That unsubtle backhand slap you just heard was the sound of Steven Spielberg being whacked off his awards-season pedestal by the Directors Guild of America, which just announced Woody Allen, David Fincher, Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne and Martin Scorsese as its 2012 Best Director nominees. This one has to hurt.
Other, less conspicuous snubs include Moneyball director Bennett Miller and The Help's Tate Taylor, the latter of whom who made his first Oscar Index appearance last week but seems likely to drop off by the next installment. As Steve Pond notes over at The Wrap, the DGA Awards are a significant Academy Awards precursor: "Typically, four of the five DGA nominees go on to receive Oscar nominations. In the last decade, the DGA has matched all five Oscar nominees twice, four out of five six times and three out of five twice."
Still! Ouch. For the record, here again are this year's nominees:
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
[DGA]