The 77th annual Directors Guild Awards was one of several awards ceremonies taking place Saturday, Feb. 8 on a busy evening in Los Angeles, with less than one month to go before the Academy Awards. Judd Apatow hosted the ceremony for the sixth time.
Four of this year’s five DGA nominees were also nominated for the Oscar, with Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”), Sean Baker (“Anora”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”) and James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”) landing noms from both groups but DGA nominee Edward Berger (“Conclave”) was replaced by Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”) by the Academy’s Directors Branch.
The Directors Guild Award for theatrical feature film is one of the most reliable Oscar indicators. In the first 76 years of the Directors Guild Awards, which were first given out in 1948, the DGA winner has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Picture 68 times, and his or her film has won the Best Picture Oscar 57 times.
In the last 10 years, though, the picture/director split has happened more often. In that time, the DGA and the Academy have agreed on the directing winner nine times, but the film that won with the guild has only won the Best Picture Oscar five times.
Voting for theatrical feature films closed Friday, Feb. 7, meaning the debacle surrounding maligned “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón may have a hand in determining the outcome of the race.
Nominees for first-time theatrical feature included RaMell Ross for “Nickel Boys,” which is an Oscar Best Picture nominee; Payal Kapadia for “All We Imagine as Light”; Megan Park for “My Old Ass”; Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel for “Armand”; and Sean Wang for “Dìdi.”
In the television categories, “Shōgun,” “The Bear” and “The Penguin” were the leaders with three nominations apiece.
Ang Lee received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Mary Rae Thewlis was honored with the Robert B. Aldrich Service Award and Thomas J. Whelan took home the Frank Capra Achievement Award.
Here is the full list of winners.
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
Sean Baker, “Anora”
Edward Berger, “Conclave”
Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
FIRST-TIME THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine as Light”
Megan Park, “My Old Ass”
RaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys”
Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, “Armand”
Sean Wang, “Dìdi”
DOCUMENTARY
Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, “Porcelain War”
Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie, “Sugarcane”
Johan Grimonprez, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
Ibrahim Nash’at, “Hollywoodgate”
Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, “Daughters”
DRAMATIC SERIES
Alex Graves, “The Diplomat” (“Dreadnought”)
Hiromi Kamata, “Shōgun” (“Ladies of the Willow World”)
Issa López, “True Detective: Night Country” (“Part 6”)
Frederick E.O. Toye, “Shōgun” (“Crimson Sky”) **WINNER**
Jonathan Van Tulleken, “Shōgun” (“Anjin”)
COMEDIC SERIES
Lucia Aniello, “Hacks” (“Bulletproof”)
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear” (“Napkins”)
Duccio Fabbri, “The Bear” (“Doors”)
Jeff Schaffer, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (“No Lessons Learned”)
Christopher Storer, “The Bear” (“Tomorrow”)
MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES
Kevin Bray, “The Penguin” (“Tophat”)
Alfonso Cuarón, “Disclaimer”
Jennifer Getzinger, “The Penguin” (“A Great or Little Thing”)
Helen Shaver, “The Penguin” (“Cent’anni”)
Steven Zaillian, “Ripley”
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
Paul G. Casey, “Real Time With Bill Maher” (“Jiminy Glick, Andrew Cuomo, Adam Kinzinger”)
Jim Hoskinson, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Mavis Staples w/ Jeff Tweedy”)
David Paul Meyer, “The Daily Show” (“Indecision 2024: The Democratic National Convention – Plot Twist!”)
Liz Patrick, “Saturday Night Live” (“John Mulaney/Chappell Roan”)
Paul Pennolino, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (“India Elections”)
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS
Hamish Hamilton, “The 96th Annual Academy Awards”
Beth McCarthy-Miller, “The Roast of Tom Brady”
David Paul Meyer, “The Daily Show Presents a Live Election Night Special With Jon Stewart: Indecision 2024: Nothing We Can Do About It Now”
Glenn Weiss, “The 77th Annual Tony Awards”
Ali Wong, “Ali Wong: Single Lady”
REALITY PROGRAMS
Neil DeGroot, “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted” (“The Cliffs of Ireland”)
Joseph Guidry, “Deal or No Deal Island” (“Are You Decisive?”)
Ari Katcher, “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show” (“Road Trip”)
Patrick McManus, “American Ninja Warrior” (“Las Vegas Finals 4”)
Mike Sweeney, “Conan O’Brien Must Go” (“Ireland”)
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
Kat Coiro, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” (“Welcome to Spiderwick”)
Michael Goi, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (“Aang”)
Jim Mickle, “Sweet Tooth” (“This Is a Story”)
Jennifer Phang, “Descendants: The Rise of Red”
Amber Sealey, “Out of My Mind” **WINNER**
COMMERCIALS
Lance Accord, “An American Love Story,” Volkswagen (Johannes Leonardo)
Kim Gehrig, “A Life in Sound,” SiriusXM (Uncommon); “Am I A Bad Person?,” Nike (Wieden+Kennedy); “Find Your Friends,” Apple (Client Direct)
Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, “Michael CeraVe, CeraVe,” WPP Onefluence (Ogilvy)
Andreas Nilsson, “Board Game,” Hennessy (Wieden+Kennedy); “First Office Poo,” Andrex (FCB); “One More,” Apple (Client Direct); “Whizzer,” Virgin Media (VCCP)
Ivan Zachariáš, “Flock,” Apple (Media Arts Lab)
