The Directors Guild of America has revealed its nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television, Drama Series, Comedy Series, Musical Variety, Reality Programs, Daytime Serials, Children's Programs and Commercials. Despite the shit TV directors get, TV is progressing toward a greater cinematic atmosphere and TV directors are having greater relevance in the medium. DGA President, Taylor Hackford said, "television directors play a crucial role in eliciting performance, advancing the story and establishing the look and feel in all genres of television". There's no better example than Lost, which feels more like an hour-long, big-budget film than a TV show. The two-part season 5 finale received a nod, and Curb Your Enthusiasim director's Jeff Schaffer and Larry Charles were nominated for their work on the last two episodes of the fictional Seinfeld-reunion that took place on the show. Mad Men picked up three nominations for Drama and Glee, still in the middle of its first season (returning April 13 with the remaining nine episodes of season one) received two nominations in Comedy. Check out some surprise nominations after the jump.
Jerry Seinfeld argues with Seinfeld co-creator Larry David during the Curb finale (and on the set of a bullshit Seinfeld reunion), "we already screwed up one finale, we can't do another." Jerry and Larry seem to have reconciled with the fact that the Seinfeld finale in 1997 may not have been the perfect way to end the mega-hit of the 90's and "Greatest TV Show of All Time". Curb gave them a second-shot at a much more comedic finale, bringing about some much-needed closure to the show, which aired November 22, 2009.
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Comedy Series are:
Curb Your Enthusiasim, "The Table Read" directed by Larry Charles
Curb Your Enthusiasim, "Seinfeld" directed by Jeff Schaffer
Glee, "Wheels" directed by Ryan Murphy
Glee, "Pilot" directed by Jason Winer
Modern Family, "Pilot" directed by Jason Winer
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series:
Georgia O'Keeffe, directed by Bob Balaban
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story directed by Thomas Carter
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler directed by John Kent Harrison
Taking Chance directed by Ross Katz
Grey Gardens directed by Michael Sucsy
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Dramatic Series Night:
In-Treatment, " Gina: Week 4" directed by Paris Barclay
Lost, "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" directed by Jack Bender
Mad Men, "The Gypsy And The Hobo" directed by Jennifer Getzinger
Mad Men, "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency", directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Mad Men, "Shut The Door. Have A Seat.", directed by Matthew Weiner
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Musical Variety:
The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert, directed by Joel Gallen
81st Annual Academy Awards, directed by Roger Goodman
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, directed by Louis Horvitz
Saturday Night Live, with Host Justin Timberlake, directed by Don Roy King
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, directed by Don Mischer
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Reality Programs:
"Build It Bigger Season 3" - "Hong Kong Bridge" directed by Craig Borders
"The Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan" - "Puppy Mills Exposed" directed by Sueann Fincke
"The Next Iron Chef" - "201" directed by Eytan Keller
"Six Beers of Separation" directed by Zach Merck
"The Amazing Race" - "Don't Let a Cheese Hit Me" directed by Bertram Van Munster
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Daytime Serials
"All My Children" - Episode #10,061, directed by Casey Childs
"As The World Turns" - Episode #13,457, directed by Christopher Goutman
"General Hospital" - Macho Men, directed by William Ludel
"The Bold and the Beautiful" - Fashion Challenge Sabotage #5628, directed by Cynthia J. Popp
"The Young and the Restless" - Episode #9233, directed by Sally McDonald
"The Young and the Restless" - Episode #9305, directed by Dean LaMont
Nominations for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Children's Programs
"An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong", directed by Martha Coolidge
"Princess Protection Program" directed by Allison Liddi-Brown
"Zeke & Luther:" "Pilot", directed by Fred Savage
"Hard Times for an American Girl: The Great Depression", directed by Amy Schatz
"Lincoln Heights:" "Time to Let Go", directed by Andy Wolk
The DGA will send ballots to its 14,000 members and announce the winners on January 30, at the 62nd annual awards ceremony at the Century Plaza.