LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The winners of the 2007 Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards and the recipients of the Guild's 2008 Career Achievement Awards were announced Saturday night during the 60th Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen won the DGA's Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for No Country for Old Men.
Following the welcome from DGA President Michael Apted to an audience of more than 1,500 guests, Actor/Director/Comedian Carl Reiner hosted the Awards ceremony for the twenty-first time. Presenters included: Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), DGA Secretary-Treasurer Gil Cates, Kristin Chenoweth and Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies), Marion Cotillard* (La Vie En Rose), Daniel Day-Lewis* (There Will Be Blood), Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Emile Hirsch and Hal Holbrook* (Into the Wild), Helen Hunt (Then She Found Me), Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), John Larroquette (Boston Legal), Debra Messing (The Starter Wife), Ellen Page* (Juno), Anna Paquin (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), Amy Ryan* (Gone Baby Gone), Tilda Swinton* and Tom Wilkinson* (Michael Clayton), Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) and 2006 DGA Feature Film Award winner/DGA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Martin Scorsese.
The DGA's Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only six times since the DGA Award's inception in 1949 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director. (See list at the end of this release). The 61st Annual DGA Awards will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009.
The winners of the 2007 Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and the recipients of the Guild's 2008 Career Achievement Awards are:
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM --------------------------------------------------- JOEL COEN & ETHAN COEN No Country For Old Men (Miramax Films and Paramount Vantage) The Coens' Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Graf First Assistant Director: Betsy Magruder Second Assistant Director: Bac DeLorme Second Second Assistant Director: Jai James This is Mr. Joel Coen's and Mr. Ethan Coen's first DGA Award. Joel Coen was previously nominated for Fargo (1996). OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES FOR TELEVISION ------------------------------------------------------------ YVES SIMONEAU Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO) Mr. Simoneau's Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager -- US: Chrisann Verges First Assistant Director -- US: Cas Donovan Second Assistant Director -- US: Adam Martin This is Mr. Simoneau's first DGA Award. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMATIC SERIES NIGHT ------------------------------------------------------------ ALAN TAYLOR Mad Men -- "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Pilot)" (AMC) Mr. Taylor's Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager: Scott Hornbacher First Assistant Director: Mark McGann Second Assistant Director: Maggie Murphy Second Second Assistant Director: John Silvestri Second Assistant Director/Location Manager: April Taylor This is Mr. Taylor's first DGA Award. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIES ---------------------------------------------------- BARRY SONNENFELD Pushing Daisies -- "Pie-lette" (ABC) Mr. Sonnenfeld's Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager: Gabriela Vazquez First Assistant Director: Chris Soldo Second Assistant Director: Greg Hale Second Second Assistant Director: Renee Hill-Sweet This is Mr. Sonnenfeld's first DGA Award. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSICAL VARIETY ------------------------------------------------------ GLENN P. WEISS The 61st Annual Tony Awards (CBS) Mr. Weiss' Directorial Team: Associate Directors: Gregg M. Gelfand, Robin Mishkin Abrams, Ken Diego, Ricky Kirshner Stage Managers: Garry W. Hood, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Lynn Finkel, Doug Fogel, Jeffrey Gitter, Dean Gordon, Arthur Lewis, Tony Mirante, Jeff Pearl, Rose Riggins, Lauren Class Schneider This is Mr. Weiss' first DGA Award. He was previously nominated in 2006 for The 60th Annual Tony Awards, in 2005 for The 59th Annual Tony Awards, in 2002 for The 56th Annual Tony Awards, and in 2001 for The 55th Annual Tony Awards. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY PROGRAMS ------------------------------------------------------- BERTRAM VAN MUNSTER The Amazing Race -- "Episode #1110" (CBS) Mr. Van Munster's Directorial Team: Segment Director: Evan Weinstein This is Mr. Van Munster's first DGA Award. He was previously nominated for The Amazing Race Episode #102" in 2006 and for "Episode #805" in 2005. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DAYTIME SERIALS ------------------------------------------------------ LARRY CARPENTER One Life To Live -- "Episode #9947" (ABC) Mr. Carpenter's Directorial Team: Associate Director: Teresa Anne Cicala Stage Managers: Alan P. Needleman, Keith Greer Production Associate: Anthony Wilkinson This is Mr. Carpenter's second DGA Award. He won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials for One Life to Live "Episode #8849" in 2003 and was also nominated for that series for "Episode #9686" in 2006, "Episode #9385" in 2005 and "Episode #8655" in 2002. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS ---------------------------------------------------------- PAUL HOEN Jump In (Disney Channel) This is Mr. Hoen's first DGA Award. He was previously nominated in this same category for Searching for David's Heart in 2004 and the Even Stevens episode "Take My Sister... Please" in 2000. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMERCIALS -------------------------------------------------- NICOLAI FUGLSIG Production Company MJZ UK Tipping Point, Guinness -- BBDO It's Magic, JC Penney -- Saachi & Saachi NY First Assistant Director: Thomas Smith Second Assistant Director: Kate Greenberg Journey, Motorola -- AMV BBDO This is Mr. Fuglsig's first DGA Award. OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DOCUMENTARY -------------------------------------------------- ASGER LETH Ghosts of Cite Soleil Sony BMG Feature Films This is Mr. Leth's first DGA Award. 2008 DGA SERVICE AND CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS -------------------------------------------------------- JAY D. ROTH -- DGA HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARD Given in Recognition of Service to the Directors Guild of America and Outstanding Creative Achievement. LIZ RYAN -- FRANK CAPRA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD For an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in Recognition of Career Achievement in the Industry and Service to the Directors Guild of America. BARBARA J. ROCHE -- FRANKLIN J. SCHAFFNER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD For an Associate Director or Stage Manager in Recognition of Career Achievement in the Industry and Service to the Directors Guild of America.
Note: Only six times since the DGA Award's inception in 1949 has the DGA Award winner not won the Best Director Academy Award:
-- 1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while Carol Reed took home the Oscar(r) for Oliver! -- 1972: Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA's nod for The Godfather while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret. -- 1985: Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple while the Oscar(r) went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa. -- 1995: Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart. -- 2000: Ang Lee was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Best Director Academy Award for Traffic. -- 2003: Rob Marshall was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Chicago while Roman Polanski won the Best Director Academy Award for The Pianist.
(* 2008 Academy Award Nominee)