Actor-turned-filmmaker Ben Affleck won the top honour from his peers at the Directors Guild of America last night for the movie Argo, cementing the Iran hostage drama's frontrunner status for the Oscars.
The Hollywood directors' recognition for Affleck, however, is an awkward result for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which failed to nominate him for Best Director in what is considered one of the biggest snubs of this year's Oscars.
Since 1948, there have been only six occasions when the Directors Guild of America (DGA) winner has not gone on to win the Oscar for Best Director.
"I have nothing but respect for the Academy," Affleck said after collecting his first DGA award. The Hollywood star, a producer of "Argo", said he was thrilled the film was nominated for the Oscars' Best Picture award.
"You are not entitled to win anything," he said.
The DGA is often a good indicator of Oscar winners as DGA members are also members of the Academy. The Oscar for Best Picture also often goes to the winner of the DGA's award. The Oscars will be held on February 24th.
Affleck triumphed over four directors who have all won the top DGA honour and gone on to win the Best Director Oscar.
Among those defeated was Steven Spielberg, whose Civil War-era drama Lincoln has lost to Argo in successive award ceremonies this season. The two-time DGA winner for Schindler's List in 1994 and Saving Private Ryan in 1999 collected his 11th nomination from his peers with Lincoln.
The other three unsuccessful nominees were Kathryn Bigelow for Osama bin Laden-manhunt thriller Zero Dark Thirty, Ang Lee for his 3D adaptation of the bestselling novel Life of Pi, and Tom Hooper, for his screen adaptation of the hit musical Les Miserables.
In Argo, which is based on a real account, Affleck also plays the lead role of a CIA agent entrusted with extracting six Americans from revolutionary Iran after the US embassy is stormed. The agent, with help from Hollywood, creates a fake film and makes the Americans part of the crew.
So far in the awards season, Affleck has won Best Director at the Golden Globes while Argo won Best Drama. The cast was also recognized with the top honour from the Screen Actors Guild.
"There was a point in my life where I was really down and really confused ... didn't know what was going to happen and I thought 'I could be a director'," Affleck told the high-power Hollywood crowd.
"I don't believe this makes me a real director, but I think I am on my way," he said.
Reuters