Yay, Alfonso! As expected, Alfonso Cuaron won his second DGA tonight for Roma, becoming only the second person to win the Directors Guild Award for a foreign-language film (the first was Ang Lee for 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). With that he becomes the heavy favorite to win Best Director for the second time at the Oscars, and Roma is a also a favorite for Best Picture, but not a sure thing, with the top three guilds (SAG, PGA and DGA) going to three different films this year (Black Panther, Green Book and Roma). That makes the Best Picture race still a close call, but probably between Green Book and Roma. It all depends on what can win on that ranked preferential ballot for Best Picture, and with the new Academy membership that doesn’t match any of the guilds, the truth is no one really knows. Last time it split was 2015, with the SAG winner Spotlight coming out ahead of PGA winner The Big Short and DGA winner The Revenant. But unlike Spotlight, this year’s SAG winner Black Panther does not have nominations in the major categories besides Picture, like writing, directing or acting. And there’s still a slight possibility something else entirely could come through in the end. Best Picture is still a wild card this year.
2019 DGA WINNERS
Feature Film: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
First-Time Feature: Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
Documentary: Tim Wardle, Three Identical Strangers