'La La Land' dances toward Oscars with Directors Guild win

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle waltzed off late Saturday night with the top honor at the Directors Guild of America Awards.

It's the latest stop on the ebullient musical's journey to the Oscars, but it wasn't all song and dance at the annual awards ceremony.

The evening also took on a more somber, urgent note as many directors and presenters grappled with President Trump's refugee and immigration ban.

"I wanted to celebrate the act of dreaming and what art means. Art does connect people and transcend borders," Chazelle said. "I want to be part of that transnational dialogue of movies."

First-time nominee Chazelle, 32, is the youngest recipient of the DGA feature film award, which all but guarantees an Oscar win Feb. 26.

Rarely has the DGA winner not gone on to win the directing prize at the Academy Awards.

"La La Land" recently won the top honor at the Producers Guild Awards and is nominated for a record-tying 14 Oscars.

Earlier in the evening, "La La Land" stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling presented Chazelle with the directing medallion.

While singing his accolades, like the fact he shot the musical in 40 days using 35mm film, 93 locations and 1,600 extras, Gosling also joked Chazelle "directed his own birth in a single take."

Chazelle was up against Barry Jenkins for "Moonlight," Kenneth Lonergan for "Manchester by the Sea," Garth Davis for "Lion" and Denis Villeneuve for "Arrival." All but Davis are also nominated for the Oscar.

Davis won the first-time director award for "Lion."

Starring Dev Patel and newcomer Sunny Pawar, "Lion" tells the true story of an Indian man who was lost at age 5 and 25 years later used Google Earth to retrace his steps to his hometown and his birth mother, not knowing the name of either.

"I had the first half of the film relying on a 5-year-old child who did not speak English," Davis said. "This movie demanded that the whole cast and crew make this film from their hearts."

Nate Parker also was nominated for the first-time feature award for "The Birth of a Nation" -- the only major awards recognition for his film.

The Directors Guild also recognizes excellence in directing in documentaries, live, scripted and reality television and commercials. Ezra Edelman won the documentary award for "O.J.: Made in America," which he called a "labor of labor."

Other winners included Steven Zaillian for "The Night Of," Tina Mabry for "An American Girl Story -- Melody 1963: Love Has to Win," Miguel Sapochnik for "Game of Thrones" and Becky Martin for "Veep."

Sir Ridley Scott was given the 35th Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Christopher Nolan, Billy Crudup and Michael Fassbender.

Fassbender described Scott as "direct, generous, loyal, competitive ... and a bit of a loner who prefers the company of dogs to most people."

Beyond the self-congratulatory air typical of a Hollywood awards season event, many felt compelled to address the refugee and immigration ban as it relates to the entertainment industry and the art it creates.

Davis said he's spoken to "a lot of refugees who have said that this film has given them the courage to find their families."