The Oscar nominations will be announced a week from today and while Precious is a shoe-in for best actress and best supporting actress nods (maybe best picture) — I am wondering if the director of Precious, Lee Daniels, will get a best director nod.  Daniels was snubbed at the Golden Globes and the Oscars usually follows their lead.  Shockingly, John Singleton is the first and only African-American to receive a nomination for best director, which was 1991’s Boyz n the Hood.  Yep, not even Spike Lee got love at the Oscars.

The prestigious Directors Guild of America for its feature directing award.  But, an article over at the NationalPost.com says the chances are still slim:

Before Daniels can earn a slot of his own, he might have to overcome competition from the formidable Clint Eastwood, an Academy favorite. The power of Eastwood’s star appeal was in evidence last month when the Golden Globes nominations were announced. His racial picture “Invictus” wasn’t nominated for best drama; instead, the five movies — including “Precious” — directed by the eventual DGA nominees made the cut. But when the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. turned to the best director category, it dropped Daniels in favor of Eastwood. Something similar could happen at the Academy.

Eastwood, after all, is justifiably viewed as a master, while Daniels, making a bid with only his second film as director, is the least-seasoned among the DGA’s nominees, which also include James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and Jason Reitman.

From the start, Daniels has never seemed too concerned with awards, he just wanted to create a good movie and he surely did.  Nonetheless, we will see next week if some history can be made.

TAGS: Lee Daniels, Oscars, Precious

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