LOS ANGELES—David Fincher of bicoastal Anonymous Content has been named best commercial director of 2003 by the Directors Guild of America (DGA). The first-time DGA Award nominee won on the strength of three entries: nikegridiron.com’s "Gamebreakers" and Nike’s "Speed Chain," both for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.; and Xelibri phone’s "Beauty for Sale" via Mother, London.
Though he wasn’t on hand to accept the honor during a gala DGA Awards ceremony on Feb. 7 in Los Angeles, Fincher still managed to make history. Xelibri’s "Beauty for Sale" debuted in England and has not run in the U.S., which in years past would have disqualified it from DGA consideration.
However, as earlier reported, the Guild recently decided that all work—including foreign spots—directed by members under a DGA agreement would be eligible for the commercial award competition (SHOOT, 11/21/03, p. 1). "We wanted the opportunity to include all the best work out there," related a DGA spokesperson.
In a sense, Fincher’s win also scored prestige points for the Viper Filmstream camera from Thomson’s Grass Valley. "Beauty for Sale" and "Gamebreakers" were the first U.S.-produced TV ads to be lensed with the Viper. In a recent interview, Fincher talked about the camera, which introduces a new option for filmmakers and potential new paradigms for production and postproduction (SHOOT, 12/5/03, p. 1).
"The camera is beautiful. I think the picture quality is its own thing. … It’s not film, but it’s not video," Fincher told SHOOT. "I’m bidding on more commercials and would definitely use the Viper. I’m [also] trying to use it on a [feature] film."
The DGA also recognized assistant directors in its awards credits. First assistant director Bob Wagner worked on all three Fincher entries. Michael A. McCue was second assistant director on "Beauty for Sale" and "Speed Chain." Maria Mantia was second assistant director on "Gamebreakers" and 2nd second assistant director on "Beauty for Sale."
Both "Gamebreakers" and "Speed Chain" were recently nominated for Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards in recognition of best visual effects in a commercial (SHOOT, 1/23, p. 7). Effects for the two spots were produced by Venice, Calif.-based Digital Domain. The VES Awards take place on Feb. 18.
Fincher’s fellow DGA spot nominees this year were: Lance Acord of Park Pictures, New York; Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical.media; Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles; and Joe Pytka of Venice-based PYTKA. Pytka has won the DGA honor a record three times and has been nominated an all-time high of 14 times. Murro has been nominated twice in his career. And Acord and Morris are first-time spot category nominees.
However, both Acord and Morris earned special recognition on awards night. Morris was also nominated in the documentary category for his acclaimed The Fog of War. Having two nominations in a single year is a most noteworthy DGA achievement. Nathaniel Kahn won the DGA documentary honor for My Architect. The acclaimed The Fog of War marked the second career DGA documentary nomination for Morris. Four years ago, he was a nominee for Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred Leuchter, Jr. Incidentally, The Fog of War is also nominated for this year’s documentary Oscar.
As for Acord, he received an acknowledgement from director Sofia Coppola, who went on stage to accept her nomination medallion in the feature film category for Lost in Translation. Acord served as cinematographer on the film.
Peter Jackson wound up winning the DGA Award for his feature, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This makes him the automatic frontrunner to win the best director Academy Award later this month. Only six times since ’49 has the winner of the DGA Award failed to win the best directing Oscar.
The DGA Awards are now in their 56th year. The DGA opened the annual competition to commercial directors in ’80.
