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Matthew Sanders: Is Hollywood suddenly gun-shy? Director's Guild nixes Tarantino in nominations

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By Matthew Sanders, Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, Jan. 8 2013 4:20 p.m. MST

Quentin Tarantino arrives at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday Jan. 30, 2010, Los Angeles.

Dan Steinberg, Associated Press

Enlarge photo»

Matthew Sanders

Matthew Sanders

Deseret News

Summary

The Director's Guild announced its nominations. Quentin Tarantino, whose ultra-violent "Django Unchained" received five Golden Globe nominations and hailed by critics, was noticeably missing. Is Hollywood getting the picture on violence?

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The Director's Guild of America, or DGA, announced its nominations for Steven Spielberg and Ben Affleck for "Argo," Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty," Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi." As reported by Reuters:

"These directors represent the highest standard of filmmaking, and their films are a testament to artistic achievement, innovative storytelling and the passion that filmmakers share with their audiences," DGA President Taylor Hackford said in a statement."

Notably absent from the list this year was director Quentin Tarantino, whose latest film "Django Unchained," a spaghetti-western slave retribution tale, has been gaining awards buzz after landing five Golden Globe nods including best director.

Tarantino has entered the national conversation on violence recently, where many see him and his work as the bellwether for Hollywood sponsored movie violence. Is the DGA refusal to back Tarantino, a movie critic darling, a signal that Hollywood is feeling the heat for its role in promoting a violent culture?

While Hollywood may be backing off its support for Tarantino and his guns, Disney-owned ESPN padded its wallet by promoting Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D during the college football bowls. So suddenly Tarantino's brutal gun movies are out-of-vogue, but a slasher film is fine?

Matthew studied economics at Brigham Young University and business and government at Harvard University. He is a GM at Deseret Digital Media where he oversees Deseret Connect and Deseret News Service. msanders@deseretnews.com or @Sanders_Matt

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Featured Comments

See all 7 comments »
Eric Samuelsen
Provo, UT

Oh, please. The DGA could only choose the work of five directors, and this happens to be a great year for filmmaking. Life of Pi is a great film. So is Lincoln, so is Argo, so is Les Mis, so is Zero Dark Thirty. For that matter, I could name five More..

  • 8:57 p.m. Jan. 8, 2013
  • Top comment
CHS 85
Sandy, UT

Isn't art supposed to imitate life? Isn't art supposed to convey some sort of accuracy when depicting historical events?

I get that depicted violence is often more graphic than some of you would like, but many historical More..

  • 9:32 a.m. Jan. 9, 2013
  • Top comment
John Charity Spring
Back Home in Davis County, UT

Sanders is absolutely correct. Modern Hollywood has become one of the most hypocritical organizations in the modern world.

Modern Hollywood has an open and stated agenda of promoting recreational violence and recreational sex. Indeed, More..

  • 7:10 p.m. Jan. 8, 2013
  • Top comment
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About the Author
Matthew Sanders

Matthew Sanders

Matthew Sanders studied economics at Brigham Young University and business and political economy at Harvard University. He is a General Manager at Deseret Digital Media where he oversees Deseret Connect and Deseret News Service.

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