The morning after the Golden Globes, the Directors Guild of America heated up the awards competition by announcing its nominees for director of the year.
This year’s DGA nods went to Globe winner Sam Mendes for “American Beauty,”Spike Jonze for “Being John Malkovich,” Frank Darabont for “The Green Mile,” Michael Mann for “The Insider” and M. Night Shyamalan for “The Sixth Sense.”All are first-time feature-film nominees except for Darabont, who was nominated in 1994 for “The Shawshank Redemption.”
The winner of the DGA is practically guaranteed a win for Best Director in the Academy Award race. In its 50-year history, only four winners have not gone on to win the Oscar; Anthony Harvey (in 1968 for “The Lion Winter”), Francis Ford Coppola (in 1972 for “The Godfather“), Steven Spielberg (in 1985 for “The Color Purple“) and Ron Howard (in 1995 for “Apollo 13.” The winner will be announced March11.
SMOKED ‘LAMB’: Anthony Hopkins‘ London house caught on fire Sunday, and 75 percent of the second floor was destroyed. Hopkins no longer lives in the residence; he actually gave it to his wife after they split in 1998, according to London’s Sun. But she should not worry; firefighters still managed to save Hopkins‘ Academy Award for “The Silence of the Lambs.”
ÜBERENGAGED: German supermodel Claudia Schiffer is officially off the market again; she’s just become engaged to British boyfriend Tim Jeffries.
Jeffries, 37, proposed on one knee during a recent Caribbean holiday, and the model immediately accepted, newspapers reported Monday. The Sun said Schiffer, 29, was displaying her diamond engagement ring at a Golden Globes party over the weekend.
Schiffer was engaged for some six years to magician David Copperfield (they split in September), while Jeffries, an art-gallery owner, was married once to photographer Koo Stark, ex-girlfriend of Britain’s Prince Andrew. They hope to marry later this year. No word whether Copperfield will make an appearance — or disappearance.
THEIR TWO CENTS: The Golden Globes is always a good time to get some scoop, and the stars did some chatting at Hollywood honcho Mike Medavoy‘s annual pre-Globes party Friday in Los Angeles. According to the New York Daily News, winner Peter Fonda reportedly discussed sister Jane‘s separation from Ted Turner. “I see a very positive change in Jane now,” he said. “When she told me she was separating, her entire face seemed to relax. I think she’s going to be a much happier person as a result of this.” He added that he hopes his sister will return to acting…
Nominee Kevin Spacey revealed that he had plans to see “Man on the Moon” and “The Hurricane” to catch Jim Carrey and Denzel Washington‘s respective performances so he’d be able to speak m