Yes, Tom Hooper wins the coveted DGA award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2010. This pretty much signifies that The King's Speech is now the film to beat at the Oscars, as DGA winners have also taken Best Director all but six times since the first DGA awarding in 1948. The film also took the top PGA prize, which, along with the DGA win, probably indicates a Best Picture/Best Director sweep. Is it game, set & match yet? Not necessarily, but it's getting close. The Social Network still has a shot, but ultimately it comes down to this: A Gen-Y film going up against crowd-pleasing British prestige -- the latter of which fits right in with the Academy's tastes. They're old and sentimental and are desensitized to the smell of innovation. How's that for a generalization?
Just two weeks ago, it seemed as if The Social Network was destined for greatness at the Oscars. It dominated the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes on the same weekend, and was also the clear favorite among most critic groups. But the Academy is not comprised of critics, and the HFPA has lost much of its credibility, so all of these wins are impressive, but certainly not the most telling.
At this point in the Oscar race, there are three things that are most indicative of what film will win Best Picture: PGA results, DGA results, and the number of Oscar nominations a film receives. The King's Speech won the DGA and PGA awards, and leads the pack with twelve nominations -- four more than The Social Network. It's all but over.
