Well, in case you still thought that any director but The Shape of Water's Guillermo del Toro had a chance to win the Oscar, the Directors Guild of America came along to solidify his front-runner status. Last night, del Toro won the 70th Annual Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film, following up big wins at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. The Mexican-born filmmaker beat out several other popular picks, including Lady Bird's Greta Gerwig, Dunkirk's Christopher Nolan, and Get Out's Jordan Peele, who won the award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director. The Shape of Water, del Toro's Cold War fantasy tale of a mute woman (Sally Hawkins) who falls in love with a mysterious creature (Doug Jones), has quickly become one of the most formidable films in this year's Oscar race. The film racked up 13 Academy Award nominations, as well as crucial wins from the Producers Guild and several other organizations.
So the question is- where does the race go from here? If you look carefully, The Shape of Water is very much following in La La Land's footsteps. Huge amount of nominations from practically every branch, a fan-favorite director who racks up win after win, and a crucial, possibly vital miss at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Interestingly enough, both films missed out on a nomination for Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards- and no film since Braveheart has won Best Picture at the Oscars without a nomination in that pre-cursor category. Can The Shape of Water break the curse? I'm not so sure about that, but there are very few favorites in this year's race. As much as I'd like to think that Get Out and Lady Bird have a shot to pull off an upset, they just haven't won anything major. The Shape of Water is the Best Picture front-runner, whether we like it or not.
Next weekend, the Writers Guild of America will announce their picks for the best screenplays of the year. Stay tuned for more.
Images courtesy of Fox Searchlight
So the question is- where does the race go from here? If you look carefully, The Shape of Water is very much following in La La Land's footsteps. Huge amount of nominations from practically every branch, a fan-favorite director who racks up win after win, and a crucial, possibly vital miss at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Interestingly enough, both films missed out on a nomination for Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards- and no film since Braveheart has won Best Picture at the Oscars without a nomination in that pre-cursor category. Can The Shape of Water break the curse? I'm not so sure about that, but there are very few favorites in this year's race. As much as I'd like to think that Get Out and Lady Bird have a shot to pull off an upset, they just haven't won anything major. The Shape of Water is the Best Picture front-runner, whether we like it or not.
Next weekend, the Writers Guild of America will announce their picks for the best screenplays of the year. Stay tuned for more.
Images courtesy of Fox Searchlight
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