First-time feature filmmaker nods go to Diop, Diwan, Ford, Kusijanovic and Wells
The field of feature film nominees for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards is set. Nominated for the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2022 are: Todd Field for Tár; Joseph Kosinski for Top Gun: Maverick; Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka Daniels) for Everything Everywhere All at Once; Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin; and Stephen Spielberg for The Fabelmans.
The feature nominees for the DGA Award historically carry significance relative to the Oscars race. Only eight times in the DGA’s 74-year history has the Guild winner not gone on to take the Best Director Oscar.
“The work recognized this year represents the amazing power of film in the hands of these gifted directors to tell deeply moving stories that profoundly affect us all,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “The recognition by one’s peers in our highly collaborative creative process shows the heart and soul at the core of these films and we congratulate all five nominees for their powerful stories, brilliantly told.”
Meanwhile the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-time Theatrical Feature Film Director are: Alice Diop for Saint Omer; Audrey Diwan for Happening; John Patton Ford for Emily the Criminal; Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic for Murina; and Charlotte Wells for Aftersun.
“The confidence and vision in these skillfully crafted films by first-time directors is truly inspiring,” said Glatter. “The range of storytelling shown by these talented filmmakers ensures the future of cinema is in good hands as we recognize the artistic achievement of this exciting group of nominees. I can’t wait to see what’s next from them in the years to come.”
The winners for Theatrical Feature Film and First-Time Theatrical Feature Film categories will be announced at the 75th Annual DGA Awards which will take place on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
The nominees for OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM FOR 2022 are (in alphabetical order):
TODD FIELD
TÁR
(Focus Features)
Mr. Field’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Nigel Wooll
First Assistant Director: Sebastian Fahr-Brix
JOSEPH KOSINSKI
Top Gun: Maverick
(Paramount Pictures)
Mr. Kosinski’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: LeeAnn Stonebreaker, Tommy Harper
First Assistant Director: Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors: Andrew Stahl, Robert E. Kay
Second Second Assistant Director: Spencer Taylor
DANIEL KWAN & DANIEL SCHEINERT
Everything Everywhere All at Once
(A24)
Daniels’ Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Allison Rose Carter
First Assistant Director: Rodney Smith
Second Assistant Director: John Nasraway
Second Second Assistant Director: Ken C. Wu
MARTIN MCDONAGH
The Banshees of Inisherin
(Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. McDonagh’s Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
STEVEN SPIELBERG
The Fabelmans
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Spielberg’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Carla Raij
First Assistant Director: Josh McLaglen
Second Assistant Director: Heather Wagner-Wang
Second Second Assistant Director: David Stickler
The nominees for OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF A FIRST-TIME THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR FOR 2022 are (in alphabetical order):
ALICE DIOP
Saint Omer
(Neon Rated)
AUDREY DIWAN
Happening
(IFC Films)
JOHN PATTON FORD
Emily the Criminal
(Roadside Attractions)
ANTONETA ALAMAT KUSIJANOVIC
Murina
(Kino Lorber)
CHARLOTTE WELLS
Aftersun
(A24)
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More