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‘Slumdog’ Director Danny Boyle Wins DGA

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday January 31, 2009 @ 11:31pm PSTTags: Directors, Guilds

Question: Does the Slumdog Millionaire team have a big enough mantel for all these awards? The DGA says its Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as “a near-perfect barometer” for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only 6 times since the DGA Award’s inception in 1948 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director (1968: Anthony Harvey DGA for The Lion in Winter/Carol Reed took home the Oscar for Oliver!; 1972: Francis Ford Coppola-The Godfather/Bob Fosse-Cabaret; 1985: Steven Spielberg-The Color Purple/Sydney Pollack-Out of Africa; 1995: Ron Howard-Apollo 13/Mel Gibson-Braveheart; 2000: Ang Lee-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon/Steven Soderbergh-Traffic; 2002: Rob Marshall-Chicago/Roman Polanski-The Pianist).

Here are tonight’s winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards and the recipients of the Guild’s 2009 Career Achievement Awards held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles:

Feature Film — DANNY BOYLE
Slumdog Millionaire, (Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures)
Mr. Boyle’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Sanjay Kumar; First Assistant Director: Raj Acharya; Second Assistant Director: Avani Batra; Second Second Assistant Director: Sonia Nemawarkar
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Movies For Television/Miniseries: JAY ROACH
Recount, HBO
Mr. Roach’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Scott Ferguson; First Assistant Director: Michael Hausman; First Assistant Director/Second Assistant Director: Peter Thorell; Second Assistant Director: Tudor Jones; Second Second Assistant Director: Rob Dickerson Jr.
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Dramatic Series Night: DAN ATTIAS
The Wire - “Transitions”, HBO
Mr. Attias’ Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Nina Noble; First Assistant Director: Eric Henriquez; Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan; Second Second Assistant Director: Tim Blockburger
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Comedy Series: PAUL FEIG
The Office - “Dinner Party”, NBC
Mr. Feig’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Robert Rothbard; First Assistant Director: Kelly Cantley; Second Assistant Director: Jennie O’Keefe; Second Second Assistant Director: Jasmine Alhambra; DGA Trainee: Alicia Cho
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Musical Variety: BRENT (BUCKY) GUNTS
Opening Ceremony Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games, NBC
Mr. Gunts’ Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Carol Larson, Brian Orentreich; Stage Manager: Steve Hollander
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Reality Programs: TONY CROLL
America’s Next Top Model - “1002″, CW
Mr. Croll’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: John Downer
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Daytime Serials: LARRY CARPENTER
One Life to Live - Episode #10,281, “So You Think You Can Be Shane Morasco’s Father?”, ABC
Mr. Carpenter’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Teresa Anne Cicala, Paul Glass, Tracy Casper Lang; Stage Managers: Alan Needleman, Keith Greer, Brendan Higgins; Production Associates: Kevin Brush, Beth Kravitz
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Documentary: ARI FOLMAN
Waltz with Bashir, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films, Sony Pictures Classics
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Commercials: PETER THWAITES
Production Company: Gorgeous Enterprises
“Waterslide”, Barclaycard -BBH
“Light Show”, Guinness – Irish International BBDO
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Children’s Programs: AMY SCHATZ
Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now) “The Poetry Show”, HBO
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DGA Honorary Life Member Award
Roger Ebert, Film Critic/Author

Robert B. Aldrich Award
William M. Brady, DGA Second Vice-President, Director

Frank Capra Achievement Award
Kim Kurumada, DGA Board Member, Unit Production Manager

Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award
Scott Berger, DGA Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, Associate Director

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Over 200 RSVP’s To SAG Hollywood’s Open Board Meeting On Monday Night

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday January 31, 2009 @ 10:24pm PSTTags: Actors, Guilds, SAG

OPEN BOARD MEETING

When: Monday, February 2, 2009
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
(Light meal will be served beginning at 5:30 p.m.)

Where: James Cagney Boardroom
5757 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

The Hollywood Division board will open its February 2, 2009 meeting to members-at-large for observation. This is part of the policy the board

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Revenge Of The Nerds: Oscars Boycott

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday January 31, 2009 @ 5:35pm PSTTags: Oscars

Good for the geeks! I’m told that movie sites dedicated to comic book heroes, Star Trek sequels, and everything else sci-fi, action-oriented, and gory are promising to boycott all promotion of this year’s Academy Awards because The Dark Knight wasn’t nominated for … Read More »

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BUT IT WASN’T EASY: NBC Sets Record And Sells Out Super Bowl Ads For $201M

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday January 31, 2009 @ 3:58pm PSTTags: Advertising, Networks, Sports

NBC announced on the eve of the Super Bowl that it has sold the last two of the 67 advertising spots for the game and now 32 advertisers will be represented, pushing total ad revenue for the event to a … Read More »

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Text: SAG Board Majority’s Written Assent

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday January 31, 2009 @ 3:50pm PSTTags: Actors, Guilds, SAG

Pursuant to the Screen Actors Guild Constitution, Article V, Section 1. (J.) (4.), the following actions are hereby authorized through written assent by a majority of the members of the SAG National Board of Directors.I. Effective immediately, Doug Allen is terminated as an employee of Screen Actors Guild.

