By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --A month into Hollywood’s awards season and the competition is still wide open. “The Hurt Locker” appears to be a front-runner, but “Avatar,” ”Precious,” ”Inglourious Basterds” and “Up in the Air” have won their share of awards, too.
The directors of these films — Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Lee Daniels, Quentin Tarantino and Jason Reitman — compete Saturday for the top prize from the Directors Guild of America, an award that almost always predicts the Oscar winner for best director.
Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” has already won directing and best-picture honors from the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and at the Critics’ Choice Awards, where both competed against the same four DGA nominees. “The Hurt Locker” was also the Producers Guild’s best picture winner.
Cameron, who is Bigelow’s ex-husband, was best director and “Avatar” best picture at the Golden Globes. “Precious” has won half a dozen awards for supporting actress Mo’Nique. “Basterds” won acting ensemble honors from Critics’ Choice the Screen Actors Guild. “Up in the Air” was the National Board of Review’s pick for best picture.
The DGA Web site boasts that its winner has gone on to win the Academy Award for directing all but six times since 1948, and typically, the film that wins the Oscar for best director goes on to win for best picture.
The guild will also present awards in documentary, television and commercial categories. Norman Jewison will receive the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction at the ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel.
Nikki Baker Becomes CEO At Fallon
Fallon has appointed Nikki Baker as its new CEO. Baker, who joined the creative agency in 2018 and has served as co-chief creative officer with Leslie Shaffer since 2021, succeeds Rocky Novak, who has been in the role since 2019.
Baker’s promotion to CEO comes at a time of significant momentum for the agency, including six consecutive years of growth and award-winning work.
Baker’s recent career highlights include creatively leading the Walmart partnership with the Publicis Groupe team and spearheading innovative campaigns such as the award-winning “RomCommerce” 23-episodic series and the internet-breaking Mean Girls campaign, among hundreds of other campaigns together with the brand over the past few years. Together with Shaffer, Baker has also been instrumental in elevating Fallon’s creative output for longstanding clients like Arby’s, Mattress Firm, and Front Door/American Home Shield.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Fallon, even before I joined. The chance to lead the agency is an absolute honor. Fallon is a place like no other with amazing talent and a legacy of building big, innovative, creative ideas,” said Baker. “Rocky has represented the best of Fallon. He’s been a great leader, and I couldn’t be more excited to take the reins and lead the agency through to the next chapter. With creativity at our core, we’re going to be as ambitious as ever, push boundaries, and continue embracing emerging platforms to deliver work that truly resonates in culture.”
Prior to joining Fallon six years ago, Baker held positions as creative director and art director at agencies including DDB and GSD&M, working with major brands such as McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, and Wrigley. Her work has been recognized by... Read More