Kathryn Bigelow

Cameron, Daniels, Tarantino, Reitman Go Empty-Handed

By Jordan R. Young

HOLLYWOOD,CA(Hollywood Today)1/31/2010–Kathryn Bigelow bagged the coveted Directors Guild of America award for “The Hurt Locker”—becoming the first woman ever to accomplish the feat—at tonight’s 62^nd Annual DGA Awards. Her competitors included ex-husband James Cameron  (aka director of “Avatar”), Lee Daniels “Precious), Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”) and Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air).

The event itself, event, at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, was longer than “Avatar” and “Titanic” combined, or so one movie enthusiast complained on Twitter. “I wonder how much ‘Avatar’ has made while we’re waiting for the DGA to be announced,” another tweeted in frustration.

“The DGA Award is especially meaningful to directors because it is decided solely by their peers—the men and women who have been in the same trenches and know exactly what goes into the crafting of a unique motion picture,” noted Guild president Taylor Hackford before the event. True enough, but the only thing most people care about is whoever walks off with the DGA trophy almost always wins the Oscar for Best Director—this barometer has only proved false six times in the past six decades. Bigelow is now the odds-on fave.

Ignored in all the hubbub over the feature film category, female television directors picked off eight of the 41 nominees in eight TV categories, including musical variety, reality programs, daytime serials, commercials, and children’s programs. Three noms went to African American directors—with Paris Barclay (In Treatment, Glee) claiming two of the three.

Cher presented Norman Jewison—perhaps best known for helming “In the Heat of the Night,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Moonstruck”—with the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Guild’s top honor. In a career lasting nearly six decades (beginning as an actor in Canadian radio and theatre), Jewison has been nommed for three DGA Awards and three Oscars for Best Director; the Academy presented him with the Irving Thalberg Award in 1999.

“He is an incredible filmmaker whose calm, affable manner belies a ferocious creative fire within,” said DGA prez Hackford. “There are very few filmmakers whose body of work moves so fluidly between romantic comedy and political thriller, musical and satire, with an ease and an eloquence that few could hope to match. Norman well deserves to stand among the giants of cinema whom we have honored in the past.”

Actor-writer-director Carl Reiner (directed by Jewison in “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming”) hosted the awards for the 22^nd time. Presenters included directors Danny Boyle and Robert Zemeckis, actress-director Jodie Foster, actors Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz, actresses Zoe Saldana, Gabourey Sidibe and Christina Hendricks.

More by Jordan R. Young:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4129-LAOC-Arts-Examiner

http://www.arkandtent.com/animal_artwork_24.html