DGA Awards Movie Nominations: Spielberg, Campion, Villeneuve, Branagh, Anderson Vie For Top Director Prize

West Side Story‘s Steven Spielberg, The Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion, Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve, Licorice Pizza‘s Paul Thomas Anderson and Kenneth Branagh of Belfast have been nominated for the top feature film prize as the Directors Guild unveiled nominations Thursday for its 74th annual DGA Awards.

Winners will be announced March 12 during a planned in-person ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.

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The guild, a strong predictor of Oscar success historically, missing the eventual Best Director winner only eight times in 73 years, also handed out noms for its First-Time Feature Film category. Nominees there include Lin-Manuel Miranda for Tick, Tick…Boom!, Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Lost Daughter, Rebecca Hall for Passing, Michael Sarnoski for Pig, Emma Seligman for Shiva Baby and Tatiana Huezo for Mexico’s Oscar International Feature-shortlisted Prayers for the Stolen.

Last year, the guild awarded Chloé Zhao its top film prize for Nomadland, which marked the latest step for Zhao and the film on the path to winning Best Director and Best Picture at the Oscars. Darius Marder from Sound of Metal won for First Time Feature, while Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw won in Documentary for The Truffle Hunters.

In the marquee Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film category, Spielberg leads the way with 11 previous DGA noms across five (!) decades (most recently for Lincoln in 2013) and three wins (most recently for 1998’s Saving Private Ryan) along with the guild’s lifetime achievement award in 2000. Campion, Anderson and Villeneuve have only been nommed once before apiece, while this marks the first nom for Branagh.

This year, the DGA eligibility period ran from March 1-December 31, 2021, in lockstep with the 2022 Oscars, with films required to have a seven-day theatrical run if they were released June 15, 2021 or later. The guild said that for theatrical feature films released from March 1-June 14, no theatrical is required — an exception carried over from last year owing to pandemic constraints.

The DGA Awards ceremony March 12 will also feature Spike Lee receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction, the guild’s highest honor. Others receiving honorary awards include first Assistant Director Joseph P. Reidy getting the Frank Capra Achievement Award and stage manager Garry W. Hood the Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award.

The DGA revealed its TV, documentary and commercial noms earlier this week, with notably all five nominees for Dramatic Series are episodes of HBO’s Succession. On the Comedy Series side, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso is a triple nominee alongside HBO Max’s Hacks and HBO’s The White Lotus.

Here’s the full list of DGA Awards nominees:

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM

Paul Thomas Anderson
Licorice Pizza
(Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures/United Artists Releasing)

Unit Production Manager: Sue McNamara
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Trevor Tavares
Second Second Assistant Directors: Kasia Trojak, Bob Riley, David Marnell

Kenneth Branagh
Belfast
(Focus Features)

Jane Campion
The Power of the Dog
(Netflix)

Steven Spielberg
West Side Story
(20th Century Studios)

Unit Production Managers: Carla Raij, Daniel Lupi
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Robert T. Striem
Second Second Assistant Director: Josh Muzaffer
Additional Second Assistant Director: Billy Brennan
Location Managers: Robert T. Striem, Katherine Delaney

Denis Villeneuve
Dune
(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Unit Production Managers: Joe Caracciolo, Jr., James Grant
First Assistant Director: Chris Carreras
Second Assistant Director: Tom Rye

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF A FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR

Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Lost Daughter
(Netflix)

Rebecca Hall
Passing
(Netflix)

Tatiana Huezo
Prayers for the Stolen
(Netflix)

Lin-Manuel Miranda
Tick, Tick… Boom!
(Netflix)

Unit Production Manager: Deb Dyer
First Assistant Director: Mariela Comitini
Second Assistant Directors: Josh A. Muzaffer, Luca Waldman
Second Second Assistant Directors: Melissa Morphet, Lincoln Major
Additional Second Assistant Director: Zach Citarella
Location Manager: Ryan Smith

Michael Sarnoski
Pig
(Neon)

Emma Seligman
Shiva Baby
(Utopia)

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