The DGA Top Five Could Repeat at the Oscars
The Directors Guild Awards, which includes assistant directors and production managers in its voting body, tends to go more mainstream and American than the Oscars‘ more tony and international-leaning Directors Branch. Thus, the international DGA nominees Jacques Audiard (Netflix’s European Film Awards and Golden Globes Musical winner “Emilia Pérez“) and Edward Berger (Focus’ “Conclave“) are likely repeats at the Oscars, along with SAG acting nominees Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Ralph Fiennes.
Among the international directors, French-Canadian Denis Villeneuve was expected to land a DGA spot for desert epic “Dune: Part Two.” Why didn’t he, after landing a DGA nomination for “Part One”? It’s possibly because “Part Two” is perceived as a sequel, and even though it winds up a two-part story, because a third “Dune” film is in the offing, voters may wait for the finale.
Oscar perennial Mike Leigh may wind up a local BAFTA play for art film “Hard Truths” (Bleecker). And the Oscar directors could slip in another foreign nominee like Walter Salles (Sony Pictures Classics’ “I’m Still Here”).
Among the Americans, James Mangold is the surprise DGA contender for “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight), which also scored more SAG nominations than expected, including Ensemble and actors Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, and Monica Barbaro. Clearly, this movie has broad support.
Brady Corbet landing a nomination for his ambitious $10-million Globe Drama and Director winner “The Brutalist” (A24) is significant. It’s impeccably wrought but not mainstream. It shows that “The Brutalist” is playing more broadly than just cinephiles. (On the other hand, it did not land SAG Ensemble, and only lead actor Adrien Brody scored a SAG slot.)
Sean Baker (Neon’s Palme d’Or-winner “Anora”) is also good to go for an Oscar directing nod after “Anora” did not win any Globes. SAG nominations for not only breakout Mikey Madison but Russian actor Yura Borisov and the Ensemble are signs of strength.
Win some, lose some. While four out of five SAG Ensemble nominees also landed DGA slots, populist box office champ “Wicked” did not. Director Jon M. Chu was not expected to land on the DGA or Oscar director lists. SAG Ensemble nominee “Wicked” and its three SAG nominees (Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jonathan Bailey) will do well with Oscar voters nonetheless; the joyful Broadway musical adaptation is a strong contender for Best Picture.
Many Oscar watchers are having a tough time figuring out the bottom of the Best Picture Oscar list, as “Sing Sing” and “September 5” fall away. And is “A Real Pain” only a Screenplay and Supporting Actor play? The PGA Awards nominees will clarify that picture.
The PGA is unlikely to include Payal Kapadia’s lauded drama “All We Imagine as Light” ((Sideshow and Janus Films) which was not submitted by India, but Oscar voters could. Documentarian Kapadia is a DGA contender for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film. She is competing with Canadian Megan Park for “My Old Ass” (Amazon/MGM), documentarian RaMell Ross (“Nickel Boys”), Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, the director of the shortlisted Norwegian entry “Armand” (IFC Films), and Sean Wang (Sundance Dramatic Competition audience award winner “Dìdi”).
