56th Directors Guild of America Awards

The 56th Directors Guild of America Awards, honoring the outstanding directorial achievements in films, documentary and television in 2003, were presented on February 7, 2004, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. The ceremony was hosted by Carl Reiner. The nominees in the feature film category were announced on January 6, 2004 and the other nominations starting on January 8, 2004.

Winners and nominees

Film

Feature Film
Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation Clint Eastwood – Mystic River Gary Ross – Seabiscuit Peter Weir – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Documentaries
Nathaniel Kahn – My Architect Sam Green and Bill Siegel – The Weather Underground Andrew Jarecki – Capturing the Friedmans Errol Morris – The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara José Padilha – Ônibus 174

Television

Drama Series
Christopher Misiano – The West Wing for "Twenty Five" Alan Ball – Six Feet Under for "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" Kathy Bates – Six Feet Under for "Twilight" Jon Cassar – 24 for "Day 2: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m." Alan Poul – Six Feet Under for "Nobody Sleeps"
Comedy Series
Tim Van Patten – Sex and the City for "Boy, Interrupted" James Burrows – Will & Grace for "Last Ex to Brooklyn" Michael Engler – Sex and the City for "Hop, Skip, and a Week" Michael Patrick King – Sex and the City for "Great Sexpectations" James Widdoes – 8 Simple Rules for "Goodbye"
Miniseries or TV Film
Mike Nichols – Angels in America Jane Anderson – Normal Jeff Bleckner – The Music Man Rod Holcomb – The Pentagon Papers Richard Loncraine – My House in Umbria
Musical Variety
David Mallet – Cher: The Farewell Tour Marty Callner – Rolling Stones: Licks World Tour Live at Madison Square Garden Louis J. Horvitz – The 75th Annual Academy Awards Beth McCarthy-Miller – Saturday Night Live for "Host: Christopher Walken" Chuck O'Neil – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Daytime Serials
Larry Carpenter – One Life to Live for "Episode #8849" Andrew Lee and Jeff Rabin – Port Charles for "Episode #1561" Sally McDonald – The Young and the Restless for "Episode #7784" Susan Strickler – Guiding Light for "Episode #14279" Angela Tessinari – All My Children for "Episode #8722"
Children's Programs
Kevin Lima – The Wonderful World of Disney for "Eloise at Christmastime" Peter Gilbert – A Time for Dancing Kevin Hooks – The Wonderful World of Disney for "Sounder" Sean McNamara – The Even Stevens Movie Oz Scott – The Cheetah Girls

Commercials

Commercials

David Fincher – Nike's "Gamebreakers" and "Speed Chain", and Xelibri's "Beauty for Sale" Lance Acord – Adidas' "Wake Up Call", Nike's "Cross Country Spirit", and Mitsubishi's "Part Car, Part Religion" Errol Morris – Miller's "Pager" and "Alternative Fuel", Nike's "Bernard" and "Kathryn", and Cisco's "Meanwhile" Noam Murro – Got Milk?'s "Birthday", Saturn's "Beautiful", and Bud Light's "Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer" Joe Pytka – Gatorade's "23 vs. 39", IBM's "Prodigy", and Nextel's "Shakespeare"

Lifetime Achievement in Feature Film

• Mike Nichols

Frank Capra Achievement Award

• Stephen Glanzrock

Robert B. Aldrich Service Award

• Jeremy Kagan

Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award

• Peery Forbis

Honorary Life Member

• Larry Auerbach