Greta Gerwig, Jordan Peele nab Directors Guild nods
LOS ANGELES — Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele are finally getting "best director" buzz after they were passed over for nominations by both the Golden Globe Awards and the BAFTAs. The two are among the five directors who have been recognized for outstanding directorial achievement by the Directors Guild of America. The Guild announced its feature film nominees Thursday, including Gerwig for the coming-of age film "Lady Bird" and Peele for his horror sensation "Get Out," which also earned him a first-time director nod.
On Sunday, Natalie Portman called out the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for snubbing female directors at this year's show. Portman was presenting the award for best director alongside Ron Howard when she said, "And here are the all male nominees," as Howard laughed awkwardly.
Guillermo del Toro, who won the Golden Globe for directing Sunday, also scored his first DGA nomination for the romantic fantasy "The Shape of Water," as did Martin McDonagh for his revenge tale "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." Christopher Nolan got his fourth for "Dunkirk." Nolan was previously nominated for "Inception," ″The Dark Knight" and "Memento."
First-time feature film nominees include Peele, Aaron Sorkin for "Molly's Game," Taylor Sheridan for "Wind River," William Oldroyd for "Lady Macbeth" and Geremy Jasper for "Patti Cake$."
Winners will be revealed at an untelevised Feb. 3 ceremony and dinner in Beverly Hills hosted by Judd Apatow.
With nearly 16,000 members, including television and commercial directors, the guild often selects a more populist lineup when compared with the selections of the nearly 400 members of the directors' branch of the film academy.
Although Oscar and DGA nominations rarely match up exactly, guild choices can be a formidable predictor of the Oscar winner. Last year, Damien Chazelle became the youngest DGA feature film winner and went on to win the Academy Award for "La La Land."
Oscar nomination voting closes Friday, and nominees will be announced Jan. 23.
