DGA Awards Could Direct Oscar Attention to New Helmers

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor After a tumultuous year marked by Hollywood labor strife and cutbacks at major studios, the Directors Guild of America will celebrate helmers, including Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan, at its 76th annual DGA Awards on Feb.10.

Gerwig and Nolan, the filmmakers behind last summer’s blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” are nominated for the top trophy alongside Martin Scorsese for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Yorgos Lanthimos for “Poor Things” and Alexander Payne for “The Holdovers.” Directors for popular shows such as “Succession” and “The Bear” were among those nominated for DGA trophies this year.

Awards will also be given to documentary film, variety show and commercial directors at the ceremony, which will again be hosted by Judd Apatow this year.

Unlike sister guilds the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the DGA renewed its contract with the AMPTP last year without going on strike. But its members were undeniably affected by the labor stoppage that upended Hollywood for much of 2023. “It has been a tough year, and people have come to the other side of it,” says Beth McCarthy Miller, DGA Awards Chair. “I think everybody is really looking forward to being in a room together and celebrating each other’s good work and looking forward to the future.” Considered an important precursor to the Oscars, the DGA Awards has historically been a reliable barometer for the Academy Awards’ best directing prize.