Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Directors Guild Nominations Shake Up Oscar Race: Ang Lee In, Russell Out

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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.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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