Argo wins at Directors' Guild Awards

by Katiedot Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:11

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The 65th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards dinner is being held tonight at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.

The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award. Only six times* since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award. But this year may be the seventh time since Ben Affleck (Argo), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), and Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) were not nominated by the Directors Branch Of the Academy Awards.

Affleck’s four fellow DGA nominees tonight all have won here before. Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and Ang Lee (Life Of Pi) have won twice – Spielberg for Schindler’s List in 1993 and Saving Private Ryan in 1998, Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000 and Brokeback Mountain in 2005. Bigelow won her DGA in 2009 for The Hurt Locker, and Hooper in 2010 for The King’s Speech. Martin Short introduced Spielberg’s nomination and killed with the audience.

“I guess Bill Clinton was booked. Tonight, we honor Steven for his magnificent film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer.” Spielberg loved it and gave Short a big hug.

He received the only standing ovation so far – and quipped back at Short: ”When you tell your assistant to contact Marty about presenting you with your DGA medallion, you’ve got to assume she’s understanding that you’re talking about Scorsese. But we can’t get Clinton, and Marty’s busy, so this is a great third choice. Thank you Marty for presenting me with this.”

Noting the intense competition this year, Spielberg said, “This has been an incredible year for movies. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there have been moments when I wished it was a somewhat less incredible year for movies. But those moments pass.”

Affleck thanks Grant Heslov and George Clooney, "who aren't here because this isn't televised."
— Steve Pond (@stevepond) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Katiedot Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:14

A few more tweets of the event:

Affleck: "This will not be a long speech. It will also not be a good speech."
— Steve Pond (@stevepond) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Bryan Cranston on Ben Affleck: "Ben, you are a storyteller. Nothing more, but nothing less."
— Steve Pond (@stevepond) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Having twice now (here and in Toronto) heard Ben Affleck say he is not going to give a long speech ... I wonder what his idea of one is
— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

'I have to thank my wife for being the person in the world ... But I don't want our daughters to get tattoos' - Affleck to Jennifer Garner
— Dave McNary (@Variety_DMcNary) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

'I'm in awe of directors who seem to have it under control...one of our industry's best' - Bryan Cranston on Ben Affleck's directing
— Dave McNary (@Variety_DMcNary) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by silly girl Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:17

I don't think he won yet. I think each director got a plaque for their nomination and they give a speech.

by melbert Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:22

Yes, you are right SillyGirl. It's not announced yet. They are still introing the directors.

by melbert Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:35

NOW he's won!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay Ben!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by silly girl Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:36

I was just going to say the same thing! It's official. Now it's on to the Oscars!

by melbert Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:38

Gregg Kilday @gkilday

DGA Award for best feature film director goes to Affleck

ReplyRetweetFavorite

by melbert Sun 03 Feb 2013, 06:40

I think that Ben will be absolutely thrilled when Argo wins at the Oscars and he'll know it's because of his directing and the directing Oscar snub won't sting.

by amaretti Sun 03 Feb 2013, 07:13

Bravo Argo !! Congrats to Ben ! cheers

by it's me Sun 03 Feb 2013, 09:51

mel
is it so sure?

by Joanna Sun 03 Feb 2013, 11:42

Great news. Go Argo bounce

Tweets

Steve Pond @stevepond
Affleck says "the four other nominated directors are my betters,
there's no other way of saying it."

about 5 hours ago

by Joanna Sun 03 Feb 2013, 11:51

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By Mary Milliken
LOS ANGELES | Sun Feb 3, 2013 9:54am GMT

(Reuters) - Actor-turned-filmmaker Ben Affleck won the top honor from his peers at the Directors Guild of America on Saturday for the movie "Argo", cementing the Iran hostage drama's frontrunner status for the Oscars.

The Hollywood directors' recognition for Affleck, however, is an awkward result for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which failed to nominate him for Best Director in what is considered one of the biggest snubs of this year's Oscars.

Since 1948, there have been only six occasions when the Directors Guild of America (DGA) winner has not gone on to win the Oscar for Best Director.

"I have nothing but respect for the Academy," Affleck said after collecting his first DGA award. The Hollywood star, a producer of "Argo", said he was thrilled the film was nominated for the Oscars' Best Picture award.

"You are not entitled to win anything," he said.

"Argo" has picked up the three top awards from the industry's guilds, whose members are also often members of the Academy.

Last weekend, the film was the victor at both the Producers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild awards, leaving Steven Spielberg's Civil War-era epic "Lincoln" in its wake.

Affleck also won Best Director at the Golden Globes while "Argo" won Best Drama. The Oscars will be held on February 24.

On Saturday, Affleck bested four directors who had all previously won the top DGA honor and gone on to win the Best Director Oscar.

It has been a particularly tough awards season for Spielberg, nominated by the DGA for the 11th time with "Lincoln" and a two-time winner for "Schindler's List" in 1994 and "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999.

