As awards season rumbles on and the bigger gong shows get closer and closer, the big guilds in America have begun to hand out their trophies or – in the case of the Director’s Guild – nominations. This year’s clutch of filmmakers up for the group’s singular award includes Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Tom Hooper and David O Russell.
The choices aren’t really all that surprising, since each of the directors (and the teams they worked with) made one of the best films of last year. But it’s nice to see Hooper nominated among some very big names in the field.
"2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the DGA, making the celebration of this year's five nominees especially meaningful," said DGA president Taylor Hackford. "Their inspired films radiate the passion and unique vision of each of these filmmakers, who are about to become part of our Guild's rich history. My sincerest congratulations to all five nominees."
And Variety tracked down a couple of nominees to get their reaction, with Russell speaking from the heart: "When Taylor Hackford called me this morning I have to admit I started to cry. I am so humbled because it is such a talented field this year, I had prepared myself to not be part of it. To be recognized by my peers moves me beyond words with gratitude and humility. Like boxing, our business doesn't always give second chances. ”
Chris Nolan was more measured: “I'm thrilled that the DGA membership has chosen to nominate me and my DGA team (Jan Foster, Nilo Otero, Brandon Lambdin, Greg Pawlik, Lauren Pasternack) for our work on 'Inception.' The recognition of our peers is extremely gratifying - this is an incredible honour."
The winner will be announced on January 29. If we had our way, the directors would step into the boxing ring to decide, but then that could one day lead to Uwe Boll winning an award like this, and no one needs that.
Those nominees again:
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David Fincher - The Social Network
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan - Inception
David O. Russell - The Fighter