Assistant Director: Scott Cameron
- Second Assistant Director: Simone Farber
- Second Second Assistant Director: Ime N. Etuk
- Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Casey Mako
This is Mr. Haggis' first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
ANG LEE
Brokeback Mountain
(Focus Features)
Mr. Lee's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Managers: Scott Ferguson, Tom Benz
- First Assistant Directors: Michael Hausman, Pierre Tremblay
- Second Assistant Director: Brad Moerke
This is Mr. Lee’s third DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He received a previous nomination for Sense and Sensibility (1995) and won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
BENNETT MILLER
Capote
(UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Mr. Miller's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Managers: Ellen Rutter, Caroline Baron
- First Assistant Directors: Ronaldo Nacionales, Richard O’Brien Moran
- Second Assistant Director: Charles Crossin
This is Mr. Miller's first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Munich
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Spielberg's Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Ian Hickinbotham
- First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
- Second Assistant Director: Emma Horton
- Second Second Assistant Director: Pierre Ellul
This is Mr. Spielberg's tenth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for Amistad (1997), Empire of the Sun (1987), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Jaws (1975). He has won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film three times: in 1998 for Saving Private Ryan, in 1993 for Schindler’s List, and in 1985 for The Color Purple. Mr. Spielberg won the DGA’s highest artistic honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2000.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
The winner in the Feature Film category will be announced at the 58th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2005, at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel Los Angeles.
Of note: The date for next year’s (2007) DGA Awards has been set for Saturday, February 3, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.