In the midst of the furore around all-male director shortlists for the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, the Directors Guild of America has given Greta Gerwig a spot on their list of nominees, for her work on coming-of-age comedy Lady Bird.
Gerwig will compete against Globe winner Guillermo del Toro, who is nominated for romantic fantasy The Shape of Water.
The other nominees are Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Christopher Nolan for war thriller Dunkirk and, perhaps surprisingly, Jordan Peele made the list for his sharply satirical horror movie Get Out.
SEE ALSO: Golden Globes 2018: Winners and Losers from the World of Film
Directing honours have been shared throughout awards season thus far, though Del Toro’s victory at the Globes has him emerging as a frontrunner heading in to the Oscars.
Peele was also nominated by the DGA in its First-Time Feature category, which will see him compete against the likes of William Oldroyd for British drama Lady Macbeth and Aaron Sorkin for his fast-paced poker drama Molly’s Game.
SEE ALSO: BAFTA announces nominations for the 2018 EE British Academy Film Awards
The DGA gong is a reliable predictor for Oscar success, with the awards only diverging twice in the last 15 years. This is bad news for Call Me By Your Name helmer Luca Guadagnino and The Florida Project‘s Sean Baker, whose Oscar chances are severely dented by the DGA snub.
Steven Spielberg was also a surprise snub for The Post, which has struggled for awards season momentum in recent weeks after leaving the Globes empty-handed and being the main absentee from the BAFTA nominations.
SEE ALSO: Jordan Peele rebooting The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access
The full nominations for the DGA Awards 2018 are as follows…
FEATURE FILM
Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)
Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)
Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)
Jordan Peele (Get Out)
FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM
Geremy Jasper (Patti Cake$)
William Oldroyd (Lady Macbeth)
Jordan Peele (Get Out)
Taylor Sheridan (Wind River)
Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game)