DGA honors Poitier
Thesp received kudos for helming
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Jay Roth, left, Jack Shea and Sidney Poitier at the DGA. |
Poitier is the first African-American filmmaker to direct a film -- 1980's "Stir Crazy" -- that cleared $100 million in domestic box office.
His first directing assignment came in 1969 with "Buck and the Preacher," two decades after he broke into Hollywood as an actor in "No Way Out."
"I'm a very curious person, and I had asked directors why they chose particular shots, so I was somewhat prepared to direct," Poitier said in a recent interview. "And I understood how delicate actors are, so I knew not to give them instructions in front of everyone, because then everyone becomes a critic."
The event, organized by the guild's African-American Steering Committee, drew a capacity crowd to the DGA Theater and generated a trio of standing ovations. Tributes came from Paris Barclay, Norman Jewison, Paula Kelly, Denise Nicholas and Michael Schultz as well as DGA prexy Jack Shea.
