Directors Guild nominates five
Richard Linklater’s 12-year commitment to the coming-of-age tale “Boyhood” is paying off with his first nomination from the Directors Guild of America, the organization announced Tuesday.
Also nominated for their outstanding achievement in directing were first-time nominee Wes Anderson for the whimsical “Grand Budapest Hotel,” and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for his dark show business comedy “Birdman.” Inarritu was previously nominated for “Babel.”
Both Anderson and Inarritu lost out to Linklater for the best director Golden Globe on Sunday.
In an unexpected turn, rounding out the five slots were Morten Tyldum for his Alan Turing biopic “The Imitation Game,” and Clint Eastwood for his fact-based wartime drama “American Sniper.” This is Eastwood’s fourth nomination. He previously won for “Million Dollar Baby” in 2004 and “Unforgiven” in 1992.
“Couldn’t be more excited to be recognized by my peers,” first-time nominee Tyldum said in a statement. “I am thrilled that my fellow directors gave me this honor and to be in this group of talented artists is overwhelming. I am truly over the moon.”
Meanwhile, David Fincher (“Gone Girl”) and Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) were surprisingly shut out of the nominations. Both were nominated for a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award, and were considered strong possibilities for Directors Guild recognition.
Also noticeably absent were Angelina Jolie for her efforts on the World War II drama “Unbroken,” Christopher Nolan for his space odyssey “Interstellar,” and Bennett Miller for the true crime story “Foxcatcher.”
The awards are a formidable predictor of the eventual Oscar recipient, whose nominations will be announced Thursday. There have been only seven times where the Directors Guild winner has not gone on to win the Oscar.
Winners for the 67th annual Directors Guild awards will be announced at a dinner in Los Angeles on Feb. 7.
The birthday bunch
Blues singer Clarence Carter is 79. Singer Jack Jones is 77. Singer-songwriter Allen Toussaint is 77. Former NAACP Chairman Julian Bond is 75. Actress Faye Dunaway is 74. Actress Holland Taylor is 72. Actor Carl Weathers is 67. Singer-producer T-Bone Burnett is 67. Movie writer-director Steven Soderbergh is 52. Actress Emily Watson is 48. Rapper-actor LL Cool J is 47. Actor Jason Bateman is 46. Rock singer-musician Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is 46. Actress Jordan Ladd is 40.