DGA Awards Nominees Honor George Miller, Tom McCarthy, Alejandro Inarritu, But No Quentin Tarantino

The wheels are steadily in motion leading up to Thursday's reveal of the Academy Awards nominees, and the latest group to put its two-cents into the discussion is the Director's Guild of America. The DGAs for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film were announced today, and the five nominees seem like a pretty good bet to make the cut for the Oscars. On the other hand, a couple of big names not on the list are likely to be left out. 

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant), Adam McKay (The Big Short), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), and Ridley Scott (The Martian) scored Best Director nominations. Of those, McKay is really making a late season push for his unexpectedly great financial drama. McCarthy has been a little forgotten even as Spotlight has had so much praise heaped upon it, but it's mostly been for the screenplay and the performances more than for his work behind the camera, but since he also received a Golden Globes nod that may be changing now.

Who you won't find is Steven Spielberg for Bridge of Spies, while Todd Haynes and Quentin Tarantino were left out for Carol and The Hateful Eight, respectively. Their chances are definitely slim of of getting an Oscar nomination now, but we'll find out in a couple of days. 

The more interesting choices are for first-time directors where Alex Garland (Ex Machina), Joel Edgerton (The Gift), and Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) received honors. 

The DGAs will be awarded on February 6th.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM

ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU
The Revenant
(20th Century Fox)

Unit Production Managers: Drew Locke, James W. Skotchdopole, Doug Jones
First Assistant Director: Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors: Megan M. Shank, Matthew Haggerty, Jeremy Marks
Unit Production Manager: Gabriela Vazquez (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Trevor R. Tavares, Jasmine Marie Alhambra (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Brett Robinson, Kasia Trojak (Argentina, California, and Montana Unit)

TOM MCCARTHY
Spotlight
(Open Road Films)

Unit Production Managers: D.J. Carson, Michael Bederman
First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
Second Assistant Director: Penny Charter
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Danielle Blumstein (Boston Unit)
First Assistant Director: Christo Morse (Boston Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Conte Matal, Kristina Mariko Peterson, Annie Tan, Andrea O’Connor (Boston Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Phil Robinson, Mark Romanelli (Boston Unit)
Additional Second Assistant Director: Scooter Perrotta (Boston Unit)

ADAM MCKAY
The Big Short
(Paramount Pictures)
Unit Production Manager: Louise Rosner
First Assistant Director: Matt Rebenkoff
Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
Second Second Assistant Director: Cali Pomés
Second Second Assistant Director: Josh Muzaffer (New York Unit)
Location Manager: Michael Kriaris

GEORGE MILLER
Mad Max: Fury Road
(Warner Bros.)
Unit Production Manager: Dean Hood
First Assistant Director: PJ Voeten
Second Assistant Directors: Samantha Smith, Wendy Croad, Chris O’Hara
Second Assistant Directors: Eddie Thorne (Syndey Unit), Emma Jamvold (Syndey Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Danielle Blake (Syndey Unit), Joshua Watkins (Syndey Unit)

RIDLEY SCOTT
The Martian
(20th Century Fox)
Unit Production Managers: Francesca Cingolani, Miklós Tóth
First Assistant Director: Raymond Kirk
Second Assistant Directors: Sarah Hood, Bogi Móricz
Second Second Assistant Director: Nick Thomas

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF A FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR

FERNANDO COIMBRA
A Wolf at the Door
(Outsider Pictures)
Unit Production Manager: Clara Machado
First Assistant Director: Suzy Milstein
Second Assistant Director: Raquel Toledo

JOEL EDGERTON
The Gift
(STX Entertainment)
Unit Production Manager: Luc Etienne
First Assistant Director: Michael J. Moore
Second Assistant Director: Matt Haggerty
Second Second Assistant Director: Dillon Neaman

ALEX GARLAND
Ex Machina
(A24)
Unit Production Manager: Sara Desmond
First Assistant Director: Nick Heckstall‑Smith
Second Assistant Director: Ray Kenny

MARIELLE HELLER
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Unit Production Manager: Molly Salz
First Assistant Director: Brian Benson
Second Assistant Director: Jerremy Stewart
Second Second Assistant Director: Alex Gilbert

LÁSZLÓ NEMES
Son of Saul
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Unit Production Manager: Gábor Szántó
First Assistant Director: István Kolos
Second Assistant Directors: Zoltán Gyovai, Edina Galgócz