2013 Directors Guild Award Nominations

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is the entertainment labor union that represents film and television directors. The DGA gives out the Directors Guild of America Award each year to honor outstanding achievement.

The winner of the DGA Award for “Feature Film” usually wins the best director Oscar. As of last year, only six DGA winners in the “Feature Film” category have not also won the best director Oscar. The last time this happened was for the year 2002. Rob Marshall was the DGA choice for Chicago. The Oscar went to Roman Polanski for The Pianist.

The winners of the 65th Annual DGA Awards will be announced at the 65th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 2, 2013 in Los Angeles.

65th Annual DGA Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film nominees (for 2012):

BEN AFFLECK for Argo
(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Mr. Affleck’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Amy Herman
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Ian Calip
Second Second Assistant Directors: Clark Credle, Gavin Kleintop
First Assistant Director (Turkey Unit): Belkis Turan

This is Mr. Affleck’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

KATHRYN BIGELOW for Zero Dark Thirty
(Columbia Pictures)

Ms. Bigelow’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Colin Wilson
First Assistant Director: David A. Ticotin
Second Assistant Directors: Ben Lanning, Sarah Hood
First Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors (Jordan Unit): Jonas Spaccarotelli, Yanal Kassay
Second Second Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Tarek Afifi
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Rajeev Mehra

This is Ms. Bigelow’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2009.

TOM HOOPER for Les Misérables
(Universal Pictures)

Mr. Hooper's Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Patrick Schweitzer
First Assistant Director: Ben Howarth
Second Assistant Director: Harriet Worth
Second Second Assistant Director: Dan Channing Williams

This is Mr. Hooper's second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King's Speech (2010) and was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series for John Adams in 2008.

ANG LEE for Life of Pi
(Twentieth Century Fox)

Mr. Lee’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Michael J. Malone
Unit Production Manager (Taiwan): Leo Chen
First Assistant Directors: William M. Connor, Cliff Lanning
Second Assistant Directors: Robert Burgess, Ben Lanning
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Sanjay Kumar
First Assistant Director (India Unit): Nitya Mehra
Second Assistant Director (India Unit): Ananya Rane
Second Second Assistant Directors (India Unit): Namra Parikh, Freya Parekh
Second Assistant Directors (Montreal Unit): Derek Wimble, Renato De Cotiis

This is Mr. Lee’s fourth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and was nominated for Sense and Sensibility in 1995.

STEVEN SPIELBERG for Lincoln
(Dreamworks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)

Mr. Spielberg’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Susan McNamara
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Ian Stone
Second Second Assistant Directors: Eric Lasko, Trevor Tavares

This is Mr. Spielberg’s eleventh DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film three times for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Schindler’s List (1993) and The Color Purple (1985). He was also nominated in this category for Munich (2005), 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). Mr. Spielberg was honored with the DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.