Michel Hazanavicius Wins DGA’s Feature Film Award For THE ARTIST

The winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards for 2011, and the recipients of the Guild’s 2012 Career Achievement Awards were announced tonight during the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. Michel Hazanavicius won the DGA’s Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for THE ARTIST. Being his first DGA Feature Film Award nomination, Hazanavicius bested veteran directors Martin Scorsese – HUGO, David Fincher – THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Alexander Payne – THE DESCENDANTS, and Woody Allen – MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.

James Marsh won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Documentary for PROJECT NIM. This was Mr. Marsh’s second DGA Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category for MAN ON WIRE in 2008.

Following the welcome by DGA President Taylor Hackford to an audience of more than 1,600 guests, director/producer/actor Kelsey Grammer hosted the ceremony.

Presenters included (in alphabetical order): DGA Secretary-Treasurer Michael Apted; Berenice Bejo (The Artist); George Clooney (The Descendants); Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad); Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men); Laura Dern (Enlightened); Jean Dujardin (The Artist); DGA President Taylor Hackford; 2010 DGA Feature Film Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech); Stana Katic (Castle); Ben Kingsley (Hugo); Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); Kathleen Robertson (Boss); Octavia Spencer (The Help); DGA Third Vice President Betty Thomas; Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn); and Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood).

The DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only six times since the DGA Award’s inception in 1948 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director.

The six exceptions are as follows:

• 1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while Carol Reed took home the Oscar® for Oliver!
• 1972: Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA’s nod for The Godfather while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret.
• 1985: Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple while the Oscar® went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa.
• 1995: Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart.
• 2000: Ang Lee won the DGA Award for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Traffic.2002: Rob Marshall won the DGA Award for Chicago while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.