DGA to Oscar? Hazanavicius Nears Finish Line
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 2:47PM 
This weekend everyone is a winner! So many awards. And SAG continues the trend tonight (we'll be live blogging right here). Can clapping for 30 days straight give you carpal tunnel?
Let's start with the biggie, the DGA Awards. Last year's winner Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) passed the baton, in the shape of that golden eagle plaque, to this year's winner Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). Tom Hooper got ambitious post awards flurry as is busy on Les Miserable. Hazanavicius will chase The Artist with another film inspired by Old Hollywood. He's going to remake The Search (1948) which The Film Experience readers will know as Montgomery Clift's debut. (All we can say is good luck finding another Monty. That's an irreplaceable star in Hollywood's firmament.) Given that The Search is a post World War II drama about an American soldier and a child who survived Auschwitz, maybe Hazanavicius won't be a one hit wonder with AMPAS. Time will tell.
One of the best things about the more specific awards night like the DGA is that there is time to honor the nomineees as well, so even if you don't win, the night is still about you. Each director takes the stage to receive their plaque. Kathy Bates accepted in person for Woody Allen who never shows up at this sort of thing although he did speak via satellite this time.
Michelle Williams with James Marsh's prizeDGA PRIZES
- Director, Feature Film: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
- Director, Documentary: James Marsh, Project Nim (which was recently shut out of the Oscar nominations in its category)
- Director, MiniSeries: John Cassar, The Kennedys
- Director, Drama Series: Patty Jenkins, The Killing "Pilot"
- Director, Comedy Series: Robert B Weide, Curb Your Enthusiasm "Palestinian Chicken" (wow. people are still excited about this show? Who knew?)
- Director, Variety: Glenn Weiss, the 64th Annual Tony Awards
- Director, Reality Show: Neil P Degroot, Biggest Loser
- Director, Commercial: Noam Murro (Biscuit Filmworks)
- Director, Daytime Television: William Luel, General Hospital "Intervention"
- Director, Children's Television: Amy Schatz, A Child's Garden of Poetry
Does this mean Hazanavicius has the Oscar sewn up?
Not necessarily... More after the jump including stats and photos.
Still with me? Good.
The DGA is a great barometer of who will win the Best Director Oscar but like everything to do with the crashing competing waves of congratulatory love in awards season, you can crest at the wrong time or drown. In the past 30 years, for example, 4 DGA winners have lost at the Oscars. Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard for The Color Purple and Apollo 13 respectively (neither were nominated for the Oscar) and then Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) and Rob Marshall for Chicago (2002). So Hazanavicius is foolish to bet against but nothing is locked up. Very roughly speaking the Oscars go a different way from the DGA (in terms of winners) about once a decade. Their longest stretch of total agreement when it came to "winner!" was 1949 through 1967.
PHOTO OP!
Their royal highness, King of the DGA (i.e. "President") Taylor Hackford and his wife, The Queen herself, Dame Helen Mirren
Directors love a good supporting actress: Octavia Spencer, Bérénice Bejo and Shailene Woodley
Last Year's Rivals, Hooper & Fincher, Chatting at the DGA breakfast.
Small Screen Hotties: Deborah Ann Woll, Kathleen Robertson and Amber Heard. Honorary Member: Jennifer Aniston. Big Screen career but she'll always be "Rachel" to us.
P.S. all photos via Zimbio.
P.P.S. No time to do a DGA fashion review what with SAG coming right at us tonight (be here for the live blog), but please to note that Jennifer Aniston's trademark look, sleek gazillion dollar hair, clingy black dress (only variations allowed are silvers and greys) with a lotta lotta lotta leg is still very much with us, as consistent as the very sunshine in Los Angeles.
Reader Comments (14)
Love these pictures.
Also, doesn't that picture of Fincher/Hooper having such a friendly conversation make Awards Daily's "sky is falling" rhetoric about last (and this) year's seem even more silly?
That last panel on the banner is photo shopped right?
I hope some of the other directors in attendance find a reason to cast Kathy in one of their movies.
Speaking of the banner ... Geena Davis is so, so pretty. I copied that hair in my formative years! And it's a shame that Oscar Altman is holding isn't a competitive one.
I miss super cute Timothy Hutton in the banner.
People will always be excited for "Curb your Enthusiasm;" one of the better comedies on TV.
@ Paul: Amen to that. I used to love that site.
Michel's win puts him as the favorite for the Oscar, but I still think that Scorsese could take it in the end. I"d say the DGA results bode better for The Artist than for Hazanavicius in particular.
I think we have our BP/BD winner now. Next year's race, please!
Ah, I still love Sasha. I think of TFE, AD and InContention as the Voice, Times and New York Magazine of film. Different flavors, different approaches, and all part of a complete award season.
What in the blue hell is Woodley wearing? It's like electrical tape is covering her naughty bits with a lace curtain thrown over it.
I totally agree Matt--the three sites you mentioned will forever be my daily addictions. Thanks to all!!!
I hate to pile on, but I'm with Paul et al. I don't do a ton of awards-specific reading, but I do go to Awards Daily occasionally this time of year. Sasha seems like a nice person, but I wish she were better at keeping the whole thing in perspective.
I rarely read Kris Tapley. I know I shouldn't rush to judgment, particularly given my limited exposure, but he frequently comes off as bizarrely condescending to those who disagree with him. Is this my imagination? Another person whom I wish would maintain a little perspective.
The reason I enjoy this site so much is that Nathaniel obviously loves what he writes about: movies, actresses, awards. But there's never any Armageddon talk, and he's almost always generous and open-minded about things he doesn't particularly care for, or about things he likes more than others.
So I always enjoy coming to the The Film Experience (not just for the reasons stated above). He and Nick Davis (over at Nick's Flick Picks) are probably my favorite film bloggers.
But, anyway, back to the actual subject of the post: I'm happy for Hazanavicius, and I love how thrilled the whole team has been throughout the season. It'll be satisfying if they keep the momentum going through Oscar.
I'm nervous about Scorsese winning, though. I love the guy, but I think he tends to struggle under the weight of his more classically "prestige"-type films (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and Hugo were all varying degrees of disappointing for me). That said, I was so down with his Oscar for The Departed, it's not even funny, even though I'd personally have ranked Cuaron and Aronofsky ahead of him that particular year.
Suzanne - Me too! I really miss that bob.
K - Yes, that about sums it up.
I'd really like to get a better view of Michelle's dress, it looks lovely (and seems a little more glamorous than what she usually goes for (weirdly enough.) That dark velvet sack with headband? Ugh.
Ok, back to directors - didn't Baz Luhrmann also win DGA that year (but of course not Oscar), or am I misremembering?
I still want Scorsese to win the Oscar. I had no problems with Hugo, and loved it even more on second viewing. It's a movie that demands to be seen a big screen.