"What an incredible year for movies," said Spielberg. "Maybe I've had moments when I wished it wasn't such an incredible year."

Affleck also beat out Kathryn Bigelow, nominated for Osama bin Laden-manhunt thriller "Zero Dark Thirty," Ang Lee for his 3D adaptation of the bestselling novel "Life of Pi", and Tom Hooper, for his screen adaptation of the hit musical "Les Miserables".

In "Argo", which is based on a real account, Affleck also plays the lead role of a CIA agent entrusted with extracting six Americans from revolutionary Iran after the U.S. embassy is stormed. The agent, with help from Hollywood, creates a fake film and makes the Americans part of the crew.

"There was a point in my life where I was really down and really confused ... didn't know what was going to happen and I thought 'I could be a director'," Affleck told the high-powered Hollywood crowd on Saturday.

"I don't believe this makes me a real director, but I think I am on my way," he said.

(Editing by Pravin Char)

by Joanna Sun 03 Feb 2013, 11:54

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by Joanna Sun 03 Feb 2013, 12:02

An excerpt from the full article found here...

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Affleck's win Saturday nicks the Directors Guild record as a strong forecast for the eventual directing recipient at the Oscars.
Only six times in the 64-year history of the guild awards has the winner there failed to follow up with an Oscar.
This will be the seventh, since Affleck is not up for the
best-director Oscar.

Peer loyalty might play in Affleck's favor at the Oscars.
The acting branch in particular, the largest block of the academy's 5,900 members, might really throw its weight behind 'Argo' because of Affleck's directing snub.
Actors love it when one of their own moves into a successful directing career, and Affleck - who's rarely earned raves for his dramatic chops - also delivers one of his best performances in 'Argo.'

Affleck has had no traction in acting honors this season, and he's joked that no one considered it a snub when he wasn't nominated for best actor. So a best-picture vote for "Argo" might be viewed as making right his omission from the directing lineup and acknowledging what a double-threat talent he's become in front of and behind the camera.

A best-picture prize also would send Affleck home with an Oscar. The award would go to the producers of 'Argo': George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Affleck.

But it's not as though Affleck has never gotten his due at Hollywood awards before. He and Matt Damon jump-started their careers with 1997's "Good Will Hunting," for which they
shared a screenplay Oscar.

by LornaDoone Sun 03 Feb 2013, 15:13

Congrats Ben! Nice to hear.

I enjoyed The Town - which he also directed. Have never seen Gone Baby Gone but he got good reviews for that effort too so it's nice to see he's gotten this award since he's not going to get an Oscar for directing --- which is unfortunate!

by silly girl Sun 03 Feb 2013, 15:34

I hope he isn't taking it for granted that he will win the Oscar for Best Picture. Also do you think that he would be winning all these awards if he hadn't been snubbed? I know the Critics Choice was not influenced by the snub but these others might have been.

by cupcake Sun 03 Feb 2013, 15:36

Congratulations Ben and George you deserve these an much more . l can't wait for the oscars yeah Cheerleader

by Katiedot Sun 03 Feb 2013, 15:38

It's weird that the same people who vote for the Oscars and excluded him are now voting for him in all the other awards. Can't get my heard round that kind of thinking.

Oh well, I'm just happy to see anything associated with George succeed..

by LornaDoone Sun 03 Feb 2013, 15:53

Katiedot wrote:It's weird that the same people who vote for the Oscars and excluded him are now voting for him in all the other awards. Can't get my heard round that kind of thinking.

Oh well, I'm just happy to see anything associated with George succeed..

It is strange. I think what may have happened is that the directors who vote for director nominations, may have all assumed he would be a top pick from the majority and then decided to vote for their second or third selections to give them a chance at a nomination.

I do think he's got a good shot at Best Picture because the Producers thought it was Best Picture and the Director's Guild found him to be Best Director and the film has won just about every Best Picture award to be given out seems to me it would give them a really good shot at Best Picture from the Academy.

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And I do think (given it has won all these awards) that it means that George will definitely be at the Oscars this year!

by melbert Sun 03 Feb 2013, 16:47

it's me wrote:mel
is it so sure?

Oh It's Me, of course I have no way of knowing. It's mainly wishful thinking on my part. However, it appears Argo has a better shot that the rest of them.

by it's me Sun 03 Feb 2013, 19:05

right
that I see me too Very Happy

by Joanna Mon 04 Feb 2013, 14:34

From MSN Movies today.....

As well as proudly showing off his important prize, Ben showed off something else on the red carpet: a rather cute message from his daughters written on his hand!

Scrawled on his left hand, one of his daughter’s had inked “I <3 Papa, Good Luck” while a message on the other hand was illegible. Whether or not the adorable note helped him continue his impressive awards season haul is unknown, but it no doubt cheered him up on the night.

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by Dior Mon 04 Feb 2013, 14:46

So sweet!!

by it's me Mon 04 Feb 2013, 18:31

sure

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