The Directors Guild of America has announced their nominees:
Danny Boyle – “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Fincher – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard – “Frost/Nixon”
Christopher Nolan – “The Dark Knight”
Gus Van Sant – “Milk”
If you are looking for snubs, you could count John Patrick Shanley’s work on “Doubt,” Sam Mendes for “Revolutionary Road,” or Woody Allen for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Other possible contenders were Darren Aronofsky for “The Wrestler” and Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader.”
Really, though, the expected five were nominated, and since the DGA’s are such a strong predictor of the Academy, it sure seems a safe bet that this will be the same group receiving Oscar nominations in a few weeks. A little boring and predictable maybe, but they’re not here to rock the boat or make people tired of seeing the same picks happy. All are very deserving frankly.