A graduate of Poland’s prestigious Łódź film school—whose alumni also include Roman Polanski, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Andrzej Wajda—Krzysztof Kieślowski began his career as a filmmaker after a childhood spent moving from city to city, a flirtation with the theater, a drawn-out attempt to avoid military service, and two rejections from his future alma mater. Appropriately, […]

While there is more great television than at any time in history, audiences are having more trouble than ever distinguishing the great from the merely competent

Edward G. Robinson was never nominated for an Oscar, but in 1973 he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition that he had “achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts and a dedicated citizen … in sum, a Renaissance man”.

The Directors Guild of America has set Feb. 4 as the date for its 69th Annual DGA Awards, which will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and will be chaired by DGA president Paris Barclay.

Feature film and first-time feature film nominees will be announced on Jan. 12 and television, commercial and documentary nominees will be announced a day earlier on Jan. 11.

DGA members will be able to vote online between Nov. 30 and Jan. 9 for feature film nominations; between Dec. 12 and Jan. 9 for television nominations in five categories; and between Jan. 12 and Feb. 3 for the feature film award. All voting will continue to take place online.

The DGA also announced it will continue to allow feature film screeners to be distributed to members for awards consideration.

The complete schedule of key dates follows.

FEATURE FILMS

Nov. 30 — Online voting for nominations opens
Jan. 9 — Deadline for voting for nominations
Jan. 12 — Five feature film nominees announced, online voting opens
Jan. 16-20 — Membership screenings of the five nominated feature films
Feb. 3 — Deadline for voting for feature film award

TELEVISION AWARDS

Oct. 3 — Entry forms for TV and commercials available online
Dec. 2 — Deadline for submitting TV and commercial entries
Dec. 12 — Online voting for TV nominations opens
Jan. 9 — Deadline for voting for TV nominations
Jan. 11 — TV and commercial nominees announced

FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR AWARD

Sept. 6 — Entry forms for first-time feature film director available online
Oct. 7 — Deadline for entries for first-time feature director entries for films released theatrically from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30
Nov. 11 — Deadline for entires for first-time feature director entries for films released theatrically from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31
Jan. 12 — Announcement of five first-time feature film director nominees

DOCUMENTARY AWARD

Sept. 7 — Entry forms for documentary available online
Oct. 3 — Deadline for documentary entries with a theatrical release or broadcast from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30
Nov. 1 — Deadline for documentary entries with a theatrical release or broadcast from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31
Jan. 11 — Announcement of documentary nominees

Spielberg, representing the directors branch, and Laura Dern, of the actors branch, are among the new members who have been elected to the Academy’s board of governors for the first time. Two new minority members have joined the board: African-Americans Sharen K. Davis, a two-time Oscar nominee for Ray and Dreamgirls, who was elected to rep […]