Showbiz411

Directors Guild of America nominations: Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Tom Hooper for Les Miserables, Ang Lee for Life of Pi. No David O. Russell or Quentin Tarantino in a tight race. But the DGA, matter as it does, doesn’t preclude changes when Oscar noms are announced tomorrow. But it does clarify the situation a bit. “Life of Pi” definitely looks stronger now, but you never know. This year, the DGA nominees can’t be used as a crib sheet for Oscar voters. The Academy votes were in last week, and the winners will be announced on Thursday. So it will be fascinating to see if the Academy on its own will follow this list or go another way. I do think either Russell or Tarantino could find their way into the Oscar top 5. Who would be dislodged is a mystery.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.