The Directors Guild of America announced their 2020 nominees in the Feature Film and First-Time Feature Film categories and there were a number of unexpected selections. While Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), Sam Mendes (“1917”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”) were considered shoo-ins, Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”) was not. Waititi overcame competition from Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”) and BAFTA nominee Todd Phillips (“Joker”) to make the cut.
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While there is justifiable frustration at the lack of women in the main category, the First-Time Feature Film category includes Mati Diop (“Atlantics”), Alma Har’el (“Honey Boy”), Melina Matsoukas (“Queen & Slim”) as well as Joe Talbot (“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”) and the team of Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz (“The Peanut Butter Falcon”).
The full list of DGA television nominees will be announced on Friday. The 2020 DGA Award winners will be handed out on Jan 25.
The nominees and their directing teams are as follows:
FEATURE FILM
BONG JOON HO
Parasite
(Neon)
Mr. Bong’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Park Min Chul
First Assistant Director: Kim Seong Sik
SAM MENDES
1917
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Mendes’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Callum McDougall, Hannah Godwin
First Assistant Director: Michael Lerman
Second Assistant Director: Joey Coughlin
MARTIN SCORSESE
The Irishman
(Netflix)
Mr. Scorsese’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: John A. Machione, Carla Raij
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
Second Second Assistant Director: Trevor Tavares
Additional Second Assistant Director: Ryan Robert Howard
Location Manager: Kip Myers
QUENTIN TARANTINO
Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood
(Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Tarantino’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Georgia Kacandes, Nathan Kelly
First Assistant Director: William Paul Clark
Second Assistant Director: Christopher T. Sadler
Second Second Assistant Director: Brendan “Bear” Lee
Additional Second Assistant Directors: Debbie Chung, Katie Pruitt
TAIKA WAITITI
Jojo Rabbit
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. Waititi’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Václav Mottl, Pavel Voráček
First Assistant Director: Mark Taylor
Second Assistant Director: Martina Götthansová
Second Second Assistant Director: Martina Frimelová
FIRST TIME FEATURE FILM
MATI DIOP
Atlantics
(Netflix)
Ms. Diop’s Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Vincent Prades
ALMA HAR’EL
Honey Boy
(Amazon Studios)
Ms. Har’el’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: David Grace
First Assistant Director: Sean Vawter
Second Assistant Director: Colin Flaherty
Second Second Assistant Director: Sarah Balboa
MELINA MATSOUKAS
Queen & Slim
(Universal Pictures)
Ms. Matsoukas’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Pamela Hirsch, Max Berryhill (Los Angeles Unit)
First Assistant Directors: HH Cooper, Joe Suarez (Los Angeles Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: James Roque, Johnny Recher (Los Angeles Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Sumner Boissiere, Tami Kumin (Ohio Unit)
TYLER NILSON & MICHAEL SCHWARTZ
The Peanut Butter Falcon
(Roadside Attractions)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Manu Gargi
First Assistant Director: James Grayford
Second Assistant Director: Dee Jones
Second Second Assistant Director: Michael McKay
JOE TALBOT
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
(A24 Films)
Mr. Talbot’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Natalie Teter
First Assistant Director: Hilton J. Day
Second Assistant Director: Dominic Martin
Second Second Assistant Director: Jeremiah Kelleher
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Alex Gilbert