Chloe Zhao, Emerald Fennell, Lee Isaac Chung earn Directors Guild nominations
Oscars in its sights.
On Tuesday, the Directors Guild of America unveiled its nominees for best director, revealing a noticeably more diverse slate than years past.
Two women were nominated for best feature film: Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” and Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland.” “Minari'” director Lee Isaac Chung also received DGA love in the category, joined by nominees David Fincher (“Mank) and Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”).
Zhao and Fennell’s nominations mark the first time two women have ever competed for the guild’s top honor.
In more than seven decades of the awards, only nine times before had a female filmmaker been nominated for best director. Most recent was Greta Gerwig in 2018 for “Lady Bird.”
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The DGA Awards are often a strong bellwether for the Academy Awards. Excepting last year, every DGA winner since 2014 also won the Academy Award: Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity” (2014), Alejandro G. Iñárritu for “Birdman” (2015) and “The Revenant” (2016), Damien Chazelle for “La La Land” (2017), Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water” (2018) and Cuaron for “Roma” (2019).
But in 2020, Sam Mendes won the top DGA prize for “1917,” while Bong Joon-ho ultimately took home the best director Oscar for “Parasite.”
Oscar nominations will be unveiled Monday morning. DGA winners will be announced April 10.
Contributing: Brian Truitt
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