Penn and Coens lead directors' guild nominations
Story by Jack Foley
SEAN Penn and the Coen brothers are among the filmmakers to be shortlisted for director of 2007 by the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Penn has been nominated for his labour of love wilderness adventure Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch, while Joel and Ethan Coen are in the running for No Country For Old Men, based on the best-seller by Cormac McCarthy.
Both face stiff competition in a very competitive field. Also shortlisted is Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood, the oil epic starring Daniel Day-Lewis that has already won several major awards this season.
While Tony Gilroy, screenwriter of all three Jason Bourne films, is nominated for his excellent corporate thriller Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney.
And painter turned director Julian Schnabel completes the line-up for his critically-acclaimed drama The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, starring new Bond villain Mathieu Amarilic.
The DGA, which represents TV and film directors, will name its winner on January 26. But the nominations shortlist is seen as a useful indicator of Oscar contenders.
Only six winners have failed to go on to claim the Oscar as best director since the organisation began giving awards for film directing in 1949
Commenting on the coveted nature of the distinction, Directors Guild president Michael Apted said: “What makes this award truly meaningful to directors is the knowledge that only this one is decided by their peers.”