Argo tampaknya benar-benar akan menjadi pemutus rantai film yang memenangkan Best Picture Oscar tanpa nominasi bagi sutradaranya setelah gelar itu lama dipegang oleh Driving Miss Daisy. Argo kemungkinan akan mendapatkan banyak vote dari anggota AMPAS nanti untuk membawa pulang piala Oscar sebagai Film Terbaik. Hal ini bisa terjadi setelah Ben Affleck memenangkan penghargaan Sutradara Terbaik dari Directors Guild of America.
Dalam sebuah upacara penyerahan penghargaan di Los Angeles, Ben Affleck diberi gelar sutradara terbaik dengan mengalahkan nama-nama veteran seperti Ang Lee dan Steven Spielberg serta dua nama yang sebelumnya pernah memenangkan DGA Awards, Kathryn Bigelow dan Tom Hooper. Kemenangan ini tentunya terasa manis bagi Affleck dan seperti tamparan bagi AMPAS setelah Affleck tidak dinominasikan di kategori Sutradara Terbaik di ajang Oscars ke-85.
Ini adalah gelar ketiga bagi Argo dari serikat pekerja seni utama di Amerika Serikat setelah sebelumnya Argo memenangkan Producers Guild Awards dan Screen Actors Guild Awards. Kedua ajang penghargaan tersebut bisa dikatakan sebagai prediktor paten pemenang Best Picture Oscar. Satu serikat pekerja seni utama lainnya yaitu Writers Guild of America baru akan menyerahkan penghargaannya pada 17 Februari nanti. Namun diperkirakan penulis naskah Argo, Chris Terrio, akan membawa pulang piala di ajang tersebut mengalahkan kandidat kuat lainnya, Tony Kushner (Lincoln). Jika itu terjadi, maka Argo memang pantas dinobatkan sebagai film terbaik di 2012 karena menyapu bersih semua penghargaan dari serikat pekerja seni utama di Amerika Serikat.
Selain Affleck, para pemenang di ajang DGA Awards ke-65 berisi beberapa nama sutradara besar dan berbakat seperti Alejandro González Iñárritu, Rian Johnson, dan Jay Roach. Berikut adalah daftar lengkap pemenang DGA Awards ke-65.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film
Ben Affleck (Argo, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Amy Herman
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Ian Calip
Second Second Assistant Directors: Clark Credle, Gavin Kleintop
First Assistant Director (Turkey Unit): Belkis Turan
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials
Alejandro González Iñárritu (Best Job, Proctor and Gamble – Wieden + Kennedy)
Directorial Team:
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Michelle Schrauwers
Second Second Assistant Directors: Heather Anderson, Blake Perkinson
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series
Rian Johnson (Breaking Bad Episode Fifty One, AMC)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Stewart A. Lyons
Assistant Unit Production Manager: James Paul Hapsas
First Assistant Director: Ben Scissors
Second Assistant Director: Louis Lanni
Second Second Assistant Director: Anna Ramey
Additional Second Assistant Director: Joann Connolly
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs
Brian Smith (Master Chef Episode #305, FOX)
Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Anna Moulaison-Moore
Stage Manager: Drew Lewandowski
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series
Jay Roach (Game Change, HBO)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Mary Kane
First Assistant Director: Josh King
Second Assistant Director: Emily McGovern
Second Second Assistant Director: Brian F. Relyea
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety
Glenn Weiss (66th Annual Tony Awards, CBS)
Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Robin Abrams, Stefani Cohen, Ricky Kirshner
Stage Managers: Garry Hood, Phyllis Digilio-Kent, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Lynn Finkel, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Dean Gordon, Arthur Lewis, Jeffrey M. Markowitz, Joey Meade, Tony Mirante, Cyndi Owgang, Jeff Pearl, Elise Reaves, Lauren Class Schneider
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials
Jill Mitwell (One Life To Live Episode Between Heaven and Hell, ABC)
Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Tracy Casper Lang, Teresa Cicala, Michael Sweeney, Paul S. Glass
Stage Managers: Alan Needleman, Keith Greer, Tracy Casper Lang, Leah M. Weber
Production Associates: Nathalie Rodriguez, Kevin Brush
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs
Paul Hoen (Let it Shine, Disney Channel)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Katie Willard Troebs
First Assistant Director: Daniel Coffie
Second Assistant Director: Todd Turner
Second Second Assistant Director: D. Scott Kirkley
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
Malik Bendjelloul (Searching For Sugar Man, Sony Pictures Classics, Passion Pictures Production, Canfield Pictures & The Documentary Company, Red Box Films)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
Lena Dunham (Girls Episode Pilot, HBO)
Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Regina Heyman, Ilene S. Landress
First Assistant Director: Mark McGann
Second Assistant Director: Jason Ivey
Second Second Assistant Director: Marcos Gonzalez Palma
Lifetime Achievement and Service Awards
Milos Forman - DGA Lifetime Achievement Award
Michael Apted - Robert B. Aldrich Service Award
Eric Shapiro - Lifetime Achievement in News Direction Award
Susan Zwerman - Frank Capra Achievement Award
Dency Nelson - Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award