Danny Boyle Wins DGA Feature Film Award for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Danny Boyle Wins DGA Feature Film Award for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

OTHER WINNERS OF 2008 DGA AWARDS ANNOUNCED

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The winners of the 2008 Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards and the recipients of the Guild's 2009 Career Achievement Awards were announced tonight during the 61st Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Danny Boyle won the DGA's Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Slumdog Millionaire.

Following the welcome by DGA President Michael Apted to an audience of more than 1,500 guests, actor/comedian Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) hosted the ceremony.

Presenters included: Amy Adams* and Viola Davis* (Doubt), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Josh Brolin* and Sean Penn* (Milk), DGA Secretary/Treasurer Gil Cates, Claire Danes (Stardust), Lisa Edelstein (House), Jodie Foster (Panic Room), Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters), Richard Jenkins* (The Visitor), Taraji P. Henson* (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Frank Langella* and Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Melissa Leo* (Frozen River), Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye), Dev Patel and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), DGA National Vice President Steven Soderbergh, Marisa Tomei* (The Wrestler), Blair Underwood (In Treatment), and 2007 DGA Feature Film Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men).

* 2009 Academy Award Nominee

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. (see list at the end of this release)

The winners of the 2008 Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the recipients of the Guild's 2009 Career Achievement Awards, are:

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM

DANNY BOYLE
Slumdog Millionaire
(Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures)

Mr. Boyle's Directorial Team:
-- Unit Production Manager: Sanjay Kumar
-- First Assistant Director: Raj Acharya
-- Second Assistant Director: Avani Batra
-- Second Second Assistant Director: Sonia Nemawarkar

This is Mr. Boyle's first DGA Feature Film Award.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in MOVIES FOR TELEVISION/MINI-SERIES

JAY ROACH
Recount
(HBO)

Mr. Roach's Directorial Team:
-- Unit Production Manager: Scott Ferguson
-- First Assistant Director: Michael Hausman
-- First Assistant Director/Second Assistant Director: Peter Thorell
-- Second Assistant Director: Tudor Jones
-- Second Second Assistant Director: Rob Dickerson Jr.

This is Mr. Roach's first DGA Award.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMATIC SERIES NIGHT

DAN ATTIAS
The Wire - "Transitions"
(HBO)

Mr. Attias' Directorial Team:
-- Unit Production Manager: Nina Noble
-- First Assistant Director: Eric Henriquez
-- Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan
-- Second Second Assistant Director: Tim Blockburger

This is Mr. Attias' first DGA Award. He was previously nominated in this category for Six Feet Under - "Back to the Garden" in 2002, and for The Sopranos - "46 Long" in 1999.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIES

PAUL FEIG
The Office - "Dinner Party"
(NBC)

Mr. Feig's Directorial Team:
-- Unit Production Manager: Robert Rothbard
-- First Assistant Director: Kelly Cantley
-- Second Assistant Director: Jennie O'Keefe
-- Second Second Assistant Director: Jasmine Alhambra
-- DGA Trainee: Alicia Cho

This is Mr. Feig's first DGA Award.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSICAL VARIETY

BRENT (BUCKY) GUNTS
Opening Ceremony Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games
(NBC)

Mr. Gunts' Directorial Team:
-- Associate Directors: Carol Larson, Brian Orentreich
-- Stage Manager: Steve Hollander

This is Mr. Gunts' first DGA Award.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY PROGRAMS

TONY CROLL
America's Next Top Model - "1002"
(CW)

Mr. Croll's Directorial Team:
-- Associate Director: John Downer

This is Mr. Croll's second DGA Award. He was previously nominated in this category for Shooting Sizemore - "Episode 101" in 2007; and won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement Reality Programs Award for Three Wishes - "Episode #1, Pilot" in 2005. (The award was a tie with J. Rupert Thompson who won for Fear Factor - "Heist Fear Factor, Season 6 Premiere.")

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DAYTIME SERIALS

LARRY CARPENTER

One Life to Live - Episode #10,281, "So You Think You Can Be Shane Morasco's Father?"

(ABC)

Mr. Carpenter's Directorial Team:
-- Associate Directors: Teresa Anne Cicala, Paul Glass, Tracy Casper Lang
-- Stage Managers: Alan Needleman, Keith Greer, Brendan Higgins,
-- Production Associates: Kevin Brush, Beth Kravitz

This is Mr. Carpenter's third DGA Award and sixth nomination. He won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials Award for One Life to Live - "Episode #9947" in 2007 and for One Life to Live "Episode #8849" in 2003. He was previously nominated for that series' "Episode #9686" in 2006, "Episode #9385" in 2005 and "Episode #8655" in 2002.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

AMY SCHATZ
Classical Baby (I'm Grown Up Now) "The Poetry Show"
(HBO)

This is Ms. Schatz's third DGA Award. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs in 2001 for 'Twas The Night, and in 1999 for Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepy Time Tales. She was also nominated in this category for Through A Child's Eyes: September 11, 2001 in 2002.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials

PETER THWAITES
Production Company: Gorgeous Enterprises

Waterslide, Barclaycard -BBH

Light Show, Guinness - Irish International BBDO

This is Mr. Thwaites' first DGA Award.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

ARI FOLMAN
Waltz with Bashir
(Les Films D'ici, Razor Films, Sony Pictures Classics)

This is Mr. Folman's first DGA Award.

2009 DGA SERVICE AND CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Film Critic/Author ROGER EBERT - DGA HONORARY LIFE MEMBER AWARD for recognition of outstanding creative achievement, or contribution to the Guild, or the profession of Directing.

DGA Second Vice-President/Director WILLIAM M. BRADY - ROBERT B. ALDRICH AWARD for extraordinary service to the DGA and to its membership.

DGA Board Member/Unit Production Manager KIM KURUMADA - FRANK CAPRA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, given to an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.

DGA Assistant Secretary-Treasurer/Associate Director SCOTT BERGER - FRANKLIN J. SCHAFFNER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for an Associate Director or Stage Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America

Note: Only six times since the DGA Award's inception in 1948 has the DGA Award winner not won the Best Director Academy Award:

-- 1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while
Carol Reed took home the Oscar(R) 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(R) 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 was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Best Director
Academy Award for Traffic.

-- 2003: Rob Marshall was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Chicago
while Roman Polanski won the Best Director Academy Award for The
Pianist.

The 62nd Annual DGA Awards will be held on Saturday, January 30, 2010.

Source: Directors Guild of America

CONTACT: Sahar Moridani for Directors Guild of America, +1-310-289-5333

Web Site: http://www.dga.org/

-------
Profile: intent