THE RACE - COEN BROTHERS WIN OSCAR-INDICATING PRIZE FOR NO COUNTRY

Joel and Ethan Coen's hopes of winning the best director award at the Oscars have been boosted by the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

The brothers were awarded the top prize at the DGA's annual awards ceremony last night for No Country for Old Men.

According to the DGA itself, the award for outstanding feature film achievement has
"traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for the Academy award for best director".

In the awards 60 year history, the DGA and Academy's choice for best director have only differed six times.

Crime drama No Country for Old Men leads the race for the Oscars with There Will Be Blood after both films were nominated in eight categories.

There Will Be Blood's Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Clayton's Tony Gilroy, Juno's Jason Reitman and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's Julian Schnabel have also been nominated in the best director category.

A shadow of doubt hangs over the Oscars ceremony, due to be held on February 24th, however, with the Hollywood writers' strike still going strong almost three months in.

The Golden Globes were reduced to a glorified press conference earlier this month due to star pullouts.


27/01/2008 16:04:17