Directors Guild of America Film Nominees Revealed: Affleck, Bigelow, Hooper, Lee, and Spielberg

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The Directors Guild of America nominees are: Ben Affleck (“Argo”), Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Tom Hooper (“Les Miserables”), Ang Lee (“Life of Pi”) and Steven Spielberg (“Lincoln”) who extended his record to 11 bids.

Left out were Quentin Tarantino (“Django Unchained”), David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Paul Thomas Anderson (“The Master”), Michael Haneke (“Amour”), and Wes Anderson (“Moonrise Kingdom”).

Those snubs do not bode well for their films winning Best Picture at the Oscars. Only two films have taken the top prize without their helmers being nominated by DGA: “Hamlet” (1948) and “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989).

However, any of this quintet could still reap an Oscar bid as there are usually one or two differences between the DGA and Oscar lineups for Best Director. In the 64-year history of the DGA Awards, there have only been five instances where they matched (winners of both prizes in white):

1977: Woody Allen (“Annie Hall”), Steven Spielberg (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind”), Fred Zinnemann (“Julia”), George Lucas (“Star Wars”), Herbert Ross (“The Turning Point”)

1981: Louis Malle (“Atlantic City”), Hugh Hudson (“Chariots of Fire”), Mark Rydell (“On Golden Pond”), Steven Spielberg (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Warren Beatty (“Reds”)

1998: Roberto Benigni (“Life is Beautiful”), Steven Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan”), John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”), Terrence Malick (“The Thin Red Line”), Peter Weir (“The Truman Show”))

2005: Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain”), Bennett Miller (“Capote”), Paul Haggis (“Crash”), George Clooney (“Good Night, and Good Luck”), Steven Spielberg (“Munich”)

2009: James Cameron (“Avatar”), Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”), Lee Daniels (“Precious”), Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”)

So who, if anyone, gets left out this year?

As Hooper was snubbed by the Golden Globes and BAFTA, he would appear to be the most vulnerable. Yet even that’s not a safe assumption to make with "Les Miserables" likely to score the second most Oscar nominations after "Lincoln."

Keep this in mind as well: the director’s branch of the academy is a much smaller, higher-minded group than the DGA. They’ve been known to make out-of-left-field choices.

Recent Oscar nominees who had been snubbed by the DGA include:

2001: David Lynch (“Mulholland Dr.”)

2002: Pedro Almodovar (“Talk to Her”)

2003: Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”)

2004: Mike Leigh (“Vera Drake”)

None of their films were not nominated for Best Picture when the category had only five contenders.

This year, Best Picture bids for “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Django Unchained” could put Russell of Tarantino into this race. Passionate support for “The Master” or “Amour” could make either Anderson or Haneke a nominee even if their films fail to make the cut. As for Wes Anderson and “Moonrise Kingdom,” the chips could fall either way in both instances.

And who wins the DGA? There have only been six instances where the DGA champ did not go on to repeat at the Oscars:

1968: DGA to Anthony Harvey (“The Lion in Winter”), Oscar to Carol Reed (“Oliver!”)

1972: DGA to Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather”), Oscar to Bob Fosse (“Cabaret”)

1985: DGA to Steven Spielberg (“The Color Purple”), Oscar to Sydney Pollack (“Out of Africa”)

1995: DGA to Ron Howard (“Apollo 13”), Oscar to Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”)

2000: DGA to Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Oscar to Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”)

2002: DGA to Rob Marshall (“Chicago”), Oscar to Roman Polanski (“The Pianist”)

Four of this year's nominees have previously prevailed at both DGA and the Oscars; Affleck has never contended at either as a director. Could that be enough for him to win? Or could three-time DGA and two-time Oscar champ Spielberg add another prize to his mantle?

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The Directors Guild of America has announced nominees for best helmer of 2012: Ben Affleck ("Argo"), Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thirty"), Tom Hooper ("Les Miserables"), Ang Lee ("Life of Pi") and Steven Spielberg ("Lincoln").

Biggest snubs: Quentin Tarantino ("Django Unchained") and David O. Russell ("Silver Linings Playbook"). Tarantino had previously been nominated for "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "Inglourious Basterds" (2009). Russell was nommed for "The Fighter" (2010).

Spielberg's nomination is a welcome rebound after he was snubbed last year for "War Horse." Previously, Spielberg won three of his 10 bids ("The Color Purple," 1985; "Schindler's List," 1993; and "Saving Private Ryan," 1998) and last contended in 2005 for "Munich."

Bigelow won DGA for "The Hurt Locker" (2009), Hooper for "The King's Speech" (2010) and Lee for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) as well as "Brokeback Mountain" (2005). This is Affleck's first nomination.

Historically, the DGA nominees have had an impressive overlap with the Oscar list, agreeing on four of the five contenders. That was true last year too when only one DGA rival failed to repeat at the Oscars: David Fincher ("Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"). He got bumped by Terrence Malick ("Tree of Life").

The two awards usually agree on winners too. Since the guild began handing out awards in 1949, the winning helmer has gone on to take home the Oscar with six exceptions:

1968 -- DGA to Anthony Harvey for "The Lion in Winter" and Oscar to Carol Reed for "Oliver!"

1972 -- DGA to Francis Ford Coppola for "The Godfather" and Oscar to Bob Fosse for "Cabaret"

1985 -- DGA to Steven Spielberg for "The Color Purple" and Oscar to Sydney Pollack for "Out of Africa"

1995 -- DGA to Ron Howard for "Apollo 13" and Oscar to Mel Gibson for "Braveheart"

2000 -- DGA to Ang Lee for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and Oscar to Steven Soderbergh for "Traffic"

2002 -- DGA to Rob Marshall for "Chicago" and Oscar to Roman Polanski for "The Pianist"

And in the 64-year history of the DGA prize, the guild choice for Best Director has helmed the academy's pick for Best Picture 50 times. The 13 exceptions are:

1948 -- DGA to "A Letter to Three Wives" and Oscar to "Hamlet"

1951 -- DGA to "A Place in the Sun" and Oscar to "An American in Paris"

1952 -- DGA to "The Quiet Man" and Oscar to "The Greatest Show on Earth"

1956 -- DGA to "Giant" and Oscar to "Around the World in 80 Days"

1967 -- DGA to "The Graduate" and Oscar to "In the Heat of the Night"

1968 -- DGA to "The Lion in Winter" and Oscar to "Oliver!"

1981 -- DGA to "Reds "and Oscar to "Chariots of Fire"

1985 -- DGA to "The Color Purple" and Oscar to "Out of Africa"

1989 -- DGA to "Born on the Fourth of July" and Oscar to "Driving Miss Daisy"

1995 -- DGA to "Apollo 13" and Oscar to "Braveheart"

1998 -- DGA to "Saving Private Ryan" and Oscar to "Shakespeare in Love"

2000 -- DGA to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and Oscar to "Gladiator"

2005 -- DGA to "Brokeback Mountain" and Oscar to "Crash"

» Ben Affleck Wins Directors Guild of America [DGA]! Other Winners Listed.
» Art Directors Guild Awards Nominees Revealed [Films].
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» 2014 Writer's Guild Of America Nominees (In All Top Categories)