Oscar Roundup 2012: Director's Guild Aim to Narrow Down a Crowded Field

Within a shortened awards season the Director's Guild Awards (DGA), may or not matter with regard to the actual Oscar nominees.  The ballots for the Oscars were due on January 3rd, but got pushed back to the 4th.  With the timeline changing and the Director's Guild have more members who vote on the award from people who direct both commercials and television shows the nominations for this award are apt to be different from Academy Award nominees.

This has been one of the best years for film, and while the Best Picture list is all but figured out, the Best Director category is harder to predict because there are only five as opposed to the potential ten Best Picture possibilities.

Here are the contenders for DGA in order of likelihood:

Locks:

Kathryn Bigelow-Zero Dark Thirty-Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty is the most critically acclaimed film of the year, and she has gotten praise all over the board.  Bigelow's proving to be a strong favorite, and ZDT is one of the two films to receive nominations from every guild, it will not fail here.

Ben Affleck-Argo-Argo is probably the most liked film of the year, and helmer Affleck is getting all of the credit.  Affleck has proven his growth as a director starting with Gone Baby Gone, and creating a masterful work here.  Like ZDT, Argo, is the other film which has recieved nominations from every guild.

Steven Spielberg-Lincoln-Spielberg did not get an Oscar nomination for War Horse this year, but this year he has the highest grossing film, and the film that's going to have the most nominations.  Spielberg is one of three locks with both the DGA and Oscar.

Strong Bets:

Ang Lee-Life of Pi-The film is one of biggest directorial feats of the year; he is a well respected director  who has been nominated three times, and won twice.  Life of Pi is seen as one of the films flying under the radar, and I think it will score a nomination here.

Quentin Tarantino-Django Unchained-Django is one every one's mind, and while controversial, Tarantino is a well respected director.  With a larger guild population voting; he seems to be a likely person people in television and film would nominate.

David O. Russell-Silver Linings Playbook-Never underestimate the power of directing the small intimate comedic drama.  O. Russell has cornered this market, received a nomination with The Fighter, and is becoming more respected by the day.

Long Shots

Tom Hooper-Les Miserables-Hooper's snub from Golden Globes was the shot heard round the award show world, and based on reviews his direction has been the biggest critique.  People pay attention to things like this, and while this guy received a nomination and won his first time around, I can't help but think he may be snubbed by this branch.

Paul Thomas Anderson-The Master-The Master is a well respected film from critics, but the guilds, except WGA and Golden Globes have been ignoring this film.  The Master was compared to last year's Tree of Life, but this film may not have the passion that film has, and I think it will be forgotten.

Benh Zeitlin-Beasts of the Souther Wild-The little film that could has a director, who helped right and score his own film.  Zeitlin's first feature film is a crowning achievement, and he could score nomination here out of respect.   The hard part is that this film has been ignored a lot as well, although being talked up by many.

Over the last few years DGA has matched Oscar solidly, but the changing time frame may prevent this.  Looking from 2001 through 2011, the DGA lined up well.

In 2001 DGA nominated Baz Lurhman for Moulin Rouge, and Christopher Nolan for Memento, they were replaced with veteran directors Robert Altman for Gosford Park, and David Lynch for Mullholland Dr.  In 2002 Pedro Almodovar's direction for Talk to Her was nominated for the Oscar, while Peter Jackson was nominated for the DGA  for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.  The following year Gary Ross received a DGA nomination for Seabiscuit but was replaced at the Oscars with City of God director Fernando Mirielles.   There have been only two years within the last 10 where Best Director has matched up with the DGA and Oscar, and they were 2005, and 2009.  Statistically every other year DGA has predicted 4 of the 5 nominees.  So who will be the five for DGA, and who would most likely get replaced?

DGA Nominees

Ben Affleck-Argo

Kathryn Bigelow-Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee-Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg-Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino-Django Unchained

(My 6th Man-Tom Hooper-Les Miserables)

Come Oscar nomination time I think Michael Haneke from Amour will score a Best Director nomination, and replace one of these men.  This would follow a trend in this category.

The Master Should be Worshipped as Quality Film Making at its Best

The Master (4 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed and Written by Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Boogie Nights)

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams

I may have found a new spiritual film God in Paul Thomas Anderson.  All jokes aside, the concepts of self-worth and faith are at the center of The Master.  This film will get a lot of attention because of the comparisons to Scientology, and its found L. Ron Hubbard, and there are numerous similarities.  This film is more than just a comparison to the modern day cult with followers like Tom Cruise, and Kirstie Alley. This film is about the journey of a lost soul and his master.

The film centers on the tragic and disturbed Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a navy vet from World War II who is looking to find his own place in society.  Quell attempts to find solace in making his "hooch," with numerous jobs, and in the hope that "his girl" will wait for him.  As Freddie stumbles onto this boat party one night he finds himself getting lost in the world Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) the master of the group called the Cause.  Dodd and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) travel around with their family to the homes of their followers helping folks find the connection to things like the cure or Lukemia through the science of exploring their past lives.

