Directors Guild Awards offer a peek behind the camera
By SANDY COHEN, Associated Press
Feb 6, 2016 8:49 PM CST
FILE - In this May 31, 2015 file photo, Dee Rees arrives at the Critics' Choice Television Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. While the annual Directors Guild of America awards often herald the eventual Oscar winner in the directing category, the ceremony also offers a rare...   (Associated Press)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — While the annual Directors Guild of America Awards can herald the eventual Oscar winners in the best director and picture categories, Saturday's ceremony also offers a telling look at who's working behind the camera in Hollywood amid the industry's ongoing discussion about diversity.

Women comprise about 28 percent of nominees for the awards that recognize achievement in directing in various formats, from commercials to TV shows to feature films. There are 13 women and eight non-white nominees among the slate of 47 directors.

"I'm the only woman on both of the feature lists, so that feels like a lot of responsibility," said Marielle Heller, who joined the Directors Guild after making "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," for which she is nominated for achievement by a first-time feature filmmaker. "I'm hoping that next year we'll be at least half of that list, and then by the next year, there shouldn't be any men on that list, right?

The DGA's top category — feature film directing — is exclusively male this year, as is usually the case. Mexican director Alejandro Inarritu (last year's winner for "Birdman") is again nominated, this time for "The Revenant." He's competing against Tom McCarthy ("Spotlight"), Adam McKay ("The Big Short"), George Miller ("Mad Max: Fury Road") and Ridley Scott ("The Martian").

Women, who represented just over 4 percent of directors of the top-grossing films from 2002 to 2013, have better representation in the television categories. Of the six nominees for directing a TV miniseries or movie, three are women — Angela Bassett ("Whitney"), Laurie Collyer ("The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe") and Dee Rees ("Bessie") — the most of any DGA Awards category. They face Kenny Leon and Matthew Diamond ("The Wiz Live!") and Paul Haggis ("Show Me a Hero").

Amy Schumer is nominated for co-directing her Comedy Central show, and Chris Rock is nominated for directing Schumer's "Live at the Apollo" HBO special.

The Directors Guild also added a new category to its awards this year: Outstanding achievement by a first-time feature film director. The nominees are Heller, Fernando Coimbra ("A Wolf at the Door"), Joel Edgerton ("The Gift"), Alex Garland ("Ex-Machina") and Laslo Nemes ("Son of Saul").

Awards in all categories will be presented Saturday night during a dinner ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles.

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AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .

Online:

www.dga.org

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