Ang Lee Wins Top DGA Award for ‘Crouching Tiger’

Ang Lee, the Taiwanese-born director of this year’s foreign film box office hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” was named best director by his peers at the Directors Guild of America awards dinner Saturday night.

Lee, who was nominated by the DGA for the first time, beat out Steven Soderbergh, nominated for the real-life drama “Erin Brockovich” and the drug trade docudrama “Traffic,” Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”) and Cameron Crowe (“Almost Famous”) for the prestigious award.

“Wow, it is too much. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart,” said a very emotional Lee. “I don’t believe in film competition, but I do believe the acknowledgment is a great honor. I thank you for this honor.”

In the past, the annual awards have served as a barometer of sorts for Oscar favorites. Last year’s winner, Sam Mendes, also went on to win best director at the Academy Awards for “American Beauty.” Only four times since 1949 have the Oscar winners been different from the DGA winners. Among this year’s nominees, Crowe was the only one not nominated for an Oscar.

Lee’s film has broken box office records (more than $77 million) and was nominated for the most Oscar nominations (10) of all time for any foreign film. He is recognized for his versatility in filmmaking, having directed such diverse films as “The Ice Storm,” a family drama set in an American suburb in the 1970s, the adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” and the Taiwanese romantic drama “The Wedding Banquet.”

The awards dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel was star-filled, with each of the feature film directors receiving a nomination medallion from the stars they directed.

Julia Roberts presented Soderbergh with his medallion for “Erin Brockovich,” while Catherine Zeta-Jones handed the bespectacled director his for his work in “Traffic.” Russell Crowe accepted the medallion for Scott, who was filming in Morocco and could not make the dinner.

Kate Hudson, who is nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar, handed Crowe his medallion for “Almost Famous.” And Joan Allen, who worked with Lee on “The Ice Storm,” gave the director his for “Crouching Tiger.”

In addition to the directing nominations and winners, Motion Picture Assn. Chairman Jack Valenti was given an honorary lifetime membership award. Valenti, who last year stood as the face of Hollywood during the U.S. Senate hearings on violence in the media, joins such legendary industry figures as Walt Disney, Louis B. Mayer and Jack Warner in receiving the award.

Thomas Schlamme received the award for best director-dramatic TV series for an episode of “The West Wing.” James Burrows received the award for best director-comedy series for an episode of “Will & Grace.”