Directors Guild nominations: Tom Hooper's 'wonderful surprise'

Just a few hours after hearing of his Directors Guild nomination, Tom Hooper spoke excitedly of the news. "I am so thrilled about the DGA nomination," said the director of "The King's Speech."

"It is such a big deal," he said by phone from New York. "It's where your peers vote for you. I got a call after midday from [DGA President] Taylor Hackford. I knew it was coming up, but I had forgotten about it.  It was such a wonderful surprise. You can't take anything for granted. It's pretty exciting. "

Vying with Hooper for the DGA's top prize are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," David Fincher for "The Social Network," Christopher Nolan for "Inception" and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."

The award will be presented at the DGA ceremony on Jan. 29.

— Susan King

Tom Hooper photo by Matt Sayles / Associated Press.

Directors Guild nominations: David O. Russell gets emotional

"You have no idea how emotional I am today," says David O. Russell about his first Directors Guild nomination for feature film for "The Fighter," which was announced Monday.

"I am really, really grateful," he says by phone from a plane jetting him from Los Angeles to New York, where he will present an award to one of the film's stars, Melissa Leo.

"I cried," says Russell, about receiving the news while driving to LAX. "There are a lot of great filmmakers this year and it's very humbling to be included. I feel like our film and myself are underdogs, so I was moved," said Russell.

"The Fighter" stars Mark Wahlberg as the Boston-based professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward who gets a second chance at the welterweight title, and Christian Bale as his half-brother, Dicky Eklund, a former boxer deep in the abyss of drugs. Leo plays their mother.

Ironically, Darren Aronofsky, who is also nominated for a DGA for "Black Swan," was at one point set to direct "The Fighter."

Joining Russell and Aronofsky in the DGA nominations are David Fincher for "The Social Network," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech" and Christopher Nolan for "Inception."

--Susan King

Photo of David O. Russell by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

DGA nominates five: David Fincher, Tom Hooper, Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell and Christopher Nolan

David Fincher just added a new accolade to the many he's collected this award season: The filmmaker was among five directors who earned a DGA Award nomination for outstanding achievement in feature film Monday morning, with Fincher being recognized for "The Social Network,"  the drama about the creation of Facebook.

"I am very grateful to the Directors Guild of America for recognizing 'The Social Network' and extremely proud of my collaborators for their hard work and talent," Fincher said in a statement Monday morning. "I’m honored to be included in a group of filmmakers I so admire."

This is the second nomination for Fincher, 48, in this category. Two years ago, he was a contender for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." He won the  2003 DGA commercial award for "Speed Chain," "Gamebreakers" and "Beauty for Sale."

He's already been feted for his work on the Aaron Sorkin-penned film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Movie Award.

Three of the DGA nominees are first-timers in the feature film award category: Darren Aronofsky, 41,  for his psychological thriller, "Black Swan";   Tom  Hooper, 38, for the historical drama "The King's Speech" (Hooper was previously nominated for a DGA Award for movies for television/miniseries for  2008's "John Adams"); and David O. Russell, 52, for his boxing drama, "The Fighter."

Rounding out the five nominees is Christopher Nolan for his surreal, enigmatic thriller "Inception." Nolan, 40, was previously nominated for 2008's "The Dark Knight" and 2001's "Memento."

There were no real surprises among the nominees. All five are also nominated for a Golden Globe for best director. But missing from the five are Danny Boyle, who won two years ago for "Slumdog Millionaire," for "127 Hours," and Joel and Ethan Coen, winners three years ago for "No Country for Old Men," for "True Grit," as well as Ben Affleck for "The Town" and Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right."

The DGA Awards are considered one of the most reliable bellwethers for the best director Oscar. In fact, in the last 62 years, the DGA and the academy have differed in their final selection only six times. Last year's DGA winner, Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker," went on to receive the Academy Award.

The winner will be named at the 63rd annual DGA Awards dinner on Jan. 29 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The DGA also will launch at the ceremony its yearlong 75th anniversary celebration. Past DGA winners like Bigelow, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, the evening's co-chairs, will offer special presentations during the evening that spotlight "game-changing" moments  in DGA history.

— Susan King

Photo: David Fincher. Credit: Dan Steinberg/Associated Press

Directors Guild Award nominees named

Director David Fincher just added to the numerous critics' awards for his work on "The Social Network," which include wins from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Movie Award.

On Monday, he earned a Directors Guild of America award nomination for the drama about the creation of Facebook.

Vying with Fincher for the DGA Award are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," Christopher Nolan for "Inception" and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."

The DGA Awards are considered one of the most reliable bellwethers for the best director Oscar. In fact, in the last 62 years, the DGA and the academy have differed in their final selection only six times. Last year's DGA winner, Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker," went on to receive the Academy Award.

This year's winner will be named at the 63rd annual DGA Awards dinner on Jan. 29 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.

-- Susan King