There's a moment early on in "Men in Black 3" when Will Smith's Agent J sits down next to his longtime partner, Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K, and bemoans the fact that he's too old for this sort of thing — for running around New York in matchingLOS ANGELES – The Directors Guild of America Awards presented its feature-film honor Saturday to Michel Hazanavicius for his silent film “The Artist,” giving him the inside track for the best-director prize at the Academy Awards.
“I really love directors. I really have respect for directors. So this is really very moving and touching for me,” said Hazanavicius, whose black-and-white silent charmer has cleaned up at earlier Hollywood honors and could emerge as the best-picture favorite at the Feb. 26 Oscars.
The Directors Guild honors are one of the most accurate forecasts for who might go on to take home an Oscar. Only six times in the 63-year history of the guild awards has the winner failed to win the Oscar for best director. And more often than not, whichever film earns the directing Oscar also wins best picture.
First-time nominee Hazanavicius won over a field of guild heavyweights that included past winners Martin Scorsese for “Hugo” and Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris.”
James Marsh won the film documentary prize for “Project Nim,” his chronicle of the triumphs and trials of a chimpanzee that was raised like a human child. Robert B. Weide won the TV comedy directing award for an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” while Patty Jenkins earned the TV drama prize for the pilot of “The Killing.”
