DGA Award No. 2 is about to make Alfonso Cuaron No. 13. The “Roma” writer/director/cinematographer/editor is the massive favorite to win the Directors Guild of America Award on Saturday, which would propel him onto the short list of two-time champs.
Only 12 people have won the prestigious prize twice, including Cuaron’s good pal Alejandro G. Inarritu, who claimed back-to-back wins for “Birdman” (2014) and “The Revenant” (2015). Steven Spielberg holds the record with three wins, for “The Color Purple” (1985), “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998).
Cuaron nabbed his first DGA Award for “Gravity” (2013), for which he later won the Best Director Oscar. One of the most accurate Oscar precursors, DGA has lined up with Oscar 63 times in 70 years. Of the two-time DGA winners, thrice has the DGA champ not converted both of their victories into Oscar gold. Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather,” 1972) lost the Oscar to Bob Fosse (“Cabaret”); Ron Howard (“Apollo 13,” 1995) was snubbed by Oscar, which honored Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”); and Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” 2000) fell to Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”). (Lee would later win a second Oscar for 2012’s “Life of Pi” after DGA champ Ben Affleck was snubbed for “Argo”). Spielberg went 2 for 3, missing out on an Oscar nomination for “The Color Purple.”
SEE DGA Awards: Alfonso Cuaron all but certain to take key Oscar percursor
Cuaron, who is also the heavy favorite at the Oscars, has a commanding 31/10 odds to prevail. Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”) is in second, followed by Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”), Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”) and Adam McKay (“Vice”). Cooper and Farrelly were snubbed by the Oscars, but the former is expected to win Best First-Time Director at DGA.
Here are the two-time DGA winners.
1. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, “A Letter to Three Wives” (1949) and “All About Eve” (1950)
2. George Stevens, “A Place in the Sun” (1951) and “Giant” (1956)
3. Fred Zinnemann, “From Here to Eternity” (1953) and “A Man for All Seasons” (1966)
4. David Lean, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) and “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)
5. Robert Wise, “West Side Story” (1961, shared with Jerome Robbins) and “The Sound of Music” (1965)
6. Francis Ford Coppola, “The Godfather” (1972) and “The Godfather Part II” (1974)
7. Milos Forman, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and “Amadeus” (1984)
8. Oliver Stone, “Platoon” (1986) and “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989)
9. Clint Eastwood, “Unforgiven” (1992) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)
10. Ron Howard, “Apollo 13” (1995) and “A Beautiful Mind” (2001)
11. Ang Lee, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) and “Brokeback Mountain” (2005)
12. Alejandro G. Inarritu, “Birdman” (2014) and “The Revenant” (2015)
PREDICT the Oscar winners now; change them until Feb. 24
Be sure to make your Oscar predictions so that Hollywood insiders can see how their films and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on Feb. 4. And join in the fierce debate over the 2019 Oscars taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our movie forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
