The final guild nominations were recently announced, and there are several theatrical categories to get to. The three guilds, DGA, PGA, and WGA, announced out eight nominations in total, which really help to fill in the gaps for prediction the Oscar nods. Or in some cases, just make matters more confusing.

The Directors Guild of America...

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film

• Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaires
• David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
• Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight
• Gus van Sant for Milk

• Gonzalo Arijon for Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains
• Elizabeth Farnsworth & Patricio Lanfranco for The Judge and the General
• Ari Folman for Waltz with Bashir
• Peter Gilbert & Steve James for At the Death House Door
• James March for Man on Wire

The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
• The Dark Knight
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• Slumdog Millionaire

• Man on Wire
• Standard Operating Procedure
• Trouble the Water

• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• WALL-E

Original Screenplay

• Woody Allen for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Dustin Lance Black for Milk
• The Coen Brothers for Burn After Reading
• Tom McCarthy for The Visitor
• Robert Siegel for The Wrestler

• Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaires
• Peter Morgan for Frost/Nixon
• Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and David S. Goyer for The Dark Knight
• Eric Roth and Robin Swicord for The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
• John Patrick Shanley for Doubt

• Ari Folman for Waltz with Bashir
• Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker for Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
• Alex Gibney for Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
• Brett Morgen for Chicago 10
• Johnny O'Hara for Fuel

• We are seeing a lot of the same movies make these lists over and over again, including Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, etc.
• The Dark Knight's chances to earn a least an Oscar nomination improved with these results.
• When the Oscar nominations are announced, if the three nominations for Best Animated Picture are not Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, and WALL-E, it will likely be the biggest surprise of the day.
• On the other hand, Best Feature Length Documentary is wide open with the three guilds showing sharp disagreement in this category.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2009-01-09