The DGA is a huge deal, the most important guild, because it reveals the five strongest Best Picture nominees, basically. Today there were no big surprises here, as Spotlight, The Big Short, The Revenant, The Martian and Mad Max all made the cut. It's nice to see George Miller after the BAFTA snub, and it means that Mad Max probably is in for Best Picture.
- Alejandro Inarritu, The Revenant
- Ridley Scott, The Martian
- Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
- Adam McKay, The Big Short
- George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
The director's branch of the Academy doesn't always match the DGA 5/5- they usually leave off at least one name, sometimes two, occasionally even three...but I think these five are pretty solid and I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of those 5/5 years. Todd Haynes may have a chance to knock someone out for Carol, but it's slim. And the winner at this stage is a total mystery- it depends on the winner of the Producers Guild, most likely. It could be any one of these guys, depending on what movie is strongest for Best Picture, which we have no clue of right now.
