Three first-time nominees and two earning their second career nominations comprise the field of directors vying for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2009.
Those in their second go-around in the DGA Award competition are: James Cameron, whose latest nomination is for Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox); and Quentin Tarantino who is nominated for Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures).
Cameron was first nominated–and won the DGA Award–for Titanic in 1997. Tarantino’s initial nomination came on the strength of Pulp Fiction in ’94.
The trio of first-time director nominees in the feature category this year are: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment); Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lionsgate); and Jason Reitman for Up In The Air (Paramount Pictures).
Bigelow and Reitman share another common bond. They are both on the rosters of commercial production houses. Bigelow signed last year with RSA Films for spots. Reitman’s long-time roost for commercials is Tate USA.
The winner in the feature category will be named at the 62nd annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 30, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles
The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award. Only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the feature film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award. Those six exceptions to the rule were:
• Director Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter in ’68 while Carol Reed took home the Oscar® for Oliver!
• Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA honor for The Godfather in ’72 while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret.
• Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple in ’85 while the Oscar® went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa.
• Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 in ’95 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart.
• And Ang Lee won the DGA Award for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000 while Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Traffic.
Director Tim Bullock Goes ROGUE In U.K.
Director Tim Bullock has joined ROGUE Films’ U.K. roster for commercials and branded content. He continues to be handled in the U.S. market by Ruffian, in Australia by Scoundrel, in France by Division and in Germany by Tony Petersen Film GmbH.
Bullock’s work spans drama and comedy. In his own words, Bullock is “all about mining for a reaction--whether it be laughter or tears or inspiration.” He is a master of adopting a tone of voice and stylistic approach that suits the script and the message. Prior to joining ROGUE, Bullock was repped in the U.K. by Blink.
Kate Taylor, ROGUE managing director and partner, commented, “Tim Bullock has a reel that oozes confidence and craft - that there are a few big chortles to be had, just makes it for me. I’ve been a huge fan of his for years--so, naturally, I’m delighted that he’s chosen to come to Rogue--and no, I don’t need to go to Specsavers. I know exactly what I’m looking at when I look at his work. Genius! That’s what.”
Bullock said, “Throughout my time directing, Rogue has always been a name associated with rock-solid, quality work. I like that the company represents a breadth of directors with differing styles but all united by a high standard of work. Sam Brown is particularly inspiring to me. And what’s not to like about Kate Taylor? I’ve been a long time fan of hers and I can’t wait to work with her.”
Famously a “suit” in his previous life, Bullock started out as a corporate recovery consultant for KPMG and then an account director at Saatchi & Saatchi before he began to fulfill his unleashed creativity directing short films. These shorts just kept winning awards so Bullock jumped ship from the corporate world and landed fully in the world of... Read More