Awards Season

Cameron, Tarantino Nominated for DGAs

Avatar, The Hurt Locker get nods for top director's award.

Both James Cameron and his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow were nominated for this year's Directors Guild of America Award, the Guild announced Thursday. The award is given for outstanding achievement in feature-film direction. Cameron’s Titanic earned him the award 12 years ago and, as Avatar has passed $1 billion in worldwide sales in three weeks, he's the favorite for this year’s honor. Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker already earned her the best director award of 2009 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Three other directors were nominated: Lee Daniels for Precious, Jason Reitman for Up in the Air, and Quentin Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds. The winner will be announced January 30 at the DGA Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The stakes are high: Only six of the past 60 DGA Award winners have not gone on to win the Academy Award for Best Director.