DGA Television Nominees Announced Guild's Top Choices Announced
This week, the Directors Guild of America president Michael Apted and Awards Committee Chairperson Howard Storm announced the DGA nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television, as well as for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 2004 in the television categories of Dramatic Series Night, Comedy Series, Musical Variety, Daytime Serials and Children's Programs.
For 2004, the 40th anniversary of the first movie made expressly for television, the nominees include some familiar names—Robert Altman, who was singled out for his work on the Sundance Channel film Tanner on Tanner, Parts 1-4, and the late Christopher Reeve, who earned a posthumous nomination for directing the A&E production The Brooke Ellison Story. Also acknowledged were Altman’s Unit Production Manager Derrick Tseng, First Assistant Director Allan Nicholls and Second Assistant Director Linda Perkins. Reeve’s directorial team included Unit Production Manager Boris Malden, First Assistant Director Stephen Davis and Second Assistant Director: Noreen Cheleden.
For Altman, who won the guild’s highest honor, the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1994, this marks his fourth DGA nomination, but his first for a television movie. He was previously recognized for the feature films M*A*S*H, Nashville and The Player. This was Reeve’s first DGA nomination.
The other television movie nominees include Stephen Hopkins for HBO’s The Life and Death of Peter Sellers; Lloyd Kramer, for the ABC production Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven; and Joe Sargent for the HBO film Something the Lord Made. This is Hopkins’ second DGA nomination, Kramer’s second and Sargent’s seventh. Sargent won the award in 1973 for The Marcus Nelson Murders, and the same year was named Most Outstanding TV Director. Hopkins’ team included First Assistant Director Cliff Lanning; Kramer was joined by First Assistant Director Jim Brebner; and Sargent by Unit Production Manager: Karyn McCarthy, First Assistant Director Michele Ziegler, Second Assistant Director Joseph Incaprera and Second Second Assistant Director Xanthus Valan.
The list of nominees for achievement in television drama, comedy, musical variety, daytime serials and children's programming is notable for the presence of several first-timers. Also, in addition to familiar shows like The Sopranos and Sex and the City, a number of new series were recognized as well, including the ABC hits Desperate Housewives and Lost and the HBO Western Deadwood. Director Tim Van Patten achieved the rare distinction of being nominated twice—once for drama and once for comedy.
Well-known first-time nominees include prolific writer-producer J.J. Abrams, who was tapped for directing the pilot episode of Lost, and veteran feature film director Walter Hill for the pilot episode of Deadwood. Abrams’ team included Unit Production Manager Jean Higgins, First Assistant Director Mary Ellen Woods, Second Assistant Director Sally Sue Beisel-Lander, Second Second Assistant Bobbie Blyle; Hill’s consisted of Unit Production Manager Gregg Fienberg, First Assistant Director James Hensz, Second Assistant Director Kenneth B. Roth and Second Second Assistant Director Kevin Turley.
Other drama nominees include Christopher Chulack for the “Time of Death” episode of ER, John Patterson for the “All Due Respect” episode of The Sopranos and Van Patten for the “Long Term Parking” episode of The Sopranos. Chulack, who logged his fourth DGA nomination, won the DGA dramatic series award in 1995 for the “Hell and High Water” of ER, and again in 1996 for the “Fear of Flying” episode of ER. His directorial team included Unit Production Manager Tommy Burns, First Assistant Director Princess O'Mahoney, Second Assistant Director Ronan O'Connor and Second Second Assistant Directors Tony Eng, Deborah Greaney. Three-time DGA nominee Patton (who won the award in 2002 for the “Whitecaps” episode of The Sopranos), was acknowledged along with his Unit Production Managers Ilene S. Landress, Scott Hornbacher, First Assistant Director Michael DeCasper, Second Assistant Director Kristin Cameron Bernstein, Second Second Assistant Director John Silvestri and DGA Trainee Charlie Foster. Van Patten, a four-time DGA nominee, won the DGA Award for comedy series in 2003 for the “Boy Interrupted” episode of Sex and the City. His directorial team consisted of Unit Production Manager Henry J. Bronchtein, First Assistant Director Mark McGann, Second Assistant Director Noreen Cheleden, Second Second Assistant Director John Silvestri and DGA Trainee Charlie Foster.
Van Patten was singled out again in the comedy category for the “An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux” of HBO’s Sex and the City. Other comedy nominees were Bryan Gordon for “The 5 Wood” episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Charles McDougall for the pilot of Desperate Housewives, Arelene Sanford for the “Pretty Little Picture” episode of Desperate Housewives and Robert B. Weide for “The Carpool Lane” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Gordon won the DGA award for comedy in 2002 for the "Special Section" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm; McDougall, Sanford and Weide were all nominated for the first time.
