'Everything Everywhere All at Once' directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert win the DGA's top prize

By Jevon PhillipsMultiplatform Editor

Feb. 19, 2023 2:01 PM PT

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directors of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” were awarded top honors for feature filmmaking by the Directors Guild of America at the 75th DGA Awards, a strong indicator of who could win at the Academy Awards next month.

The unrest between Hollywood studios and the guild did not put a damper on the awards, which were held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday evening. Winners have aligned with the Oscars in nine of the last 10 years. Sam Mendes won the DGA Award for “1917” in 2020, while Bong Joon-Ho won the Oscar for “Parasite.” Jane Campion won both awards last year for directing “The Power of the Dog.”

Other nominees for the top DGA prize were “Tár” director Todd Field, Martin McDonagh for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Joseph Kosinski for “Top Gun: Maverick” and Steven Spielberg for “The Fabelmans.” Kosinski did not make the final Oscar list, with Ruben Östlund rounding out that list for “Triangle of Sadness.”

The win continues the good fortune for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which leads the Oscar nominees with 11, and includes Michelle Yeoh’s Golden Globes win. Daniels, as the directors are called, talked about their approach to making the film in an interview with The Times’ Mark Olsen, saying: “You’re not a general; you’re a party host inviting every cast and crew member on set to bring the best version of themselves to the party.”

No women were nominated by the DGA or the motion picture academy for best director this year, despite some deserving contenders. The guild’s other top awards went to female filmmakers, though. For first feature film, the award went to Charlotte Wells for “Aftersun,” while the top documentary prize was awarded to Sara Dosa for “Fire of Love.”

The rest of the winners/nominees are as follows:

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMATIC SERIES

Sam Levinson – “Euphoria,” “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” (HBO) | WINNER
Jason Bateman – “Ozark,” “A Hard Way to Go” (Netflix)
Vince Gilligan – “Better Call Saul,” “Waterworks” (AMC)
Aoife McArdle – “Severance,” “Hide and Seek” (Apple TV+)
Ben Stiller – “Severance,” “The We We Are” (Apple TV+)

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIES

Bill Hader – “Barry,” “710N” (HBO) | WINNER
Tim Burton – “Wednesday,” “Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe” (Netflix)
Amy Sherman-Palladino – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?” (Amazon)
Christopher Storer – “The Bear,” “Review” (Hulu)
Mike White – “The White Lotus,” “BYG” (HBO)

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES

Helen Shaver – “Station Eleven,” “Who’s There?” (HBO Max) | WINNER
Eric Appel –” Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (Roku Channel)
Deborah Chow – “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Disney+)
Jeremy Podeswa – “Station Eleven,” “Unbroken Circle” (HBO Max)
Tom Verica – “Inventing Anna,” “The Devil Wore Anna” (Netflix)

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS

Glenn Weiss – “The 75th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS) | WINNER
Ian Berger – “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe Hungary for Democracy” (Comedy Central)
Hamish Hamilton – “Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show 2022” (NBC)
James Merryman – “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter” (ABC)
Marcus Raboy – “Mark Twain Prize 2022: Celebrating Jon Stewart” (PBS)

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS

Liz Patrick – “Saturday Night Live,” “Host and Musical Guest Jack Harlow” (NBC) | WINNER
Paul G. Casey – “Real Time With Bill Maher,” “Episode #2010” (HBO)
Jim Hoskinson – “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “Episode #1333” (CBS)
David Paul Meyer – “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” “Brandi Carlile Discusses Her New Deluxe Album and Performs ‘You and Me on the Rock’” (Comedy Central)
Paul Pennolino – “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” “Afghanistan” (HBO)

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY PROGRAMS

Ben Simms – “Running Wild With Bear Grylls,” “Florence Pugh in the Volcanic Rainforests of Costa Rica” | WINNER
Joseph H. Guidry – “The Big Brunch,” “Carb Loading Brunch” (HBO Max)
Carrie Havel – “The Go Big Show,” “Only One Can Win” (TBS)
Rich Kim – “Lego Masters,” “Jurassbrick World” (Fox)
Michael Shea – “FBoy Island,” “Do You Like Cats?” (HBO Max)

DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

Anne Renton – “Best Foot Forward,” “Halloween” (Apple TV+) | WINNER
Tim Federle – “Better Nate Than Ever” (Disney+)
Bonnie Hunt – “Amber Brown,” “I, Amber Brown” (Apple TV+)
Dean Israelite – “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” “The Tale of Room 13” (Nickelodeon)
Michael Lembeck – “Snow Day the Musical” (Paramount+)