2025 DGA Awards: Predicting Oscars? Not So Fast

The 77th Directors Guild of America Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, honoured the best directors in film and television, chosen by over 19, 500 guild members. Early winners included Frederick E. O. Toye for Shōgun and Steven Zaillian for Ripley – a surprising upset against The Penguin. This marked Zaillian’s second DGA win, following his 2017 triumph for The Night Of. Newcomer Neil DeGroot took home the Best Reality Program directing award for Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted. Later in the ceremony, Lucia Aniello won her second DGA Award for directing the finale of Hacks' third season, while Liz Patrick won for Saturday Night Live’s episode featuring John Mulaney. The most anticipated category, Best Feature Film Director, often aligns with the Oscar for Best Director. The first-time feature directors category was fierce, with Payal Kapadia, Megan Park, Ramell Ross, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, and Sean Wang all vying for the title.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the DGA have historically agreed on the top feature director over the years. This year, DGA nominees Brady Corbet, Sean Baker, Jacques Audiard, and James Mangold were also up for Oscars, while Edward Berger was notably absent. The DGA Awards also celebrated special honorees, including Ang Lee, Mary Rae Thewlis, and Thomas J. Whelan, and their contributions to filmmaking. The drama series category was dominated by Shōgun and The Diplomat, while The Bear and Hacks led the comedy series lineup. The limited series/TV-movie race also took place. There is a good chance that these DGA winners might get several nods in the Oscar ceremony. The winners of the DGA awards give an insight into the upcoming Oscar results.

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