Alfonso Cuaron, Paul Greengrass, Steve McQueen earn 1st career nominations; David O. Russell scores 2nd nom; Martin Scorsese now an 11-time nominee
Steve McQueen has gained his first directors guild nomination for his grimly historic saga "12 Years a Slave," substantiating the British director's place as a top contender at the Academy Awards.
Here’s a full rundown of the nominees:
ALFONSO CUARÓN
Gravity
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Cuarón’s Directorial Team–Unit Production Manager: David Siegel (Arizona Unit); First Assistant Directors: Josh Robertson, Stephen Hagen (Arizona Unit); Second Assistant Director: Ben Howard
This is Cuarón’s first DGA Award nomination.
PAUL GREENGRASS
Captain Phillips
(Columbia Pictures)
Greengrass’s Directorial Team–Unit Production Managers: Todd Lewis, Gregory Goodman; First Assistant Director: Chris Carreras; Second Assistant Directors: Nick Shuttleworth, Mark S. Constance
This is Greengrass’ first DGA Award nomination.
STEVE McQUEEN
12 Years A Slave
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
McQueen’s Directorial Team–Unit Production Manager: Anthony Katagas; First Assistant Director: Doug Torres; Second Assistant Director: James Roque Jr.; Second Second Assistant Director: Sherman Shelton Jr.; Additional Second Assistant Director: Nathan Parker
This is McQueen’s first DGA Award nomination.
DAVID O. RUSSELL
American Hustle
(Columbia Pictures)
Russell’s Directorial Team–Unit Production Managers: Shea Kammer, Mark Kamine; First Assistant Director: Michele ‘Shelley’ Ziegler; Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan; Second Second Assistant Director: Jason Fesel; Location Managers: David Velasco, Guy Efrat (New York Unit)
This is Russell’s second DGA Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category for The Fighter in 2010.
MARTIN SCORSESE
The Wolf of Wall Street
(Paramount Pictures)
Scorsese’s Directorial Team–Unit Production Manager: Richard Baratta; First Assistant Director: Adam Somner; Second Assistant Director: Francisco Oritz; Second Second Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks; Additional Second Assistant Director: Scott Koche; Location Manager: Nils Widboom
This is Scorsese’s 11th DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2006 for The Departed, and has also been nominated in that category for Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004) and Hugo (2011). Scorsese also won the DGA Award in 2010 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Television for Boardwalk Empire and he was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for George Harrison: Living in the Material World in 2011. In 1999, Mr. Scorsese was presented with the Filmmaker Award at the inaugural DGA Honors Gala, and he was honored with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
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