Paul Thomas Anderson Just Snagged the DGA Crown—But What Secret Battle Fueled His Oscar-Worthy Triumph?
Added on February 8, 2026 inMovie News Cards
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So, here’s a cosmic chuckle for ya: under the moody sway of Pisces, when illusions dance and reality takes a breather, the Directors Guild of America rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the visionaries who literally make stars come alive. This year’s 2026 DGA Awards weren’t just another Hollywood shindig—they were a celestial salute to the storytellers bending light and shadow with an artist’s finesse and a cosmic sense of timing. Hosted by the ever-witty Kumail Nanjiani (seriously, whose timing isn’t on point?), the event spotlighted film giants like Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Guillermo Del Toro, Josh Safdie, and Chloé Zhao, each vying for that golden crown symbolizing directorial mastery. With planetary alignments hinting at change and reflection, the night honored not only established auteurs but also emerging talents and powerful women who stormed five categories like cosmic forces themselves. And amidst the tributes, jokes, and heartfelt moments, the evening also marked the dawn of a new era with Christopher Nolan stepping up as DGA president—talk about a real-life plot twist! So, are directors the true alchemists of dreams, transforming scripts into visual spells? Dive into the whirlwind of artistry, emotion, and cosmic luck woven through this unforgettable night. LEARN MORE
The Directors Guild of America recognized the best film, TV and commercial directors of the past year at the 2026 DGA Awards.
Heading into Saturday night’s ceremony — hosted this year by Kumail Nanjiani from the Beverly Hilton — Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Guillermo Del Toro (Frankenstein), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme) and Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) were up for the top prize of outstanding directorial achievement in theatrical feature film, in what tends to be a major predictor for the best director category at the Oscars. (At the Oscars though, Sentimental Value‘s Joachim Trier is nominated in Del Toro’s place).
Anderson took it home, emotionally taking the stage and calling his directing team up to join him.
“This is an incredible, incredible honor. We’re going to take it with the love that it’s given and the appreciation of all our comrades in this room,” the filmmaker said, but noting “obviously we are up here minus one.” He then paid tribute to first director Adam Somner, who passed away from cancer in November 2024.
The evening saw additional honors handed out to first-time feature filmmakers, as well as in a number of TV categories and special honors for associate director/stage manager David Charles and assistant director Gregory McCollum. It was also the first show presided over by new DGA president Christopher Nolan, who was elected to helm the Hollywood union in September.
The night began with remarks from Nolan — emphasizing the hard times that filmmakers are currently facing — followed by Nanjiani, who teased, “Thank you Chris Nolan for opening for me… it’s like a dream, inside a dream, inside a dream.” He also joked during his opening bit that directors are “the greatest communicators on the planet. You can take a complex idea and turn it into something an actor can understand.”
The DGA Awards are unique in that each nominee for the theatrical feature film category receives an honorary medallion and gets a moment on stage before the winner is announced. Anderson had the first presentation, following words from his One Battle After Another star Leonardo DiCaprio, who paid tribute to how he has given Los Angeles “a cinematic identity that feels almost forensic.” Michael B. Jordan was on hand to present to Coogler, saying, “Ryan builds families, not film sets” that leaves actors wanting to work with him again and again; Jacob Elordi made an appearance for Del Toro, telling him, “You’re the greatest friend a monster could have,” as the filmmaker spotted Nolan in the crowd and joked “I love saying President Nolan” because it was so rare to say a good name after “President.” (Anderson jokingly gave another nod to President Nolan in his acceptance speech.)
Timothée Chalamet teased Safdie for his recent appearance on The Tonight Show, saying “your days of self-styling are officially over,” and called him a “quadruple threat” for the many hats he wears on set; Safdie showed off his DGA card on stage and revealed that he reads every DGA magazine front to back. The final presentation came courtesy of Steven Spielberg, who spoke on behalf of Zhao and praised her for bringing Hamnet to life, saying he and their film’s team would “follow her into a dark forest anytime.” She joked back that she wanted to play a drinking game for every time someone on stage throughout the night shouted out Spielberg as an inspiration, and went on to thank all the storytellers in the room for their “creative fire.”
