DGA Unveils Feature Film Award Nominations

The Grand Budapest Hotel‘s Wes Anderson, Boyhood‘s Richard Linklater and The Imitation Game’s Morten Tyldum all received their first nominations from the Directors Guild of America as the guild announced its nominees for outstanding feature film directing on Tuesday. Also joining the select circle were Birdman‘s Alejandro G. Inarritu, a previous nominee, and American Sniper‘s Clint Eastwood, a previous winner.

Veterans of the indie film scene in America, Anderson and Linklater have not previously received DGA recognition. The Norwegian-born Tyldum made his English-language feature debut with Game.

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Inarritu was previously nominated in the feature category for Babel in 2006. He also won a DGA award for commercial directing for the Procter & Gamble ad “Best Job” in 2012.

This is Eastwood’s fourth nomination. He won the award for outstanding feature directing for Million Dollar Baby in 2004 and Unforgiven in 1992. He was also nominated for Mystic River in 2003.

Despite the presence of a couple of women directors in this year’s awards hunt — most prominently Ava DuVernay for Selma and Angelina Jolie for Unbroken — the DGA settled on an all-male lineup. Other directors who failed to make the cut included Gone Girl’s David Fincher, Foxcatcher‘s Bennett Miller, Interstellar‘s Christopher Nolan and Mr. Turner‘s Mike Leigh.

The DGA Award for directing is considered a harbinger of Oscar honors since only seven times since the award’s inception has the DGA winner not won the Academy Award.

The show, hosted by Jane Lynch for a second consecutive year, is set to take place Feb. 7 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The nominees for best directorial achievement in TV, commercials and documentary will be announced Wednesday.

As previously announced, James Burrows and Robert Butler will be the first recipients of a new DGA Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Television Direction, during the ceremony.

Read more WGA Includes ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Among Its Film Nominations

In addition, Phillip Goldfarb will receive the DGA’s 2015 Frank Capra Achievement Award, which is given to an assistant director or unit production manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the guild. Julie Gelfand will receive the 2015 Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award, given to an associate director or stage manager in recognition of service to the industry and to the DGA.

The feature film nominees — along with their teams — are listed below.

WES ANDERSON
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight)

Anderson’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Miki Emmrich
First Assistant Director: Josh Robertson
Second Assistant Director: Ben Howard

Read more See How an Old Department Store Became a ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’

CLINT EASTWOOD
American Sniper (Warner Bros.)

Eastwood’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Tim Moore
First Assistant Director: David M. Bernstein
Second Assistant Director: Paula Case
Second Second Assistant Director: Clark Credle
First Assistant Director (Morocco Unit): Ahmed Hatimi
Second Assistant Director (Morocco Unit): Yann Mari Faget
Second Second Assistant Directors (Morocco Unit): Andrew Madden, Khalil Zghayou

Read more The Making of ‘American Sniper’: How an Unlikely Friendship Kickstarted the Clint Eastwood Film

ALEJANDRO G. INARRITU
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Iñárritu’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: James W. Skotchdopole, Robert Graf
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
Second Second Assistant Director: Catherine Feeny
Location Manager: Joaquin Prange

Read more Making of ‘Birdman’: Alejandro G. Inarritu Recounts Harrowing Experience Behind His First Comedy

RICHARD LINKLATER
Boyhood (IFC Films)

Linklater’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Cathleen Sutherland
First Assistant Director: Vince Palmo Jr.
Second Assistant Directors: Susana Jasso, Kathleen Tull
Second Second Assistant Directors: Mary Beth Chambers, Brian Franklin

Read more Making of ‘Boyhood’: What You Don’t Know About Richard Linklater’s 12-Year Shoot

MORTEN TYLDUM
The Imitation Game (The Weinstein Company)

Tyldum’s Directorial Team:
Production Manager: Suzie Shearer
First Assistant Director: Phil Booth
Second Assistant Director: James Manning

Read more The Making of ‘The Imitation Game’