Directors Guild Nominees Include Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón
The Directors Guild of America has nominated Alfonso Cuaron for “Roma,” Bradley Cooper for “A Star Is Born,” Spike Lee for “BlacKkKlansman,” Adam McKay for “Vice,” and Peter Farrelly for “Green Book” for its top feature film award.
Cooper also received a DGA nomination for its first-time director award on Tuesday, along with Bo Burnham for “Eighth Grade,” Carlos Lopez Estrada for “Blindspotting,” Matthew Heineman for “A Private War,” and Boots Riley for “Sorry to Bother You.”
Cuaron won the DGA and Academy Award for directing five years ago for “Gravity.” It’s the first DGA nomination for Cooper, Farrelly, and Lee. It’s McKay’s third DGA nom, three years after he received a nod for “The Big Short.” He also received a television nomination Monday for directing an episode of “Succession.”
There were no surprises in the DGA’s announcement, which came two days after Cuaron won the Golden Globe for directing “Roma” over the same four — Cooper, Farrelly, Lee, and McKay. Cuaron also won the director award from the New York Film Critics Circle.
Lee won the Grand Prix for “BlacKkKlansman” in May at the Cannes Film Festival. Cooper has been nominated for acting Academy Awards for “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” and “American Sniper,” and for producing “American Sniper.”
Contenders overlooked for a DGA nod include Barry Jenkins for “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Ryan Coogler for “Black Panther,” Damien Chazelle for “First Man,” Debra Granik for “Leave No Trace,” Yorgos Lanthimos for “The Favourite” and Marielle Heller for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
The DGA Award is one of the top indicators of Oscar glory, with all but seven of the DGA winners since 1948 going on to take the best director Oscar — including Guillermo del Toro last year for “The Shape of Water.” The last divergence came in 2013 when Ben Affleck won the DGA Award for “Argo,” even though he did not receive an Oscar nom.
About 80% of DGA nominees have gone on to be nominated for an Oscar in recent years. Along with del Toro, last year’s nominees were Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird,” Martin McDonagh for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Christopher Nolan for “Dunkirk,” and Jordan Peele for “Get Out.” All but McDonagh received Oscar nominations for directing, with the Academy opting instead for Paul Thomas Anderson for “Phantom Thread.”
Heineman has won DGA awards for his documentaries “Cartel Land” and “City of Ghosts.” He said in response to the nomination, “Making films is a privilege, and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to explore the world through documentaries and now my first narrative feature. I am deeply honored by the DGA nomination for ‘A Private War,’ a love letter to journalism at a time when it is under attack. Massive thanks to my incredible team and to Rosamund Pike for her fearless portrayal of war correspondent Marie Colvin.”
The DGA winners will be announced at the 71st Annual DGA Awards on Feb. 2, following voting by its 17,000 members. The DGA nominations for the TV, commercial, and movie documentary categories were announced on Monday.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will reveal Oscar nominations on Jan. 22.
Here are the nominees for the Directors Guild of America’s feature film award:
“A Star Is Born”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Cooper’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Dohrmann
First Assistant Director: Michele “Shelley” Ziegler
Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan
Second Second Assistant Director: Matthew R. Milan
This is one of two DGA Award nominations this year for Mr. Cooper. He is also nominated in the First-Time Feature Film category for A Star Is Born.
“Roma”
(Netflix)
Mr. Cuarón’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Ana Hernandez
First Assistant Director: Frederic Henocque Albino
Second Assistant Director: Patrick Heyerdahl
Second Second Assistant Directors: Luis Fernando Vásquez, Julián ‘Chico’ Valdés, Arturo Garcia
This is Mr. Cuarón’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2013 for Gravity.
PETER FARRELLY
“Green Book”
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Farrelly’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Alissa M. Kantrow, John Brister, Franses Simonovich (New York Unit)
First Assistant Directors: J.B. Rogers, Alejandro Ramia (New York Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Paul B. Uddo, Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Gerson Paz, Jonathan Warren
Location Manager: Louis Zuppardi
This is Mr. Farrelly’s first DGA Award nomination.
“BlacKkKlansman”
(Focus Features)
Mr. Lee’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Marcei A. Brown
First Assistant Director: Mike Ellis
Second Assistant Director: Tracey Hinds
Second Second Assistant Directors: Jason Perez, Christina Ann Walker, Anastasia Folorunso
Location Manager: Tim Stacker
This is Mr. Lee’s first DGA Award nomination.
ADAM MCKAY
“Vice”
(Annapurna Pictures)
Mr. McKay’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Julie Hartley, Jeff Waxman
First Assistant Director: Matt Rebenkoff
Second Assistant Director: Joann Connolly
Second Second Assistant Directors: Yarden Levo, Dave Vogel (Washington D.C. Unit)
This is Mr. McKay’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for “The Big Short” in 2015. Mr. McKay also received a nomination this year in the Dramatic Series category for “Succession.”
Here are the nominees for the Directors Guild of America’s first-time feature film director:
BO BURNHAM
“Eighth Grade”
(A24)
Mr. Burnham’s Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Dan Taggatz
Second Assistant Director: Vic Coram
Second Second Assistant Director: Evelyn Fogleman
This is Mr. Burnham’s first DGA Award nomination.
BRADLEY COOPER
“A Star Is Born”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Cooper’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Dohrmann
First Assistant Director: Michele “Shelley” Ziegler
Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan
Second Second Assistant Director: Matthew R. Milan
This is one of two DGA Award nominations this year for Mr. Cooper. He is also nominated in the Feature Film category for “A Star Is Born.”
CARLOS LOPEZ ESTRADA
“Blindspotting”
(Summit Entertainment)
Mr. Estrada’s Directorial Team:
Assistant Director: La Mar Stewart
Second Second Assistant Director: Dominic Martin
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Armin Houshmandi
This is Mr. Estrada’s first DGA Award nomination.
MATTHEW HEINEMAN
“A Private War”
(Aviron Pictures)
Mr. Heineman’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Louise Killin
First Assistant Directors: George Walker, Peter Freeman (Jordan Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Tom Mulberge (UK Unit), Tom Browne (Jordan Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Tarik Afifi (Jordan Unit)
This is Mr. Heineman’s third DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary in 2017 for “City of Ghosts” and in 2015 for “Cartel Land.”
BOOTS RILEY
“Sorry to Bother You”
(Annapurna Pictures)
Mr. Riley’s Directorial Team:
Production Manager: Chris Martin
First Assistant Director: Brian Benson
Second Assistant Director: Hilton Jamal Day
Second Second Assistant Directors: Sam Purdy, Nick Alvarez
This is Mr. Riley’s first DGA Award nomination.
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