The Directors Guild of America unveiled the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2015: Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant (Twentieth Century Fox); Tom McCarthy for Spotlight (Open Road Films); Adam McKay for The Big Short (Paramount Pictures); George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner Bros.); and Ridley Scott for The Martian (Twentieth Century Fox).
“What makes this year different is the unbridled ambition of the five nominated films – in theme, in production, in visual imagination,” said Paris Barclay, president of the DGA. “What makes this year the same is that the films were all chosen by the directors’ peers, and it’s clear our members love when people use their vision and skill to push the media to new heights. Congratulations to all of the nominees for their incredible work.”
The Revenant marks Iñárritu’s fourth DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2014 for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). He was also nominated in this category for Babel in 2006. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for “Best Job” (Procter & Gamble) in 2012.
Scott now also has four career DGA nominations. He was nominated in this category in 1991 for Thelma and Louise, in 2000 for Gladiator, and in 2001 for Black Hawk Down.
McCarthy, McKay and Miller are first-time DGA Award nominees.
Here’s a rundown of nominees (and their directing teams) for OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM FOR 2015:
ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU
The Revenant
(20th Century Fox)
Mr. Iñárritu’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Drew Locke, James W. Skotchdopole, Doug Jones
First Assistant Director: Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors: Megan M. Shank, Matthew Haggerty, Jeremy Marks
Unit Production Manager: Gabriela Vazquez (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Trevor R. Tavares, Jasmine Marie Alhambra (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Brett Robinson, Kasia Trojak (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
TOM MCCARTHY
Spotlight
(Open Road Films)
Mr. McCarthy’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: D.J. Carson, Michael Bederman
First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
Second Assistant Director: Penny Charter
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Danielle Blumstein (Boston Unit)
First Assistant Director: Christo Morse (Boston Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Conte Matal, Kristina Mariko Peterson, Annie Tan, Andrea O’Connor (Boston Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Phil Robinson, Mark Romanelli (Boston Unit)
Additional Second Assistant Director: Scooter Perrotta (Boston Unit)
ADAM MCKAY
The Big Short
(Paramount Pictures)
Mr. McKay’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Louise Rosner
First Assistant Director: Matt Rebenkoff
Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
Second Second Assistant Director: Cali Pomés
Second Second Assistant Director: Josh Muzaffer (New York Unit)
Location Manager: Michael Kriaris
GEORGE MILLER
Mad Max: Fury Road
(Warner Bros.)
Mr. Miller’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Dean Hood
First Assistant Director: PJ Voeten
Second Assistant Directors: Samantha Smith, Wendy Croad, Chris O’Hara
Second Assistant Directors: Eddie Thorne (Syndey Unit), Emma Jamvold (Syndey Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Danielle Blake (Syndey Unit), Joshua Watkins (Syndey Unit)
RIDLEY SCOTT
The Martian
(20th Century Fox)
Mr. Scott’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Francesca Cingolani, Miklós Tóth
First Assistant Director: Raymond Kirk
Second Assistant Directors: Sarah Hood, Bogi Móricz
Second Second Assistant Director: Nick Thomas
Winners will be announced at the 68th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday evening, February 6, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. The DGA Awards will be hosted by actor Jane Lynch.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More