January
8
Directors Pick Diverse Slate
The DGA nominees were announced this morning; these noms provide an excellent--through not entirely accurate--bellwether of where the Oscar nominations might go on January 22. The DGA tends to be slightly more populist and mainstream--it's a much bigger group than the Academy directors, including many assistant directors, production managers and folks who work in TV. Usually the winner of the DGA is the winner of the Oscar. But the five nominees don't always line up.
These five could well be the final Oscar five on January 22. But will the Academy directors go for Tony Gilroy, Sean Penn and Julian Schnabel? No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton and There will be Blood are looking steady as they go for best picture slots. Into the Wild and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly are vying for the fifth slot with Juno and Sweeney Todd.
Tim Burton's omission here is a surprise. Youthful Jason Reitman and Joe Wright are not. I'm still sure that Juno has strong momentum, and that Atonement is still the kind of movie Academy voters love (though it is losing steam). Ridley Scott's omission is a sign of weakness for American Gangster. Martin Scorsese's The Departed was one thing, and American Gangster is another. Finally, Denzel Washington won for Training Day, and this role may seem too similar. The movie may be too been there, done that.
John Lesher is having a very good day: not only is he about to get promoted, but Paramount Vantage has three films in this line-up, two of them shared with producer Scott Rudin and Daniel Battsek's Miramax: No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood. Miramax also has three, with Diving Bell.
And the nominees are:
Paul Thomas Anderson - "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax Films) Unit Production Manager: Daniel Lupi First Assistant Director: Adam Somner Second Assistant Directors: Eric Lasko, Ian Stone, Richard Oswald Second Second Assistant Director: Jenny NolanJoel Coen & Ethan Coen - "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax Films and Paramount Vantage)
Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Graf
First Assistant Director: Betsy Magruder Second Assistant Director: Bac DeLorme
Second Second Assistant Director: Jai JamesTony Gilroy - "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Unit Production Manager: Christopher Goode First Assistant Director: Steve Apicella
Second Assistant Director: Michael Pitt
Second Second Assistant Directors: Matt Power, Jason IveySean Penn - "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage)
Unit Production Manager: John J. Kelly
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Dylan Hopkins Second Second Assistant Directors: John R. Saunders, Ian CalipJulian Schnabel - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax Films)
Unit Production Managers: Stéphan Guillemet, A.F.R., Jon Kilik
First Assistant Director: Stéphane Gluck, A.F.A.R.
Second Assistant Director: Mathilde Cavillan
[Joel and Ethan Coen photos courtesy of New York Magazine]
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Ah, a correctly stated title for this article/weblog! Although I would be very interested when the DGA actually supports more diversity in their members and how they present diverse subject matters in their films! Oh sure the last couple of years its been about the international flavor, Spanish and Latino directors and DP's but when will the largest and fastest growing minority in America be represented - or authentically voiced and represented. How many films that feature a character with a disAbility have been helmed or written or acted by a person with a disAbility? Now that would be some diverse DGA members and subject matter all in one! That day is coming - how soon? Depends on those I get to support those who are discriminated against more in the motion picture industry then any other industry in America! That is supported by the SAG report on performers with a disAbility(May 2005) and does cross over into all other roles in Hollywood! But even after that report - the only study done in Hollywood about the largest and fastest growing minority subgroup in America - virtually nothing has changed! Does anybody care? Right now it is just those of us with a disAbility and we are coming! And you will know about this history long Hollywood blacklist of those with a disAbility! Time for a change in American Cinema history!
Posted by: Larry N. Sapp II | January 11, 2008 at 12:23 PM