Guild Announces Surprise Nominees for 1989 Directing Achievement Award

The Directors Guild of America announced its nominees for 1989 directorial achievement today, displaying a preference for popular movies instead of the artistic ones.

“I think we have some interesting choices this year,” commented Barry Levinson, last year’s DGA winner for “Rain Man,” as he announced the nominees. Reporters attending the announcement agreed.

The nominees: Woody Allen, “Crimes and Misdemeanors;” Rob Reiner, “When Harry Met Sally . . .”; Phil Alden Robinson, “Field of Dreams”; Oliver Stone, “Born on the Fourth of July”; Peter Weir, “Dead Poets Society.”

Reiner, Robinson and Weir were somewhat surprising choices, since most critics have overlooked their achievements in favor of such films as Paul Mazursky’s “Enemies, A Love Story,” Edward Zwick’s “Glory,” Bruce Beresford’s “Driving Miss Daisy” and Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.”

The guild brags that its awards have deviated from the Oscars only three times since 1949, but in recent years the DGA has been less predictable. Three years ago Steven Spielberg won the DGA award for “The Color Purple,” although he didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination.