In one of the most reliable predictors of Oscar night glory, the Directors Guild of America will bestow its coveted award for feature film directing tonight, with Alejandro Inarritu hoping for a second straight win, this year for “The Revenant.”
Inarritu took home the DGA Award for feature films last year for “Birdman,” and he went on to win the Academy Award for best director.
Also nominated for the DGA honor this year are Tom McCarthy for “Spotlight,” Adam McKay for “The Big Short,” George Miller for “Mad Max: Fury Road” and Ridley Scott for “The Martian.”
Inarritu has already won a Golden Globe this year for “The Revenant,” while George Miller took home the Critics’ Choice Award for best director.
For Inarritu, the DGA nomination is his fourth. In addition to his win last year for “Birdman,” he was nominated for “Babel” in 2006 and won the prize for commercial directing in 2012 for a Procter & Gamble ad.
The nominations are the first for McCarthy, McKay and Miller.
Scott’s nomination is his fourth, although he has never won. He was also nominated in 1991 for “Thelma and Louise,” in 2000 for “Gladiator” and in 2001 for “Black Hawk Down.”
Since 1948, there have only been seven times that the winner of the DGA Award for feature film directing has not gone on to win the Oscar for best director.
The most recent time was 2013 when Ben Affleck won the DGA Award for “Argo,” but wasn’t even nominated for a directing Academy Award, even though the film won the Oscar for best picture.
This year’s DGA nominations mirror the Oscar nominations list with one exception — Scott was left off the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s list in favor of Lenny Abrahamson for “Room.”
On the television side of the DGA Awards, directors of shows including “Game of Thrones,” “Mad Men,” “Downton Abbey” and “Veep” are among the nominees.
Noted film director Steven Soderbergh is among those nominated for his work directing a dramatic television series episode for “The Knick.” “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner also has a nomination for drama directing for an episode of the now-concluded AMC series.
Also nominated for drama directing are Michael Engler for “Downton Abbey,” Lesli Linka Glatter for “Homeland” and David Nutter for “Game of Thrones.”
For comedy series, nominees are Chris Addison for “Veep,” Louis C.K. for “Louie,” Mike Judge for “Silicon Valley,” Gail Mancuso for “Modern Family” and Jill Soloway for “Transparent.”
Angela Bassett, best known for her work in front of the camera, is nominated for working behind the camera in the TV movie/miniseries category for Lifetime’s “Whitney.” She will compete with Laurie Collyer for “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe,” Paul Haggis for “Show Me a Hero,” Kenny Leon and Matthew Diamon for “The Wiz Live” and Dee Rees for “Bessie.”
The DGA Awards will be presented at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel, in a ceremony hosted by Jane Lynch.
Here is a complete list of nominations: FEATURE FILM
— Alejandro Inarritu, “The Revenant”
— Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
— Adam McKay, “The Big Short”
— George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
— Ridley Scott, “The Martian” FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM
— Fernando Coimbra, “A Wolf at the Door”;
— Joel Edgerton, “The Gift”;
— Alex Garland, “Ex Machina”;
— Marielle Heller, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”; and
— Laszlo Nemes, “Son of Saul.” DRAMATIC SERIES
— Michael Engler, “Downton Abbey,” Episode 8
— Lesli Linka Glatter, “Homeland,” The Tradition of Hospitality
— David Nutter, “Game of Thrones,” Mother’s Mercy
— Steven Soderbergh, “The Knick,” Williams and Walker
— Matthew Weinger, “Mad Men,” Person to Person COMEDY SERIES
— Chris Addison, “Veep,” Election Night
— Louis C.K., “Louie,” Sleepover
— Mike Judge, “Silicon Valley,” Binding Arbitration
— Gail Mancuso, “Modern Family,” White Christmas
— Jill Soloway, “Transparent,” Kina Hora MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI SERIES
— Angela Bassett, “Whitney”
— Laurie Collyer, “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe”
— Paul Haggis, “Show Me a Hero”
— Kenny Leon and Matthew Diamond, “The Wiz Live”
— Dee Rees, “Bessie” VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
— Paul G. Casey, “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Show #1334
— David Diomedi, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Episode #325
— Don Roy King, “Saturday Night Live,” Host: Tracy Morgan/Musical Guest: Demi Lovato
— Ryan McFaul and Amy Schumer, “Inside Amy Schumer,” 12 Angry Men
— Chuck O’Neil, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Episode #20142 VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS
— Sofia Coppola, “A Very Murray Christmas”
— Hamish Hamilton, “The 87th Annual Academy Awards”
— Don Roy King, “Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special”
— Beth McCarthy Miller, “Adele Live in New York City”
— Chris Rock, “Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo” REALITY PROGRAMS
— Brady Connell, “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” Episode 304
— Ken Fuchs, “Shark Tank,” 702
— Steve Hryniewica, “Cutthroat Kitchen,” Superstar Sabotage Finale: It’s Raining Ramen
— Bertram Van Munster, “The Amazing Race,” Bring the Fun, Baby!
— Adam Vetri, “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge,” Gods of War CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
— Paul Hoen, “Invisible Sister”
— Joseph Mazzarino, “Sesame Street,” The Cookie Thief
— Kenny Ortega, “Descendants”
— Amy Schatz, “Saving My Tomorrow,” Part 3
— Sasie Sealy, “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street,” Gortimer and the Vengeful Violinist COMMERCIALS
— Juan Cabral, Ikea
— Miles Jay, ESPN
— Tom Kuntz, Old Spice, Heineken, Clash of Clans
— Andreas Nilsson, Comcast, General Electric, Old Spice
— Steve Rogers, Nike DOCUMENTARY
— Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Meru”
— Liz Garbus, “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
— Alex Gibney, “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
— Matthew Heineman, “Cartel Land”
— Asif Kapadia, “Amy”
