Directors Guild honors 'Brokeback Mountain'
REUTERS
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee won the top prize from the Directors Guild of America on Saturday for his work on "Brokeback Mountain," the gay-cowboy romance that has already swept many key awards.
Lee beat out George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for "Crash," Bennett Miller for "Capote" and Steven Spielberg for "Munich."
The DGA Award winner and the Oscar winner for director have matched in 51 of the last 57 years, including last year, when Clint Eastwood won both trophies for "Million Dollar Baby."
Lee was one of the exceptions, winning the DGA Award in 2001 for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but losing on Oscar night to Steven Soderbergh for "Traffic."
Oscar nominations will be unveiled on Tuesday, with the winners announced during the 78th annual Academy Awards on March 5.
"Brokeback Mountain," starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two lovelorn cowboys, has already won four Golden Globe Awards, as well as the top prize from the Producers Guild of America. The winner of the latter award usually goes on to win the best picture Oscar.
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