Critics and audiences loved “Lady Bird,” and it looks like directors did, too. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has announced films in the running for their annual awards, and Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age drama is among them. Gerwig is up for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film.
Gerwig is the lone woman up for the honor. According to Variety, she is “is the eighth woman to have received a DGA feature film nomination, joining Lina Wertmuller, Randa Haines, Barbra Streisand, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Valerie Faris, and Kathryn Bigelow, who’s been nominated twice. Bigelow won the award for 2009’s ‘The Hurt Locker.’”
“Lady Bird” chronicles the loving but complicated relationship between a teenager (Saoirse Ronan) and her mother (Laurie Metcalf). The film was named Best Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and Ronan took home the trophy for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, but Gerwig was snubbed in the directing category.
Back in November The National Board of Review (NBR) named Gerwig Best Director for “Lady Bird.”
The DGA nominations are seen as a strong predictor of which directors will be nominated at the Oscars. Just four women have ever been nominated for Best Director: Lina Wertmuller (“Seven Beauties”), Jane Campion (“The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”), and Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”). Bigelow is the only one to win.
All of the DGA nominees for First-Time Feature Film Director are men.
The DGA Awards will take place February 3. Check out Women and Hollywood’s post about the DGA’s TV nominees.
