tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105036572011-04-21T17:57:43.416-07:00mazafakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039296850043238105noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10503657.post-1107099056238401162005-01-30T07:30:00.000-08:002005-01-30T07:30:56.236-08:00Clint Eastwood has won the prestigious Directors Guild of America (DGA) award for his bittersweet female boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. <br />He saw off competition from the likes of Martin Scorsese, who was shortlisted for The Aviator. <br />Taylor Hackford's Ray, Sideways by Alexander Payne and Marc Forster's Finding Neverland were also nominated. <br />A DGA win is seen as an indicator for Oscar success, with 50 out of 56 winners taking the Academy Award. <br />Eastwood, 74, won a DGA award for his 1992 western Unforgiven, for which he went on to win an Oscar. <br />'Pleased as punch' <br />The actor and director collected his DGA statuette for Million Dollar Baby from film-maker Steven Spielberg. <br />Speaking after Saturday night's ceremony in Los Angeles, Eastwood said the win had come as a surprise. <br />"I've got to say, this is a real pleasure. I am as pleased a punch." <br />Earlier in the evening, veteran director Martin Scorsese had received a standing ovation from the Directors Guild audience. <br /> <br />Eastwood, 74, has enjoyed more than 40 years in Hollywood <br />Scorsese's DGA nomination for his biography of billionaire Howard Hughes was the sixth of his career. <br />He has yet to win, despite nominations for classics such as Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980). <br />However, Scorsese was given a lifetime achievement award from the Guild in 2003. <br />Run-up to Oscars <br />The DGA Awards are one of a handful of industry awards which are seen as a barometer of how Academy Award members may vote in the Oscars on 27 February. <br />The Aviator was named Best Picture last week by the Producers Guild, meaning that Scorsese and Eastwood look set to battle it out for the top awards at the Oscars. <br />The Aviator has notched up 11 Oscar nominations, the most of any film this year. Million Dollar Baby received seven - the same number as Finding Neverland, the film about the life of Peter Pan writer JM Barrie. <br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10503657-110709905623840116?l=matureru.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>mazafakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039296850043238105noreply@blogger.com3