Directors Guild nominations

The DGA is the last industry group to speak up before tomorrow's Oscar ballot deadline, so it may be too late for it wield any influence, but its timing is possibly a very strong indicator of what our top tier Best Picture contenders are.

To nobody's surprise, Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) all assumed their preordained spots in the DGA lineup.

Joining them are Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) and -- in what I'd only characterize as a slight surprise -- Garth Davis for his first feature Lion. Davis might not have the name recognition of Gibson, Scorsese or any of the other contenders who failed to earn a nomination today, but he does have the pull of a damn good movie; One which may have been underestimated until this past week of guild success. Logic and stats suggest that one of these two gents will be replaced on the Oscar ballot for Best Director, but which one, and by whom?

Over in the documentary category, the DGA went with O.J.: Made in America, Weiner, I Am Not Your Negro, The Eagle Huntress and Life, Animated. All five are still in the running for Oscar.

Thoughts on 'Lion' and Others [Updating...]

Within minutes of this posting the Critics' Choice Awards will start, the first televised awards show of the season. But since it's happening a month earlier than it normally does, it will hardly count as the most significant awards news of the upcoming week. Tomorrow will see the unveiling of the Golden Globe nominations, followed by SAG nominations on Wednesday.

As all this happens, more contenders begin creeping out of their limited release hidey holes. I caught up with one such contender this afternoon, The Weinstein Co.'s big hopeful Lion, which hasn't been that healthily represented in first half-dozen-or-so critics awards, but the Academy will rectify that.
The movie is pretty great.