LOS ANGELES – Ben Affleck has won the top film honor from the Directors Guild of America for his CIA thriller Argo, further sealing its status as best-picture front-runner at the Academy Awards.
Saturday’s prize also normally would make Affleck a near shoo-in to win best-director at the Feb. 24 Oscars, since the Directors Guild recipient nearly always goes on to claim the same prize at Hollywood’s biggest night.
But Affleck surprisingly missed out on an Oscar directing nomination, along with several other key favorites, including fellow Directors Guild contenders Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty and Tom Hooper for Les Miserables.
Affleck’s Oscar snub has not hurt Argo and may even have earned it some favor among awards voters as an underdog favorite. Argo has dominated other awards since the Oscar nominations.
“I don’t think that this makes me a real director, but I think it means I’m on my way,” said Affleck, who won for just his third film behind the camera.
The Directors Guild honors continued Hollywood’s strange awards season, which could culminate with a big Oscar win for Affleck’s Argo. The guild’s prize for best director typically is a final blessing for the film that goes on to win best-picture and director at the Oscars.
Affleck can go only one-for-two at the Oscars, though. While Argo is up for best picture, the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooked him for a directing slot.
Affleck’s Argo, in which he also stars as a CIA operative who hatches a bold plan to rescue six Americans during the hostage crisis in Iran, has swept up all the major awards since the Oscar nominations. Argo won best drama and director at the Golden Globes and top film honors from the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America.
Milos Forman, a two-time Directors Guild and Oscar winner for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus, received the group’s lifetime-achievement award. Guild President Taylor Hackford let the crowd in a toast to Forman, who was ill and unable to attend.
Malik Bendjelloul won the guild’s documentary award for Searching for Sugar Man, his study of the fate of critically acclaimed but obscure 1970s singer-songwriter Rodriquez. The film also is nominated for best documentary at the Oscars.
Jay Roach won the guild trophy for TV movies and miniseries for Game Change, his drama starring Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in her 2008 vice-presidential run.
Girls star Lena Dunham earned the guild honor for TV comedy, while Rian Johnson won for drama series for Breaking Bad.
Dunham won for directing the pilot of Girls, which focuses on the lives of a group of women in their 20s.
“It is such an unbelievable honor to be in the company of the people in this room, who have made me want to do this with my life,” Dunham said.
Filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel) won for best commercial for a Procter and Gamble spot he directed.
Among other TV winners:
– Reality program: Brian Smith, Master Chef.
– Musical variety: Glenn Weiss, The 66th Annual Tony Awards.
– Daytime serial: Jill Mitwell, One Life to Live.
– Children’s program: Paul Hoen, Let It Shine.
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