Van Patten’s directorial team was comprised of Unit Production Managers Jane Raab, Margo Myers, First Assistant Director Bettiann Fishman and Second Assistant Director Peter Soldo; Gordon was joined by Associate Directors Dale Stern, Tim Gibbons and Stage Manager Jonathan Harris; McDougall by Unit Production Manager Charles Skouras, III, First Assistant Director Thomas Burke, Second Assistant Director Walter Parry, Jr. and Second Second Assistant Director Michael Melamed; Sanford by Unit Production Manager Charles Skouras, III, First Assistant Director Warren Turner, Second Assistant Director Anne Berger, Second Second Assistant Director Michael Melamed, and Additional Second Assistant Director Tara Nicole Weyr; and Weide by Associate Directors Dale Stern, Tim Gibbons and Stage Managers Jonathan Harris, Mark Hansson.
In the musical variety category the nominees included one rookie and four veterans. First-timer Ron de Moraes, who was nominated for PBS’s Great Performances - Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival, was joined by six-time DGA nominee Jerry Foley, who was noted for episode #2187 of Late Show with David Letterman; two-time DGA nominee Bruce Giwers, who was recognized for CBS’s Genius: A Night For Ray Charles; 11-time nominee Louis J. Horvitz, who directed the 76th Academy Awards; and two-time DGA nominee Chuck O’Neil for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
The team behind de Moraes included Associate Director Laura Lyons and Stage Manager Peter M. Margolis; Foley was backed by Associate Directors Randi Grossack and Jessica Santini, Stage Managers Biff Henderson, Frank Comito and Mark Dicso; Gowers by Associate Directors Laura Lyons, Paige Rabban Hadley and Leslie Wilson, Stage Managers Gary Natoli, Valdez Flagg, Harve Levine, Dency Nelson, Jacqueline Stathis and Debbie Williams; Horvitz, who won this award in 1997 for The Kennedy Center Honors, was assisted by Associate Directors James Tanker, Ron Andreassen, Mike Polito, Richard Preuss, Deborah Read, Sharon Taylor, Christine Bradley, Timothy H. Kettle, Barbara J. Roche, David Kelmachter, Anne Rickey, Lauren J. Singer, Ronni Fisher and Christine Clark, Stage Managers Garry W. Hood, Denny Barry, John Esposito, Valdez Flagg, Jeffry Gitter, Gary Natoli, Dency Nelson, Vincent Poxon, Jason Seligman, Rob Sellers, Jr., Doug Smith, Jacqueline Stathis, David Wader, Steve Burgess and Eric Tignini; and O’Neil by Associate Director Paul A.J. Pennolino and Stage Manager Craig Spinney.
The daytime category features several return nominees. Five-time nominee Bruce Barry was recognized for episode #14321 of The Guiding Light; four-time nominee Joseph Behar (who won a DGA Award in 1961) for episode #10461 of General Hospital; Christopher Goutman for episode #12166 of As the World Turns; two-time nominee Brian Mertes and first-timer Matt Lagle for episode #14322 of Guiding Light; and second-time nominee Conal O’Brien for episode #8768 of All My Children.
Barry’s directorial team included Associate Director Tracey Bryggman, Stage Managers Ann Vettel and Adam Reist and Production Associate Jan Conklin; Behar’s included Associate Directors Christine Magarian, Ron Cates, Penny Pengra and Pete Fillmore, Stage Managers Craig McManus and Kathy Ladd and Production Associates Didy Van Cleave, Lisa Kaseff and Christine Cooper; Goutman was supported by Associate Directors Jennifer Pepperman, Carol Sedwick and Michael Kerner, Stage Managers Nancy Barron and Jennifer Blood, Production Associates Jennifer Schacor, Brett A. Hellman and Alexandra Verner Roalsvig; Mertes and Lagle by Associate Director Ilene K. Frankel and Stage Managers Ann Vettel and Adam Reist and Production Associate Charles Grayauskie; and O’Brien by Associate Directors Barbara Simmons, Shirley Simmons and Anthony Pascarelli, Stage Managers Rusty Swope, Penny Bergman andMartin Fritz Brekeller and Production Associates Jennifer Minda and Marika Brancato.
Finally, in the children’s category, the nominees included first-time DGA nominee Duwayne Dunham for the Disney Channel’s Tiger Cruise, first-timer Stuart Gillard for the Disney Channel’s Going to the Mat, second-time nominee Paul Hoen for the ABC Family production Searching for David’s Heart, first-timer Jeremy Kagan for Showtime’s Crown Heights and first-timer Lee Rose for Showtime’s Jack. Dunham was joined by his directorial team Unit Production Manager Sanford Hampton, First Assistant Director Mark Hansson, Second Assistant Director Jeff Shiffman and Second Second Assistant Director Anna Notarides; Gillard’s team consisted of Unit Production Manager Donald Schain, First Assistant Director Matias Alvarez, Second Assistant Director Miriam Footer and Second Second Assistant Director Christopher Barnes; Hoen was acknowledged with Unit Production Manager Iddo Lampton Enochs, First Assistant Director Ann C. Salzer, Second Assistant Director Batou A. Chandler and Second Second Assistant Director George Bott.
All winners will be announced at the 57th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2005, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.