Taika Waititi Joins Scorsese, Tarantino, Mendes and Bong With Directors Guild Nomination for ‘Jojo Rabbit’

The Directors Guild of America’s feature-film nominations contain a lineup of acknowledged masters including Martin Scorsese for “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino for “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” Sam Mendes for “1917” and Korean auteur Bong Joon Ho for “Parasite.”

Taika Waititi may not have been mentioned in their company when he was best known for making comedies and horror flicks like “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” but he joined the ranks of those other directors on Tuesday morning when the Directors Guild nominated him for “Jojo Rabbit.”

But the slate of nominees also means that the DGA will face some of the same questions that were aimed at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association when it nominated an all-male slate of directors for the Golden Globe.

*Also Read:* Taika Waititi Says He Didn't Even Try to Pitch Studios on His WWII Comedy 'Jojo Rabbit'

“Little Women” writer-director Greta Gerwig would have been the likeliest woman to receive a nomination, though you could also make a case for Lulu Wang for “The Farewell,” Alma Har’el for “Honey Boy,” Mati Diop for “Atlantics,” Celine Sciamma for “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and several others.

But the DGA did nominate Har’el, Diop and Melina Matsoukas (“Queen & Slim”) in its first-time feature category, along with Joe Talbot for “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz for “The Peanut Butter Falcon.”

The Directors Guild was the last of the four major Hollywood guilds to announce its nominees, following the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild and the Producers Guild. Three films — “The Irishman,” “Jojo Rabbit” and “Parasite” — have now received nominations from the DGA, PGA and WGA, as well as a SAG ensemble nomination. “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” was nominated by the DGA, PGA and SAG, and would certainly have been nominated by the WGA if it had been eligible.

Almost invariably, four of the five DGA nominees go on to receive Oscar nominations for Best Director. The only exceptions in the last 12 years came in 2010, when all five matched; 2012, when an eccentric slate of Oscar nominees only produced two matches; and last year, when three of the five aligned.

Since the Directors Guild began handing out awards in 1948, the DGA winner has also won the Oscar all but seven times.

The nominations:

*Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film*

*Bong Joon Ho*
*“Parasite”*
(Neon)

Mr. Bong’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Park Min Chul
First Assistant Director: Kim Seong Sik

*Sam Mendes*
*“1917”*
(Universal Pictures)

Mr. Mendes’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Callum McDougall, Hannah Godwin
First Assistant Director: Michael Lerman
Second Assistant Director: Joey Coughlin

*Martin Scorsese*
*“The Irishman”*
(Netflix)

Mr. Scorsese’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: John A. Machione, Carla Raij
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
Second Second Assistant Director: Trevor Tavares
Additional Second Assistant Director: Ryan Robert Howard
Location Manager: Kip Myers

*Quentin Tarantino*
*“Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood”*
(Columbia Pictures)

Mr. Tarantino’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Georgia Kacandes, Nathan Kelly
First Assistant Director: William Paul Clark
Second Assistant Director: Christopher T. Sadler
Second Second Assistant Director: Brendan “Bear” Lee
Additional Second Assistant Directors: Debbie Chung, Katie Pruitt

*Taika Waititi*
*“Jojo Rabbit”*
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mr. Waititi’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Václav Mottl, Pavel Voráček
First Assistant Director: Mark Taylor
Second Assistant Director: Martina Götthansová
Second Second Assistant Director: Martina Frimelová

*Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film*

*Mati Diop*
*“Atlantics”*
(Netflix)

Ms. Diop’s Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Vincent Prades

*Alma Har’el*
*“Honey Boy”*
(Amazon Studios)

Ms. Har’el’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: David Grace
First Assistant Director: Sean Vawter
Second Assistant Director: Colin Flaherty
Second Second Assistant Director: Sarah Balboa

*Melina Matsoukas*
*“Queen & Slim”*
(Universal Pictures)

Ms. Matsoukas’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Pamela Hirsch, Max Berryhill (Los Angeles Unit)
First Assistant Directors: HH Cooper, Joe Suarez (Los Angeles Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: James Roque, Johnny Recher (Los Angeles Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Sumner Boissiere, Tami Kumin (Ohio Unit)

*Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz*
*“The Peanut Butter Falcon”*
(Roadside Attractions)

Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Manu Gargi
First Assistant Director: James Grayford
Second Assistant Director: Dee Jones
Second Second Assistant Director: Michael McKay

*Joe Talbot*
*“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”*
(A24 Films)

Mr. Talbot’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Natalie Teter
First Assistant Director: Hilton J. Day
Second Assistant Director: Dominic Martin
Second Second Assistant Director: Jeremiah Kelleher
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Alex Gilbert*Related stories from TheWrap:*

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