DGA nominations: Wolf rises, Nebraska left out in the cold

The Directors Guild of America announced their nominations today, and made the battle for those final spots interesting again. The expected four were all there: Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity, Steve McQueen for 12 Years A Slave, David O. Russell for American Hustle, and Paul Greengrass for Captain Phillips. Nabbing the fifth and final spot was veteran Martin Scorsese for The Wolf Of Wall Street, and more and more it looks like the film is peaking at exactly the right moment. The film looks pretty good to grab a nod, something that wasn’t all too sure earlier in the season. Leonardo DiCaprio’s buzz is also growing, to the point where it looks like he may knock out Robert Redford for the final nomination in Best Actor. And Martin Scorsese is campaigning hard at the moment, doing interviews left and right, even appearing on Jimmy Kimmel (when was the last time Marty did something like that?). The criticisms of the film seem to be subsiding.

Does this mean that he’s assured of the nomination then? Surely not. Spike Jonze missed for Her today, but this doesn’t feel like a DGA kind of film. He could push Scorsese out next Thursday. Somebody whose work did feel more like something the DGA might go for, Alexander Payne, was left out in the cold though. The chances for the Nebraska helmer look slimmer after today. And finally we have the Coens, who once again got shut out. It looks like the NSFC wins a few days ago were a fluke (and the botched voting process sure helped them the most), and Inside Llewyn Davis is fighting for its life in the bigger categories. If we have to gauge this category right now, it’s Scorsese vs. Jonze for the final spot, with Payne the dark horse. Maybe BAFTA can shed some more light on this. Still, today was a good day for The Wolf.