The Oscar race may be taking shape–or more specifically The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight)–as Guillermo del Toro won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film during a gala evening ceremony on Saturday (2/3) in Beverly Hills. The DGA Award is the latest win for The Shape of Water–written and directed by del Toro–which just last month not only won the Producers Guild Award but also topped this year’s Oscar tally with 13 nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Director.
In accepting the DGA Award, del Toro choked back some tears as he thanked his mother and father, the latter who has been ill. The director said that The Shape of Water is “full of many reasons why it shouldn’t work and they are the reasons that it works.”
Earlier in the evening Richard Jenkins, a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for The Shape of Water, observed that del Toro’s legacy is that he brings a distinctly different vision to cinema. Jenkins observed that del Toro asks, “Why can’t the creature get the girl,” a reference to the love story at the center of The Shape of Water in which a mute woman falls for an underwater creature. Jenkins said that del Toro’s legacy entails showing us that what is conventionally feared is something that should be “embraced,” providing a fresh perspective on life and love.
Del Toro topped a field of DGA nominees which also consisted of Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird (A24), Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ( Fox Searchlight), Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk (Warner Bros. Studios), and Jordan Peele for Get Out (Universal Pictures).
Peele’s work on Get Out was honored in another DGA Award category, winning for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director. In his acceptance remarks, Peele affirmed, “This has been the best year of my life, hands down,” citing the success of Get Out as well as he and his wife welcoming a beautiful baby into the world. At the same time, though, Peele said he had to balance this joy with what he regards as “not a good year for this country and not a good year for many of us,” alluding to the impact of the Trump administration. Peele said that the stories being told by DGA members can shed light on humanity, spark empathy for others and push back against hate and bigotry. He assessed that Get Out gives a voice to “victims of oppression” while “reaching out to people who might not have experienced” racial prejudice and injustice but through the movie get to “walk in the shoes” of those who have lived and are living through that experience. Peele called on the filmmakers in the DGA audience to continue to “use your voice,” which is “the most powerful weapon we have against evil.”
First-time nominee Reed Morano won the DGA Award for dramatic TV series on the strength of The Handmaid’s Tale. Morano thanked her producers and Hulu for being “the rare people who were seeking the opportunity to work with women instead of fearing it.”
Beth McCarthy Miller won in the comedy series category for HBO's Veep while HBO miniseries Big Little Lies earned Jean Marc-Valle the DGA Award who thanked the “strong women” who brought the project to fruition, including a cast headlined by Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon.
Taking the documentary honor was Matthew Heineman for City of Ghosts (Amazon Studios) which introduced audiences to a group of citizen journalists who came together after ISIS took over their land. Heineman came on stage to affirm, “In the era of fake news where facts seem to be malleable and journalism is under fire, it’s important to celebrate groups like RBSS (Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently) that are courageously speaking truth to power.”
Among the other DGA winners were Glenn Weiss for directing the 89th Academy Awards, Niki Caro who took the children’s program category for an episode of Anne with an E, and Martin de Thurah of Epoch Films for his helming of commercials for StubHub’s “Festival” and “Machines” and WealthSimple’s “Mad World.”
Here’s a full rundown of this year’s DGA Award winners:
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM
GUILLERMO del TORO
The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. del Toro’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
Production Manager: Dennis Chapman
First Assistant Director: Pierre Henry
Second Assistant Director: Tyler Delben
This was Mr. del Toro’s first DGA Award nomination.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF A FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR
JORDAN PEELE
Get Out (Universal Pictures)
Mr. Peele’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Marcei A. Brown, Rick A. Osako (Fairhope Unit)
First Assistant Director: Gerard DiNardi
Second Assistant Directors: Ram Paul Silbey, Marc Newland (Fairhope Unit), Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Maggie Ballard
Location Manager: Kurt Enger (New York Unit)
This was one of two DGA Award nominations this year for Mr. Peele. He was also nominated in the Feature Film category for Get Out.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMATIC SERIES
REED MORANO
The Handmaid’s Tale, “Offred” (Hulu)
Ms. Morano’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Joe Boccia
This was Ms. Morano’s first DGA Award nomination.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIES
BETH MCCARTHY-MILLER
Veep, “Chicklet” (HBO)
Ms. McCarthy-Miller’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: David Hyman
First Assistant Director: Dale Stern
Second Assistant Director: Jeff Rosenberg
Second Second Assistant Director: Yarden Levo
Additional Second Assistant Director: Chalis Romero