The Studio, The Pitt, Dying for Sex, SNL50, Mr. Scorsese and doc 2000 Meters to Andriivka also notched wins, while The Plague filmmaker Charlie Polinger nabbed a surprise win in the first-time feature category, thanking the collaborators who were willing to take a chance on him. Female directors made a particular splash at the show, topping five categories throughout the evening.
Check out a complete list of this year’s DGA winners below.
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Will Weiske
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Trevor Tavares, Ian Stone
Second Second Assistant Director: Dominic Pacitti, Rafael Sanz-Jimenez
Additional Second Assistant Director: Nuekellar Hardy, Chunning Chang, Kit Conners, Kasia Trojak, Tyler Young (WINNER)
Ryan Coogler, Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Will Greenfield, Kenneth Yu
First Assistant Director: Marvin Williams
Second Assistant Director: Amir R. Khan
Additional Second Assistant Director: Gregg Carr, Desiree Stevenson
Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
Second Assistant Director: Chad Belair
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme (A24)
Unit Production Manager: Anthony Katagas, Joe Guest
First Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
Second Assistant Director: Zach Citarella
Second Second Assistant Director: Kailyn Dabkowski
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Max Samu, Suk Yi Mar, Samson Jacobson
Location Manager: Matthew Kania, Ross Brodar
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet (Focus Features)
Hasan Hadi, The President’s Cake (Sony Pictures Classics)
Harry Lighton, Pillion (A24)
Charlie Polinger, The Plague (Independent Film Company) (WINNER)
Alex Russell, Lurker (MUBI)
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby (A24)
Liza Johnson, The Diplomat, “Amagansett” (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: John P. Fedynich
First Assistant Director: Adam Escott
Second Assistant Director: Tom Glick
Second Second Assistant Director: Rachel Sikora
Location Manager: Rob Coleman
Amanda Marsalis, The Pitt, “6:00 p.m.” (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Michelle Lankwarden
First Assistant Director: Eric Tignini
Second Assistant Director: Kevin Zelman
Second Second Assistant Director: Nicole Jones, Rebecca Rogers, Chloe Huckins
Additional Second Assistant Director: Michelle Akeley (WINNER)
Janus Metz, Andor, “Who Are You?” (Disney+)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Karl Caffrey
First Assistant Director: Sean Guest
Ben Stiller, Severance, “Cold Harbor” (Apple TV+)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Caroline Baron
First Assistant Director: Katie Pruitt
Second Assistant Director: Cat McFayden
Second Second Assistant Director: Forrest Viola
Additional Second Assistant Director: Erin Skelly
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Sean Fogel, Alexandra Vivas
Location Manager: Ryan Smith, Grace Kwon
John Wells, The Pitt, “7:00 a.m.” (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Michelle Lankwarden
First Assistant Director: Eric Tignini
Second Assistant Director: Kevin Zelman
Second Second Assistant Director: Nicole Jones, Rebecca Rogers
Additional Second Assistant Director: Chloe Huckins
Lucia Aniello, Hacks, “A Slippery Slope” (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Mark Rabinowitz
First Assistant Director: Jeff Rosenberg
Second Assistant Director: Kirisa Gavrin
Second Second Assistant Director: Alaina Neumann Rafdal
Additional Second Assistant Director: Amy Ergle
Janicza Bravo, The Bear, “Worms” (FX on Hulu)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Carrie Holt de Lama, Tyson Bidner
First Assistant Director: Larissa Malarek
Second Assistant Director: Olivia Dame
Second Second Assistant Director: Sofía Blanco
Location Manager: Maria C. Roxas, Gilbert B. Morales
Assistant Location Manager: Oscar Roxas
Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, The Studio, “The Oner” (Apple TV+)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Shawn Dyrdahl
First Assistant Director: Donald Murphy
Second Assistant Director: Peter Dress (WINNER)
Christopher Storer, The Bear, “Bears” (FX on Hulu)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Carrie Holt de Lama, Tyson Bidner
First Assistant Director: Duccio Fabbri
Second Assistant Director: Larissa Malarek, Olivia Dame
Second Second Assistant Director: Sofía Blanco
