Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to receive the best director honor for her film, “The Hurt Locker.” Bigelow beat out such heavy-weights and repeat nominees Quentin Tarentino with “Inglorious Basterds” and ex-husband James Cameron with “Avatar”. She also won out against fellow first time nominees Lee Daniels with “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” and Jason Reitman with “Up In The Air.”
“The Hurt Locker” tells the story of a U.S. military bomb squad that defuses explosives amid the fighting and insurgents. The film has been celebrated on the awards circuit having received nominations from Critics Choice, Golden Globes and Screen Actors’ Guild to name a few.
Traditionally, directors who has received the trophy from their peers at DGA have gone on to receive an Oscar nomination and ultimately the win at the Academy Awards. Bigleow will learn if winning this award will lead her to the Oscar Ceremony as a nominee when the Oscar nominations are announcing on Tuesday, February 2.
The Academy Awards, hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 7 on ABC.
(photo credit: dga.org)
