The Shape of Water, Get Out Top Director’s Guild Awards

In a win that solidified its frontrunner status leading into the Oscars, The Shape of Water won top honors at the Directors Guild Awards. Guillermo del Toro won the award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film for the movie on Sunday, marking his first win at the guild ceremony. Jordan Peele, meanwhile, won Outstanding Directing in a First-Time Feature Film for Get Out.

Del Toro’s win gives The Shape of Water even more momentum as we get closer to the Oscars. The film has already won a Producer’s Guild Award and has thirteen Oscar nominations, one off from the record held by La La Land, Titanic and All About Eve.

It is worth noting, however, that this doesn’t make Shape of Water a shoo-in to win. Note that La La Land didn’t win Best Picture last year despite fourteen noms. A more extreme example The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was nominated for thirteen awards in 2008 but won only three — Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects.

In The Shape of Water’s case, the primary competitor is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. That film, which has seven nominations, has taken the important Screen Actor’s Guild Award as well as the Golden Globe for Best Drama.

The other DGA nominees for Feature Film were Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Peele (Get Out). Peele beat out William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth), Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game), Geremy Jasper (Patti Cake$), and Taylor Sheridan (Wind River).

The other winners are below:

Outstanding Direction – Drama Series: Reed Morano – The Handmaid’s Tale for “Offred”
Outstanding Direction – Comedy Series: Beth McCarthy-Miller – Veep for “Chicklet”
Outstanding Direction – Miniseries or TV Film: Jean-Marc Vallée – Big Little Lies
Outstanding Direction – Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled: Don Roy King – Saturday Night Live for “Host: Jimmy Fallon”
Outstanding Direction – Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials: Glenn Weiss – 89th Academy Awards
Outstanding Direction – Reality Programs: Brian Smith – MasterChef for “Vegas Deluxe & Oyster Schucks”
Outstanding Direction – Children’s Programs: Niki Caro – Anne with an E for “Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny”
Outstanding Direction – Commercials: Martin de Thurah – StubHub’s “Festival” and “Machines”, and Wealthsimple’s “Mad World”