Posts Tagged ‘Producer’s Guild of America’

Kathryn Bigelow accepting the DGA's award for Best Director for "The Hurt Locker"

Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, won the Director’s Guild of America’s award for Best Director, beating out ex-husband James Cameron (Avatar), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), and Lee Daniels (Precious).

She is the first woman to ever receive the award.

The DGA’s decision is seldom challenged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as the winner of the first has won the second with only 6 exceptions since 1948 (the most recent being the DGA awarding Rob Marshall for Chicago and the Oscars awarding Roman Polanski for The Pianist).

Bigelow’s win continues The Hurt Locker‘s momentum, as it also won the Producer’s Guild of America award for Best Producing, and the National Society of Film Critic’s award for Best Picture. Mark Boal, the film’s screenwriter, is also nominated for the WGA’s Screenwriting Award (the winners will be announced Feb. 20th). The American Film Institute also listed the film among its Top 10 films of the year.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Quick Opinion: Kathryn Bigelow deserves a loud congratulations from the filming community indeed, as with any woman who breaks down a barrier in Hollywood. But even though the DGA’s pick is usually a reliable bet for the Academy Awards, I don’t think her winning the Best Director Oscar is a sure thing. James Cameron’s Avatar will surely be nominated for Best Picture, and his technical innovation for the film still makes him the front runner for the award in my opinion. Bigelow broke down social barriers, and Cameron broke down artistic and technological ones. It all depends on what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences believes is more impressive.

Sidibe as Precious

The Producer’s Guild of America announced that it is going to award this year’s Precious with the Stanley Kramer Award, which it gives out to films that illuminate “provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion.” Kramer, whose films include High Noon, The Defiant Ones, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, was known for the provocative subjects of his films.

Past recipients of the award include Milk, An Inconvenient Truth, The Great Debaters, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Hotel Rwanda.

Precious, starring Gabourey Sidibe, is about a 16-year old African American girl growing up in Harlem in 1987 with an abusing mother and molesting father.

“Precious is a remarkable film that sends a powerful message of hope – brilliantly reminding us that we have the power to persevere regardless of life’s difficulties. Stanley Kramer’s legacy is ideally celebrated with the selection of this very worthy film,” said PGA Awards Co-Chairs David Friendly and Laurence Mark. – Variety

The film is expected to be a Best Picture contender at this year’s 82nd Academy Awards.

Source: Variety