This was Ms. McCarthy-Miller’s twelfth DGA Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series in 2013 for the 30 Rock episode “Hogcock!/Last Lunch.” She was also nominated that year, together with Rob Ashford, in the Movies for Television and Mini-Series category for The Sound of Music Live! She was previously nominated in the Comedy Series category for 30 Rock episodes “Live from Studio 6H” in 2012, “Live Show” in 2010, “The Reunion Episode #304” in 2008 and “Somebody to Love” in 2007. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety twice, in 2001 for America: A Tribute to Heroes (co-directed with Joel Gallen) and in 2000 for the “Val Kilmer and U2” episode of Saturday Night Live. She was also twice nominated in that category for Saturday Night Live episodes “Christopher Walken and The Foo Fighters” in 2003 and the 25th Anniversary episode in 1999. She was also nominated in 2015 in the Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials category for Adele Live in New York City.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES
JEAN-MARC VALLÉE
Big Little Lies (HBO)
Mr. Vallée’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Barbara A. Hall, G.D. Fienberg
First Assistant Director: David Ticotin
Second Assistant Director: Christine Danahy
Second Second Assistant Director: Bob Riley
Additional Second Assistant Directors: Bryan Landrine, Rob Burgess, Allison Rushton, Mallory Squeo
This was Mr. Vallée’s first DGA Award nomination.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
DON ROY KING
Saturday Night Live, “Host: Jimmy Fallon” (NBC)
Mr. King’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Michael Mancini, Michael Poole, Bob Caminiti
Stage Managers: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly
This was Mr. King’s twelfth DGA Award nomination. He previously won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in this category for Saturday Night Live, “Host: Dave Chappelle” in 2016, and for Saturday Night Live, “Host: Justin Timberlake” in 2013. Mr. King also won the DGA Award for Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials for Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special in 2015. He was previously nominated for Saturday Night Live episodes in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, and in 2015 in the Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming category for the Saturday Night Live episode, “Host: Tracy Morgan/Musical Guest: Demi Lovato.”
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS
GLENN WEISS
The 89th Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
Mr. Weiss’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Eve Adair, Susan Kopensky, Lori Margules, Robin Mishkin Abrams, Michael Polito
Stage Managers: Gary Natoli, Rita Cossette, Dave Cove, John Esposito, Valdez Flagg, Chris Hines, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Arthur Lewis, Roxanne Lozano, Ron Paul, Tammy Raab, Jason Seligman, Jackie Stathis, Cheryl Teetzel-Moore, Debbie Williams, Ari Woog
This was Mr. Weiss’s fourteenth DGA Award nomination. He previously won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials in 2013, 2014 and 2016 for the 67th, 68th and 70th Annual Tony Awards and in the Musical Variety category in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 for the 61st, 64th, 65th, and 66th Annual Tony Awards. He was also nominated in the Musical Variety category in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008 for the 55th, 56th, 59th, 60th, and 62nd Annual Tony Awards. Additionally, Mr. Weiss was nominated in 2015 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series, together with Rob Ashford, for Peter Pan Live!
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY PROGRAMS
BRIAN SMITH
MasterChef, “Vegas Deluxe & Oyster Shucks” (FOX)
Mr. Smith’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Anna Moulaison
Stage Managers: Drew Lewandowski, Brady Hess
This was Mr. Smith’s fifth DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs in 2012 for MasterChef, “Episode #305.” He was previously nominated in this category for episodes of MasterChef in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, and in 2016 for S.T.R.O.N.G., “Welcome to Strong.”
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
NIKI CARO
Anne with an E, “Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny” (Netflix)
This was Ms. Caro’s first DGA Award nomination.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIALS
MARTIN de THURAH
(Epoch Films)
“Festival,” StubHub – Goodby Silverstein
First Assistant Director: Charles Conner
“Machines,” StubHub – Goodby Silverstein
First Assistant Director: Charles Conner
“Mad World,” WealthSimple – WealthSimple In House
First Assistant Director: Jey Wada
Second Assistant Director: Custis Smith
This was Mr. de Thurah’s second DGA Award nomination. He previously won in this category in 2013 for The Man Who Couldn’t Slow Down (Hennessy VS) and Human Race (Acura MDX 2014).
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DOCUMENTARY
MATTHEW HEINEMAN
City of Ghosts (Amazon Studios)
This was Mr. Heineman’s second DGA Award nomination. He won in this category in 2015 for Cartel Land.
HONORARY LIFE MEMBER & SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENTS
Honorary Life Member Award
Renowned director and Past President Michael Apted was the recipient of the DGA Honorary
Life Member Award in recognition of leadership in the industry, contribution to the Guild and the profession of directing, and outstanding career achievement.
Special Service Awards
Dwight Williams received the 2018 Frank Capra Achievement Award in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Guild.
Jim Tanker received the 2018 Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
