A glimpse of pre-Oscar awards season

Jennifer Lawrence, best supporting actress nominee for her role in the film "American Hustle", peeks around an Oscar statue on the red carpet as actor Brad Pitt (L) looks on at the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California in this March 2, 2014 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Screen Directors Guild: best Oscar barometer

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad.

The DGA hosts the annual DGA Awards, an important precursor to the Academy Awards. In its 65-year history, the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has been a near perfect barometer for the Best Director Academy Award.

Only seven times since the DGA Award's inception has the DGA Award winner not won the corresponding Academy Award.

For instance, in 1972 DGA picked Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather, but Academy Awards went to Bob Fosse, director of Cabaret. In 2000 it awarded director Ang Lee of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but Traffic's director Steven Soderbergh won in that year's Academy Award. In 2013, Ang Lee took the Oscar best director instead of Ben Affleck of Argo.

New York Film Critics' taste far apart from Oscar

Academy Awards or Oscar is presented by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for cinematic film achievements. It represents mainstream and conservative Hollywood value. So, rebellious or bold films and filmmakers are surely not their type.

The New York Critics, however, almost appeared determined to step outside of any kind of Oscar awards. It had awarded Alfred Hitchcock Best Director and Charles Chaplin Best Actor, who haven't walked away even once with an Oscar. The taste of New York Film Critics Circle Award is for minority and more artistic. Founded in 1935, membership of New York Critics includes film critics from daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, and magazines in New York City. In December of each year, the organization meets to vote on excellence in cinema worldwide.

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Nominees for 87th Academy Awards