Greta Gerwig, Jordan Peele among 2018 Directors Guild of America nominees

Amid steady calls for greater representation of race and gender at annual awards shows, the Directors Guild of America has answered the call, nominating a diverse group of contenders vying for the title of best director of 2017.

After missing out on a Golden Globe nod, Gerwig’s DGA recognition for Lady Bird offers a significant boost to the profile of her solo directorial debut one day before Oscar nominations voting ends. Get Out helmer Peele, who received two DGA nods — one for best director and another in the first-time director category — also gets a much needed boost from the DGA ahead of the Jan. 24 Oscar nominations.

The rest of the DGA’s nominees have established themselves as the year’s usual suspects in the run-up to the Academy Awards: The Shape of Water‘s Guillermo del Toro, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri‘s Martin McDonagh, and Dunkirk‘s Christopher Nolan.

Most of the DGA’s 2018 nominees reflect a narrowing Oscar race that had, up until Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, yet to produce a clear-cut frontrunner in any of the major, above-the-line categories. McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri had picked up the most industry precursor recognition prior to its big best picture victory at the Globes, however, and repeats its hot streak here after previously securing nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild — two of the most prominent Academy influencers on the circuit.

With roughly 16,000 members in film, television, and commercial media, the DGA remains one of the biggest precursor bodies on the Oscar trail. While its nominees rarely fully agree with the Academy’s, its victors’ circle looks a lot like Oscar’s: Across the last 70 ceremonies, only seven of the group’s winners have failed to repeat at the Academy Awards, thanks in large part to a significant portion of crossover membership shared by both groups.

The last time the DGA’s complete list of honorees fully aligned with Oscar’s eventual crop of nominees was in 2010. Since then, on average, the DGA and the Academy tend to match approximately 80 percent of their respective rosters. The most glaring exception to that pattern came in 2013, when the DGA’s nominated class included three filmmakers (Argo‘s Ben Affleck, Les Miserables‘ Tom Hooper, and Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow) were ultimately ignored by Academy voters.

Thus far, Nolan, del Toro, and McDonagh have paced the precursors, earning nominations from the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and seeing their films on the Producers Guild of America nominees list for best picture. It’s expected the three will contend for best director at the Oscars as well, though dark horses like The Post‘s Steven Spielberg and Call Me By Your Name‘s Luca Guadagnino also remain in contention for nominations.

Last year, La La Land director Damien Chazelle took the DGA’s top honor as well as the Oscar for best director, though his Emma Stone-fronted musical romance lost the Academy’s best picture statuette to Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, as the Oscar voting system (they vote with a preferential ballot with five slots for best picture versus a standard, weighted ballot) has favored a director/picture split in recent years.

Read on for a full list of the DGA’s 2018 nominees.

BEST DIRECTOR:

GUILLERMO del TORO
The Shape of Water
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mr. del Toro’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
Production Manager: Dennis Chapman
First Assistant Director: Pierre Henry
Second Assistant Director: Tyler Delben
This is Mr. del Toro’s first DGA Award nomination

GRETA GERWIG
Lady Bird
(A24)

Ms. Gerwig’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Lila Yacoub, Danielle Blumstein, Jamin O’Brien (New York Crew)
First Assistant Directors: Jonas Spaccarotelli, Cedric Vara (New York Crew)
Second Assistant Director: Brendan Lee, Dana Zolli (New York Crew)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Lillian Awa, Teri Barber
This is Ms. Gerwig’s first DGA Award nomination.

MARTIN McDONAGH
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mr. McDonagh’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Bergen Swanson
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Peggy Robinson
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Paula Case
Second Second Assistant Director: Spencer Taylor
This is Mr. McDonagh’s first DGA Award nomination.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Dunkirk
(Warner Bros.)

Mr. Nolan’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: David Witz, Christine Raspillere (France Unit), Chris Brock (UK Unit), Nicky Tüske (Netherlands Unit)
First Assistant Directors: Nilo Otero, William Pruss (France Unit), Willem Quarles van Ufford (Netherlands Unit)
Second Assistant Director: Eric Lasko, Nicolas Baldino (France Unit), Alexis Chelli (France Unit), Clément Comet (France Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Alina Gatti
This is Mr. Nolan’s fourth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for Inception in 2010, for The Dark Knight in 2008, and for Memento in 2001.

JORDAN PEELE
Get Out
(Universal Pictures)

Mr. Peele’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Marcei A. Brown, Rick A. Osako (Fairhope Unit)
First Assistant Director: Gerard DiNardi
Second Assistant Directors: Ram Paul Silbey, Marc Newland (Fairhope Unit), Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Maggie Ballard
Location Manager: Kurt Enger (New York Unit)

FIRST-TIME FEATURE DIRECTOR NOMINEES:

GEREMY JASPER
Patti Cake$
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. Jasper’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Sara Blechman
First Assistant Director: Inna Braude
Second Assistant Director: Natasha Rivera
Second Second Assistant Director: Lucas Isabella
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Alice Johnson
This is Mr. Jasper’s first DGA Award nomination.

WILLIAM OLDROYD
Lady Macbeth
(Roadside Attractions)

Mr. Oldroyd’s Directorial Team:
Production Manager: Robert K. Harm
Unit Manager: Eugene Galbrath
First Assistant Director: George Every
Second Assistant Director: Richard Stanley Jan Harris
This is Mr. Oldroyd’s first DGA Award nomination.

JORDAN PEELE
Get Out
(Universal Pictures)

Mr. Peele’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Marcei A. Brown, Rick A. Osako (Fairhope Unit)
First Assistant Director: Gerard DiNardi
Second Assistant Directors: Ram Paul Silbey, Marc Newland (Fairhope Unit), Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Maggie Ballard
Location Manager: Kurt Enger (New York Unit)

TAYLOR SHERIDAN
Wind River
(Acacia Entertainment)

Mr. Sheridan’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Christopher H. Warner
First Assistant Director: Nicholas Harvard
Second Assistant Director: Jason Altieri
Second Second Assistant Director: Kristina Massie
This is Mr. Sheridan’s first DGA Award nomination.

AARON SORKIN
Molly’s Game
(STX Entertainment)

Mr. Sorkin’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Lyn Lucibello-Brancatella, Stuart M. Besser, Michael Beugg (Los Angeles Unit)
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Bart Lipton (Los Angeles Unit)
First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
Second Assistant Directors: Penny Charter, Travis Rehwaldt (New York Unit), Paula Case (Los Angeles Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Conor Griff (New York Unit), Drew Ritson (New York Unit), Bryan Snodgrass (Los Angeles Unit)
Location Manager: Dena Ghieth (New York Unit)