Roll up, roll up, ladies and gents, for not one, not two, but three (yes, three) major bits of awards news as- over the past few days- three of the major guilds have announced their awards nominations for this year.
So, let's dispense with the faffing around, and let's dive straight in.
DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS (DGA)
Wednesday (10th January 2024) saw the announcement of the nominees for the 76th Directors' Guild Awards. The film nominees are as follows:
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
Greta Gerwig (Barbie)
Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)
Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)
Martin Scorsese (Killers Of The Flower Moon)
Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film
Cord Jefferson (American Fiction)
Manuela Martelli (Chile '76)
Noora Niasari (Shayda)
A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand And One)
Celine Song (Past Lives)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
(previously announced)
Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp (Bobi Wine: The People's President)
Mstyslav Chernov (20 Days In Mariupol)
Madeleine Gavin (Beyond Utopia)
Davis Guggenheim (Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie)
D. Smith (Kokomo City)
Greta Gerwig becomes the third woman director to receive two DGA nominations (after Kathryn Bigelow and Jane Campion). No real shocks or surprises in the "theatrical feature film" category; I fully expect to see this replicated in the Oscars Best Director category.
The "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film" has been named for former DGA president and director Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorillas In The Mist, The World Is Not Enough) who passed away in 2021.
The 76th Annual DGA Awards will take place on Saturday 10th February 2024
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SCREEN ACTORS' GUILD (SAG) AWARDS
This afternoon (Friday 12th January), the nominations for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were announced. Again, they were announced via Instagram Live, with Issa Rae (Insecure, Barbie, American Fiction) and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Eternals, Silicon Valley) hosting.
Below is the list of film nominations:
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
American Fiction
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Annette Bening (Nyad)
Lily Gladstone (Killers Of The Flower Moon)
Carey Mulligan (Maestro)
Margot Robbie (Barbie)
Emma Stone (Poor Things)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction)
Willem Dafoe (Poor Things)
Robert De Niro (Killers Of The Flower Moon)
Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)
Ryan Gosling (Barbie)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer)
Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple)
Penélope Cruz (Ferrari)
Jodie Foster (Nyad)
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Barbie
Guardians Of The Galaxy: Volume 3
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Barbie and Oppenheimer lead the field with four nods apiece, while Killers Of The Flower Moon and American Fiction have three.
A couple of interesting admissions and omissions: this is the first time Penélope Cruz has received any major awards love for Ferrari (and this is one of the first major awards to even recognise Michael Mann's biopic); Leonardo DiCaprio's omission in the Best Actor category has raised a few eyebrows, as has the complete shut-out of Todd Haynes' May December (three of its main cast- Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton- have appeared in many other awards shortlists). I was surprised not to see either Sandra Hüller (for Anatomy Of A Fall) or Greta Lee (for Past Lives) recognised for Best Actress.
The SAG Awards will be handed out on Saturday 24th February 2024, with the ceremony streaming on Netflix.
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PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS (PGA)
Today (Friday 12th January 2024) also saw the nominations for the 35th Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards. The nominated films are:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
American Fiction
Anatomy Of A Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone Of Interest
Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Boy And The Heron
Elemental
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
(previously announced)
20 Days In Mariupol
American Symphony
Beyond Utopia
The Disappearance Of Shere Hite
The Mother Of All Lies
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Squaring The Circle (The Story Of Hipgnosis)
There's been some comment made that the PGA has included two international features in the "Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures" categories, with French courtroom drama Anatomy Of A Fall and Holocaust drama The Zone Of Interest both included. I think it just goes to show the depth and breadth of international film, and it's always good to see when films break out of their own narrowly-defined categories to reach wider acclaim. I do feel that the Academy is going to follow suit, although I think it may be the former rather than the latter. But who knows?
The PGA Awards are due to be handed out on Sunday 25th February 2024.
Congratulations to all nominees!
Coming up next for awards season: the Critics' Choice Awards will be given out on Sunday (14th January)
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