Oscars Build-Up At Fever Pitch As Ben Affleck Storms The Directors Guild Of America Awards (Pictures)
Ben Affleck continued his winter dominance of awards season at the Directors Guild Of America Awards on Saturday (February 2nd) as he picked up the event's top prize to further cement his film Argo's reckoning as the favorite for the much-coveted best picture prize at the Oscars this month (February 24, 2013). Affleck has been on an absolute sweep since the disappointment of missing out on the shortlist for the Oscars best director category; Argo has won the best picture at the Producers Guild of America Awards, best picture at the Critics Choice Awards and best picture at the Golden Globes. Affleck himself meanwhile has picked up a couple of best director gongs at the Critics Choic and the Golden Globes.
This time out Affleck's success was perhaps eclipsed by Lean Dunham's triumph; the Girls creator managed to become the first female director to win helming a TV comedy series at the DGA. Dunham is another whose had a storming awards season, and this latest award was wholly justified for one of the comedy world's brightest current stars.
Away from the award winners though, the spotlight was on the stars who turned out. Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters was among those there, the oft-proclaimed 'nicest man in rock' looking just that as he arrived with a typically goofy smile. The great and the good of the acting world were there too, including Hugh Jackman and Helen Hunt; Jennifer Garner was also in attendance, of course, supporting her partner Affleck on the latest leg of his what's becoming a mightily sweet victory tour. History suggests that the winner of the DGAs have a huge chance of taking home the Oscar; on the other hand it's been over two decades since a film took the title without having an accompanying best director nomination - so which way is it going to go for Ben Affleck and Argo?