The Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year will go to The Artist. It’s over. Call off the dogs. The little silent film that could will be crowned the winner at next month’s ceremony. After riding a pretty solid frontrunner status throughout the past two months, the film has now picked up two of the most important Oscar precursor awards: the Producers Guild Award and the Directors Guild Award. Michel Hazanavicius was given the Best Feature Film director award at last night’s DGA ceremony, besting the likes of Hugo’s Martin Scorsese and The Descendants’ Alexander Payne.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but with the PGA and DGA in hand, there’s virtually zero chance of anything upsetting The Artist for Best Picture. I’m not saying Hazanavicius isn’t deserving of the DGA, as his crafting of the silent pic is certainly commendable (though I’m partial to Scorsese’s work on Hugo), I’m just pointing out that we’re most likely in for an incredibly predictable ceremony come next month. Hit the jump to see the full list of DGA winners in both film and television. The 84th Academy Awards will be held February 26th.

Lately, Thor 2’s production has been in flux due to the original director Patty Jenkins leaving citing “creative differences” and new director Alan Taylor having to wait for a new writer to rework Don Payne’s original script. It looks as if Marvel Studios has settled on a new screenwriter so now everyone can just settle down and get back to work on making the sequel to one of 2011’s most successful films. Originally considered a contender for the rewriting job, Robert Rodat has bested competitors John Collee and Roger Avary for the position. The Oscar-nominated scribe behind Saving Private Ryan and the creator of TNT’s Falling Skies will have the task of scripting where the Asgardian’s story will head after he wraps things up with the The Avengers this May. Hit the jump for more on Thor 2.

Earlier in the month, we reported on director Patty Jenkins leaving Thor 2, and moved on by the time Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan surfaced as the top replacement candidates.  After all, the departure was attributed to the classic “creative differences,” and it was implied that Marvel would still like to go into business with Jenkins, just not on Thor 2.  However, a new report suggests the split wasn’t quite so amicable, and Thor 2 star Natalie Portman is “deeply upset” over the firing.  Details after the jump.

Thor 2 is quickly becoming the ugly stepchild of the Marvel universe. First director Kenneth Branagh declined to return, then Game of Thrones director Brian Kirk entered negotiations only to be quickly swapped out for Monster director Patty Jenkins. Now Jenkins has left the project over creative differences, and Marvel is already canvassing agencies looking for a replacement. Hit the jump for more, including a list of possible replacements and Jenkins’ likely future at Marvel Studios.

Monster director Patty Jenkins has signed on to direct Thor 2.  Last month we reported that Jenkins was in early talks to direct and we commented on how it was surprising that Marvel would hire someone who’s biggest directing credit to date was an independent drama known primarily for how Charlize Theron uglied up and won an Oscar.  Jenkins is an interesting choice but one that makes me more interested in the film than if some journeyman director had been hired.

We don’t know much about the plot other than Marvel President Kevin Feige’s comment that “[Thor 2 will] primarily be the journey of that character, of he and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and how the new dynamic with his father is working out, as well as what are the broader stakes for The Nine Worlds.”  Hit the jump for the full press release.  Thor 2 is due out November 15, 2013.

While Marvel has been pretty upfront about their slate of films in the past, giving audiences a long lead-in to the far off films like Thor and Captain America, their next slate of movies after The Avengers has been much more quiet. Now it looks like the cat’s been let out of the bag, as Marvel’s next five movies after their all-star superhero flick includes: Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Inhumans. We knew about Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, as they both had release dates, and Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man had been up in the air for a while, but the other two are relatively new additions. Hit the jump for the details.

Marvel may be making a welcome move when it comes to choosing a director for Thor 2.  Deadline reports that the studio is seriously considering Monster director Patty Jenkins to take the reigns of the superhero sequel.  If Jenkins got the gig, she would be not only the first female director to helm a major superhero movie (no offense to Lexi Alexander who did a great job with Punisher: War Zone, but it was a small-scale superhero flick), but one of the few women put in charge of a summer blockbuster.  While I don’t think Monster is anything special beyond Charlize Theron’s performance, Jenkins did a great job setting the grey, dreary mood for the pilot of AMC’s The Killing (it was the story that zoned me out of that show).  The question is how much room she’ll have to redefine the distinctive look Kenneth Branagh established for Thor‘s universe.

It’s worth mentioning that last month we reported that Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones) was also being considered, so it definitely looks like Marvel is pulling from the small screen to find its director.  Either way, we should expect an announcement soon.  Thor 2 is set to open July 26, 2013. [Update: Variety confirms that Jenkins is in early talks to direct.  The story adds that Kirk decided not to take the gig "due to creative and financial sticking point" and that Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods), James McTeigue (Ninja Assassin), Noam Murro (300: Battle of Artemesia) and Breck Eisner (The Crazies) were all considered for the job]