Are we looking at the Oscar five? The Director’s Guild of America has selected their five nominees and if history repeats itself from last year, these will be your five Oscar nominees (last year Kathryn Bigelow took home both awards).
The DGA have unveiled their five Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and it looks like it’s going to be a very tight race this year. David Fincher (“The Social Network“), Christopher Nolan (“Inception“), Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan“), Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech“) and David O. Russell (“The Fighter“) are up for the top prize and the choices reveal some intriguing insight into the how the Oscar race is shaping up.
It appears that despite the film being a box office smash and critical favorite, “True Grit” may still be seen as pure entertainment and not a prestige picture. With no nod for the Coen Brothers, we could see the film sneaking a Best Picture nom but it doesn’t seem like it will be a big player. On the other side of the equation, with Russell snagging a nomination here it appears that “The Fighter” has gotten in the Oscar ring in a big, big way. It will definitely be picking up a Best Picture nomination, and we won’t be surprised to see it land a number of acting nominations as well. Looks like it’s playing very, very well for Academy folk. Meanwhile, “127 Hours” is now dead in the water. Danny Boyle already has an Oscar in his pocket for “Slumdog Millionaire” and the film’s harsh subject matter looks like it got in the way of connecting with voters. James Franco for Best Actor perhaps, but we won’t be shocked if it gains little else. And finally, “The King’s Speech” continues to play well for the industry and Tom Hooper’s inclusion here — despite a pretty workmanlike job behind the camera — is evidence of that fact.
The winner will be announced on January 29th. [IndieWire]
