The awards are being presented at the Beverly Hilton at a ceremony hosted by Judd Apatow.
The 2022 Directors Guild Awards are being presented at the Beverly Hilton at a ceremony hosted by Judd Apatow.
Nominees in the DGA’s top category of theatrical feature film are Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) and Denis Villeneuve (Dune). Four of those directors — all but Villeneuve — are nominated for the best director Oscar.
First-time feature film director nominees:
Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), Rebecca Hall (Passing), Tatiana Huezo (Prayers for the Stolen), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Tick, Tick … Boom!), Michael Sarnoski (Pig) and Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby).
In terms of TV nominations, Succession swept the drama series category, Ted Lasso earned three nominations in the comedy series category and Dopesick scored two nods in the limited series category.
Dave Chappelle’s controversial Netflix special The Closer also earned a nomination in the variety/talk/news/sports specials category alongside fellow Netflix special Bo Burnham: Inside and CBS’ Adele: One Night Only, among other nominees.
Last year, Nomadland‘s Chloé Zhao won the DGA’s theatrical feature film award ahead of winning best director at the 2021 Oscars.
Spike Lee is set to be honored with the DGA’s lifetime achievement award for distinguished achievement in motion picture direction.
Before the event, Apatow told The Hollywood Reporter he appreciates that the ceremony isn’t televised. “It’s a lower-pressure situation,” he shared about hosting. “I’m all about doing things no one sees but the people in that room.”
Rita Moreno, set to honor Spielberg at the ceremony, said that she’s had a month to prepare since Spielberg personally asked her to handle the duties. “I was so flattered and pleased and tickled and delighted, and I really killed myself writing this presentation speech,” the West Side Story performer shared. “I really worked extremely hard on this because I wanted it to be right, but I also wanted it to be humorous, so I think I have a couple of funny lines in there that, if nothing else, they’ll delight him.”
Part of a Family
Villeneuve explained that the nomination from his peers makes him feel like part of “a family,” adding, “I’m pinching myself. I’m here with humility, but my fellow nominees are my heroes.”
For Miranda, it was a thrill to see Spielberg on the red carpet before the event started. “I’m somewhere outside my body right now,” the Tick, Tick … Boom! helmer gushed.
To kick off the festivities, DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter addressed the crowd and encouraged all of the team members from a winning project to join the director on the stage to celebrate. “In the insanity of 2021, at least it has yielded incredible work,” Glatter said.
During his intro, Apatow quipped that anyone attending this weekend’s BAFTA Awards will “be pissed they missed this.” He added, “Welcome to the 2022 DGAs, where tonight we honor the best movies of 2021 that were supposed to come out in 2020. The last year has seen thousands of groundbreaking films captivating millions of viewers and generating literally hundreds of dollars.”