Location Manager: Maria C. Roxas, Gilbert B. Morales
Assistant Location Manager: Oscar Roxas
Mike White, The White Lotus, “Denials” (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Regina Heyman, Mark Kamine
First Assistant Director: Justin Ritson
Second Assistant Director: Joe Landry
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Aidan Sleeper
Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit, “The Black Rabbits” (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Becky Phillips, Erica Kay
First Assistant Director: John Silvestri
Second Assistant Director: Nick Notte
Second Second Assistant Director: Jimmy Rosario, Jilly Blundell
Location Manager: Paul Eskenazi
Antonio Campos, The Beast in Me, “Sick Puppy” (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Caroline Baron
First Assistant Director: Tomas Deckaj
Second Assistant Director: Scott Bowers
Second Second Assistant Director: Matt Merksamer, Sean Fogel
Location Manager: Grace Kwon
Lesli Linka Glatter, Zero Day, “Episode 6” (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Amy Herman
First Assistant Director: Michael Lerman
Second Assistant Director: Scott Bowers
Second Second Assistant Director: Kaitlin Heins
Additional Second Assistant Director: Davis Woodall
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Mike Buonanno
Location Manager: Ronnie Kupferwasser
Shannon Murphy, Dying for Sex, “It’s Not That Serious” (FX on Hulu)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Francesca M. Mannix
First Assistant Director: Julie A. Bloom
Second Assistant Director: Findlay Ward Zotter
Second Second Assistant Director: Kristin Dombroski, Laura E. Rizer (WINNER)
Ally Pankiw, Black Mirror, “Common People” (Netflix)
Unit Production Manager: Shawn Williamson
Jesse Armstrong, Mountainhead (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Jill Footlick
First Assistant Director: Christo Morse
Second Assistant Director: MarSchelle Walker
Location Manager: Paul Eskenazi
Stephen Chbosky, Nonnas (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Pamela Hirsch, Kara Doherty
First Assistant Director: Chris Surgent
Second Assistant Director: Takahide Kawakami
Second Second Assistant Director: Cary Lee
Location Manager: Tatiana Forster (WINNER)
Scott Derrickson, The Gorge (Apple TV+)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Greg Goodman
First Assistant Director: Cliff Lanning
Second Assistant Director: Lee Tailor
Michael Morris, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Peacock)
Kyle Newacheck, Happy Gilmore 2 (Netflix)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Brittany Sugarman, David Bausch
First Assistant Director: David M. Bernstein
Second Assistant Director: Ryan Robert Howard
Second Second Assistant Director: Kaitlin Heins
Additional Second Assistant Director: Mia Bruno
Location Manager: Louis Zuppardi
Assistant Location Manager: Scott Ferlisi
Yvonne Demare, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “Julia Roberts; Sam Smith” (CBS)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Karen Yaeger
Stage Manager: Mark McKenna, Jeff Leib
Andy Fisher, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, “Stephen Colbert; Kumail Nanjiani; Reneé Rapp” (ABC)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Jeri-Ann Wong, Amy Stober, David Craig
Stage Manager: Alec Potter, Josh Wader, Christian Jensen, Peter Epstein
Beth McCarthy Miller, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert (Peacock)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Susan Sullivan
Stage Manager: Lynn Finkel, Linda Carrizzo, Joey Despenzero, Phyllis Digilio-Kent, John Esposito, Andrew Feigin, Steve Hollander, Greg Kasoff, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Arthur Lewis, Jennifer Marquet, Cyndi Owgang, Jason Pacella, Tammy Raab, Elise Reaves, Cheryl Teetzel-Moore, Niclana Tolmasoff, Bret Warren, Ari Woog
Liz Patrick, SNL50: The Anniversary Special (NBC)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Michael Mancini, Michael Poole, Laura Ouziel Mack, Janine DeVito, Amy Mancini, Dan Dome
Stage Manager: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly, Eddie Valk, Peter Epstein, Karen Tasch Weiss, Steve Bautista, Joey Despenzero, Frank Fernandez, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Cyndi Owgang, Elise Reaves, Niclana Tolmasoff, Leslie Williams (WINNER)
Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, “Public Media” (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Elliot Mendelson
Stage Manager: Jeff Leib, Mark McKenna, Craig Spinney
Matthew Gangl, 2025 World Series – Game 7 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays (FOX Sports)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Larry Lancaster, Aaron Stojkov, Bryan Colucci
Stage Manager: Dominick Tringali, Dan Frank (WINNER)
Steve Milton, 2025 Masters Tournament – Augusta National Golf Club (CBS Sports)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Robert Matina, Chris Svendsen, Andy Freedman, Eric Spitzer, Ade Ellis, Tyler Jahn, Josh Weingardt, Brian Maher, Stuart Millstein, Katie Keane, Adam Cohen, Jack Kempner, George Wishart, Dan Obermuller
Stage Manager: Cory Fishman
Rich Russo, Super Bowl LIX – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs (FOX Sports)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Rich Gross, Casey Garland
Lucinda M. Margolis, Jeopardy!, “Ep. 9341” (Syndicated)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Chloe Corwin
Stage Manager: James F. McGuire
Adam Sandler, The Price is Right, “10,000th Episode” (CBS)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Jazmin Eckenberg
Stage Manager: Steven Hollander, Jason Galland, Alex Weston
Mike Sweeney, Conan O’Brien Must Go, “Austria” (HBO Max)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Jason Chillemi (WINNER)
Kim Gehrig (Somesuch)
You Can’t Win. So Win. – Nike | Wieden+Kennedy
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Peter Jackson, John Mattern
Second Assistant Director: Melina Greene
Second Second Assistant Director: Chelsea Meador
I’m Not Remarkable – Apple | Client Direct
First Assistant Director: Guy Forgaard
Second Assistant Director: Amanda Johnson
Second Second Assistant Director: Michael Dudley, Clyde Broom (WINNER)
Miles Jay (Smuggler)
Dish – ChatGPT | Isle of Any
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Yianni Papadopoulos
First Assistant Director: George Nessis
Second Assistant Director: Rachel Obering
Second Second Assistant Director: Reed Baum
Pull Up – ChatGPT | Isle of Any
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Yianni Papadopoulos
First Assistant Director: George Nessis
Second Assistant Director: Rachel Obering
Second Second Assistant Director: Reed Baum
Trip – ChatGPT | Isle of Any
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Yianni Papadopoulos
First Assistant Director: George Nessis
Second Assistant Director: Julia Blanford
Second Second Assistant Director: K.J. Walsh
Home for the Holidays – Meta | Droga5
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Secret Santa – Meta | Droga5
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Spike Jonze (MJZ)
Someday – Apple Airpods 4 | TBWAMedia Arts Lab
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Steve Danton, Kate Greenberg
Second Assistant Director: Matthew Dennis Smith
Second Second Assistant Director: Amy Hughes, Carly Sturgeon
Andreas Nilsson (Biscuit Filmworks)
Conquer the First School Poo – Andrex | FCB London
Garrett – Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Client Direct
Unit Production Manager: James Veal
First Assistant Director: George Nessis
Second Assistant Director: Reed Baum
Big Flex – Apple iPhone 16 Pro | Client Direct
Unit Production Manager: James Veal
First Assistant Director: George Nessis
Second Assistant Director: Reed Baum
Trunk Trucker – Virgin Media | VCCP London
Steve Rogers (Biscuit Filmworks)
Bring a Book to Life – Amazon | Droga5 London
A Tale as Old as Websites – Squarespace| Client Direct
Everything is Fine – Coinbase | Mother London
Mstyslav Chernov, 2000 Meters to Andriivka (PBS) (WINNER)
Geeta Gandbhir, The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, Cutting Through Rocks (Assembly Releasing)
Elizabeth Lo, Mistress Dispeller (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, Cover-Up (Netflix)
Marshall Curry, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, “Written By: A Week Inside the SNL Writers Room” (Peacock)
Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, “Part Two” (HBO Max)
Rebecca Miller, Mr. Scorsese, “All This Filming Isn’t Healthy” (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Alexandra Stapleton, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, “Official Girl” (Netflix)
Matt Wolf, Pee-Wee as Himself, “Part 1” (HBO Max)
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