Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
#0Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 2:17pm
Taylor Hackford - Ray
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
Marc Forster - Finding Neverland
Martin Scorsese - The Aviator
Alexander Payne - Sideways
Ugh I am so sick of Bill Condon not getting proper recognition for KINSEY (and his other work) that I don't know what to do with myself. Hackford and Forster should be out in favor of Bill Condon and Michel Gondry, who directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and apparently created a stronger sense of camraderie on the set than most directors do.
WOSQ
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/03
#1re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 2:38pm
I am not surprised by Hackford's nomination. I expect him to be Oscar nominated as well.
I do have a problem with Finding Neverland on a Best Picture, Director and Screenplay shortlist. To paraphrase what someone said about Cold Mountain last year, "Its a three star movie on a four star list."
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
#2re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 5:11pm
Right. If anything, Forster should've been nominated for Monster's Ball - the more compelling and honest of the two films. But I guess that in an age where people are just as excited by footage of a tsunami and a skyscraper imploding as they are devastated by it, spectacle is what it takes to get serious awards consideration for relatively unfamiliar directors. Even Alexander Payne is just now making it after two films that were critically acclaimed for everything but his direction.
I think Hackford's direction may have enhanced what might have otherwise been a very mediocre film. And that's not quite a compliment. It's still unnecessarily long despite its rushed ending, and he's certainly to blame for that.
#3re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 5:29pmDirection and Writing, I agree, 3-star, but the film overall I would say 4-star. Its worthy of a Best Picture nomination - but I wouldn't say it was the best film of the year.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#4re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 8:22pm
If I had it my way, the DGA nominees would be:
Michael Mann, Collateral - The premise is somewhat tired, but he infused it with impeccable energy and style
Kenny Conran, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - In the wrong hands, this film would have been a disaster (though some people believe that it is). It's to his credit that this concept worked.
Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - An abundance of visual imagination and emotion.
Martin Scorsese - For giving a period piece personality, as well as an emotional core. One of his most sensitive films ever.
Lars Von Trier, Dogville - Those who have seen the film know what I'm talking about. 
And the winner is... Scorsese.
#5re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 8:24pmNichols should be in there. No question.
"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#6re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 8:26pm"Closer" had a great visual style, but I was not a fan of the movie. Clive Owen was great, though.
#7re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 8:35pmI admired Lars von Trier after learning that he has a transportation phobia and never drives anywhere. It made sense to me. But I still haven't seen Dogville.
#8re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/6/05 at 9:19pm
"But I still haven't seen Dogville."
(gasp) Really? So... what movies are you renting this weekend? (hint hint)
#9re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 12:17amHaha. I'm going to order Dogville, Mystic River and Maria Full of Grace. Perhaps I should get the second and third Lord of the Rings films too since I never saw either?
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#10re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 12:28amHaving just finished watching Ray, I don't understand Mr. Hackford's inclusion on this list at all.
#11re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 12:39amLOL DGrant. So, why didn't you like Ray?
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#12re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 12:45amHmmm - the things that pop into my mind immediately are: no arc, no narrative tone and sensationalistic melodrama lingering on things we've seen before - usually in a TV movie (heroin rehab? for 5 minutes?)
#13re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 12:50am
Yep, those are exactly the reasons why I didn't like it.
Add to that the presence of a female character who was irrelevant to the narrative except to (very briefly) be Ray's whore and throw something through his car window. It's a bad film.
#14re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 11:05amI agree. The only thing worthwhile about "Ray" is the acting. Mr. Hackford must know someone who knows someone.
#15re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 11:15am
Well, he IS married to Helen Mirren, the goddess herself.
"Years from now, when you talk about this - And you will - Be kind. "
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#16re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 11:17am
Hi bwaylover 
I had no idea he was married to her - and I agree, she is about as good as it gets!
#17re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/7/05 at 11:25am
:)
"Years from now, when you talk about this - And you will - Be kind. "
#18re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/8/05 at 1:53pmI met Helen Mirren a couple of years ago. She was very nice, and very funny.
MatureDignity
Broadway Star Joined: 10/31/04
#19re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/8/05 at 2:11pm
Michel Gondry should be there! I enjoyed Finding Neverland but thought some of the directing choices were gimmicky...
I'm finally seeing Ray this weekend.
#20re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/8/05 at 2:29pm
I have to (o.k., "want to") speak up with a dissenting opinion. I thought Dogville was pretentious, cynical, empty and pointless.
"Dog" is "God" spelled backwards--I get it, I get it.
Beautiful, sure, but unsuccessful.
"They have never understood, and no reason that they should.
But if anybody could . . . " --SS
Updated On: 1/8/05 at 02:29 PM
#21re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/8/05 at 3:24pm
bta-
I agree with you about it's cynicism. But, I thought it was a powerful and disturbing morality tale. You know, "Get what you give", and all that jazz.
#22re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/8/05 at 8:11pmGo Peter Jackson! Wait wrong year. Give it to him anyway!
#23re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/9/05 at 1:52am
It took me a long time to get into DOGVILLE, but once I did - I was very intrigued. I loved the ending - it was so disturbing.
Anyway, I didn't enjoy RAY either - at all, and he certainly shouldn't be nominated for best director. In a perfect world, NEVERLAND and RAY would be removed and ETERNAL SUNSHINE and KINSEY's directors would be added. It seems like such an obvious choice.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#24re: Directors Guild Award nominations... ugh.
Posted: 1/9/05 at 3:41amI know. What the hell are these people thinking? These are established directors choosing those nominees. They should be at the top of their game, voting for the most distinct and effective direction rather than the director of the "sweetest" film or the one with the "critically-acclaimed performance" (and nothing else). You would think they'd want to promote direction as an art by choosing the real innovators - Bill Condon and Michael Gondry.
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