Sounds like a cult right?  There are numerous connections between the progression of Scientology by Hubbard, especially the way his work was an outgrowth a book he wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.  Yet there is something brilliant about the way Anderson constructs this film to not be a bio-pic of Hubbard, or an expose on this real life cult.  Although some of the practices are apparently similar.  Anderson uses his incredible screenplay and direction to make this a film about so much more.

One of the brilliant aspects of this film is the way Anderson focuses on Phoenix's Quell and the disillusionment he faces in a post World War II society.  Most people always painted the 50s as this golden era of family values, the husbands/men came home from the war they got their plot of land in Levitttown, settled with their "girl" and led a happy life.  Anderson uses the concept of this lost soul and the newly developed "religion" which takes advantage of those people had no place when they came back from the War.  The one flaw is that film has a bit of a slow start, and while it does not take off right away, the film sets an intense pace once the three leads take the stage.

Anderson and his casting team created one hell of a trio.  Phoenix who plays this shell of a disturbed man makes you lose yourself in his character; he is effortless, which is almost frightening.  Freddie is someone who has always been repelled from the establishment yet he joined the Navy; he has gone from place to place, and abandoned all institutions, but he is drawn into the world of the Cause, but as Lancaster and Peggy both question, is this man beyond help.  Phoenix needs no help, he all but disappears within this role, and gives one of the best performances of his career; he is a true chameleon.

I could go on and one about the performances in this film, namely because they add such great depth to the script.  While Phoenix disappears, Hoffman as usual is another frighteningly believe able actor.  Is Dodd a villain, no because Hoffman never takes him to that place.  Even as Lancaster Dodd steals from his members of the Cause, goes to jail, you still believe in almost as though you are a member of the cult.  This proves just how talented Hoffman's acting skills are, and if there were a ever a year where there could be a tie in the Best Actor race at the Oscars I would it to be for these two men.

The ambition of the performances from these two men, and the supporting work of Amy Adams proves to be on of the films strongest aspects, but the film is also a technical marvel.  Anderson shot this film with the larger 70 mm technique, and hats off to the beautiful cinematography done by Mihai Malaimari Jr.  The visuals of the camera are so gorgeous you can find yourself getting lost in the visual imagery.  The visual marvel combined with outstanding score from Johnny Greenwood makes this film one of the best films of the year.

I was hypnotized by this film as though I was sitting on the couch hoping Lancaster Dodd would help me connect my past lives in order to make sense of it all. Paul Thomas Anderson has created a film that explores the concept of of religion/spirituality/faith/cults without being heavy handed; he never shoves his message on the audiences, and in a post Summer haze it's nice to go to the movies and be shown a film that does not intend to brain wash me, or did it?

The Oscar Season Begins with an Almost Masterful Sweep at the Venice Film Festival

The Paul Thomas Anderson film The Master almost had a clean sweep at this year's Venice Film Festival, the only reason the film lost Best Picture was because of a technicality stating no film can sweep the major awards.  The eventual Golden Lion award for Best Picture went to Kim-ki Duk for The Pieta.  Imagine winning this prize on a technicality.

The Master did quite well at the festival, Paul Thomas Anderson took home the prize for Best Director, and Joaquin Phoenix, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman tied for the Best Actor prize.  Some will argue that this hurts Hoffman's supporting actor nomination chances, but I think this helps him, after all there is no supporting actor category at Venice.

What does this mean for this early contender?  How has the Venice Film Festival impacted the Oscar races the past couple of years?  Last year Michael Fassbender won the Best Actor award last year for Shame; he did not get an Oscar nomination (robbery).  In 2010 the Golden Lion went to Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, but that film was nowhere to found after this festival.  In 2009 Collin Firth won the prize for Best Actor playing A Single Man; he was nominated for an Oscar but did not win until one year later.  2008 proved a strong comeback for Mickey Rourke, his film The Wrestler took home The Golden Lion.  The Wrestler did not grab a Best Picture nomination, but the film grabbed two acting nominations.

The most traction a film got was in 2005 when Brokeback Mountain won The Golden Lion, the film should have won the Best Picture Oscar, and was favored to win throughout the entire award season, but lost to Crash.  Helen Mirren is the biggest success story; she won the Best Actress prize in 2006, and she has been one of the few people in recent history to go on to win the Oscar.

Venice has launched some successful starting off points, but has never been a real launching point for major winners.  I think The Master has a great shot at taking home some major wins this year, especially within the acting, writing, and directing categories.  The film feels a bit dark to be a Best Picture winner, the most recent winners are hug-able films like The King's Speech and The Artist. Only time will tell.

The other two major winners from the festival were as follows: the Grand Jury Prize went to Paradise:Love, and the Best Actress award went to Hadas Yaron for Fill the Void.  Let the festival season continue!