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Text Of AFTRA/SAG No-Insult Agreement

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday January 31, 2009 @ 2:25pm PSTTags: Actors, AFTRA, Guilds, SAG

As you are aware, late last year, the SAG and AFTRA National Boards both approved in principle the terms of an agreement concerning the conditions for negotiating the commercials contracts under the Phase One Agreement (the “Commercials Contracts Agreement”). The Commercials Contracts Agreement has now been finalized and approved

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Paradigm Sends People Packing Today

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 10:08pm PSTTags: Agents

I hear 2 agents – one lit, one marketing – and 10 assistants gone in one fell swoop.

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TBS Wants George Lopez Late Night Talk

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 8:50pm PSTTags: Late Night TV

This year, Telepictures did a pilot for former ANC sitcom star George Lopez in his own late night talker. But the syndication arm of Warner Bros couldn’t sell it. Now I’m told that a deal is about to close for the Lopez talker to air at either 11PM or 11:30PM on TBS. My … Read More »

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NATPE Floor Space To Be Eliminated…?

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 8:50pm PSTTags: Studios

So the folks returning from NATPE are telling me that “this will be the last year of NATPE as we know it”. Because they say NATPE couldn’t fill the floor space so the powers-that-be will eliminate it next year. Once upon a … Read More »

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LA Times Bringing Back “Company Town” And Pushing Calendar’s Deadlines Later

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 4:47pm PSTTags: LA Times

According to an internal memo from new publisher Eddy Hartenstein, the Los Angeles Times Business section beginning March 2nd will be “enhanced by bringing back the ‘Company Town’ feature, which will serve as the anchor for our ‘business of entertainment’ coverage”. … Read More »

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Kyra Sedgwick Signs With United Talent

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 3:20pm PSTTags: Actors

First, I should explain that someone close to the star of TNT’s The Closer clarified to me that “her team is completely intact except for Gersh. She has the same manager, same lawyer, same publicist, same assistant. Everything’s the same but Gersh.” And, further, that her rethinking her agency “has nothing … Read More »

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Paramount vs Sony On ‘Eat Pray Love’

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 11:04am PSTTags: Actors, Books, Movies, Studios

So this was a hot book but it’s been a cold movie in development at Paramount. Two years ago, Brad Pitt wanted the project for his Plan B production company. Then a year ago, Julia Roberts attached herself to play the lead … Read More »

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‘Taken’ Topping Online Wkd Ticket Sales

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 10:19am PSTTags: Box Office

Fandango.com Ticket Sales (as of 1/30/09, 9AM PT)

Taken 13%
Slumdog Millionaire 8%
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans 6%
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 6%
The Uninvited 6%

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Peter Chernin’s Contract Negotiation Now Hurting News Corp Stock On Wall Street

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 9:19am PSTTags: Big Media, Finance

Rich Greenfield at Pali Research has given up on News Corp, changing his “Buy” recommendation to “Sell” within the last 24 hours and dropping his stock target price to $5.50 from $12. The financial analyst was basing his very negative assessment … Read More »

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R.I.P. Variety Asia

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 30, 2009 @ 9:06am PSTTags: Foreign, Trades

UPDATE: Yes, it’s true.

I’m trying to confirm Twitchfilm.com’s report this AM that Patrik Frater, the editor in chief of Variety Asia, and Marcus Lim, the web editor, have been laid off. Frater is known as one of the best connected guys in … Read More »

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An Invitation To Ben Silverman’s Crib

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday January 29, 2009 @ 5:44pm PSTTags: Studios

I’ve already told you about personnel trouble inside all-shook-up NBC. Now I’m told that Ben Silverman is holding a big meeting at his new Pacific Palisades home for all the top NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios senior executives.  (Perhaps in the basement wine room/screening room of his self-described ”weekend oasis” purchased … Read More »

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Media Rights Capital Goes To Plan B

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday January 29, 2009 @ 3:06pm PSTTags: Media

I hear MRC just hired Brye Adler from Plan B to be the new production executive under Tori Metzger.

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Gersh Loses Two Actors, Signs Two Actors

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday January 29, 2009 @ 1:29pm PSTTags: Actors

UPDATE: Someone close to the star of TNT’s The Closer clarified to me that “her team is completely intact except for Gersh. She has the same manager, same lawyer, same publicist, same assistant. Everything’s the same but Gersh.” And, further, that her rethinking her agency “has nothing to do with … Read More »

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Now It’s Disney/ABC Laying Off 400 Staff

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday January 29, 2009 @ 10:43am PSTTags: Networks

Every day my “inbox” keeps filling with more in-house memos about staff cuts at the studios and networks. This latest whammy has Disney’s ABC Television Group axing 4% of the total workforce all the way up into the executive ranks. About 200 open positions won’t be filled, and another 200 staffers will be let go. Here’s the … Read More »

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