Kumail Nanjiani gently skewered a room full of Hollywood heavyweights during his opening monologue at the Directors Guild Awards ceremony, taking aim at the Epstein file, runaway productions, extended running times for many films, and the fact that the union’s top award was named in honor of director D.W. Griffith until 1999.
He quipped that the DGA’s accolades, which are part of a series of industry-leading awards events leading up to the March 15 Academy Awards ceremony, represent “Hollywood’s biggest night, excuse me, Vancouver, Budapest and sometimes Atlanta.” “It’s almost like the credits of a movie are just credits,” Nanjiani said, looking out at a table packed with a team of directors, assistant directors and unit production managers in a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton.
As a native of Karachi, Pakistan, Nanjiani said his work as a host was the first to win a Directors Guild Award. “You don’t need to know where I’m from to know that I’m the first person from Karachi to host this show.”
Nanjiani gave a 20-minute opening speech in front of an audience that included DGA Chairman Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, and DGA candidates Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Chloe Zhao, and Josh Safdie. He ended with a heartfelt note, which was then punctuated with a final joke about Griffith. Griffith’s 1915 film The Birth of a Nation presents a deeply racist vision of post-Civil War America, depicting the Klu Klux Klan as a heroic organization.
Nanjiani praised “the power of filmmaking” and talked about the first movie he saw in a movie theater as a child growing up in Pakistan, Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park.” “You made an audience on the other side of the world laugh,” Nanjiani said, nodding to the director, who is also a member of the DGA board. He made vague references to DGA nominees “Sinners,” “The Pitt,” and “Marty Supreme.”
“That’s why your actions are so important right now. We are in a moment where people are focusing on our differences, but your beautiful art reminds us that we have so much more in common than we don’t,” Nanjiani said. “I can watch your work and know what it’s like to be in a juke joint in the Mississippi Delta or to give first aid to people in an ER in Pittsburgh. You never made me care about ping pong at all. Just kidding. I’m Asian. I always don’t care about ping pong at all.”
“At this difficult moment, we are more important than ever, and we are so grateful to you for doing so. You celebrate our differences while reminding us of our common humanity. Because while our commonalities may make us human, our differences make us beautiful. And that is what DW Griffith represents,” Nanjiani said.
Among Nanjiani’s other attractions are:
“I’d like you to keep your speech short, but I’ve seen your movie and we all know that’s not going to happen.”
“The bad guys in ‘Sinners’ are all white, making it the most realistic movie of the year. Almost everyone here means no harm. No other movie has captured the true horror of white people dancing so effectively.”
Nanjiani poked fun at the fact that ‘Sinners’ star Michael B. Jordan shares the same last name as the NBA legend, saying, “‘Sinners’ starred Michael B. Jordan and his brother Scottie B. Pippen. For those who don’t know, Michael Jordan was a basketball player, and Scottie Pippen did as much work as him for a fraction of the accolades and money. He was like the first AD.”
Nanjiani returned the focus to Spielberg, pointing out that Spielberg had previously made films that predicted contemporary chaos and technological and social disruption (2002’s Minority Report, 1993’s Schindler’s List, and 1982’s E.T.). He also took a jab at President Trump, although he did not name him.
Spielberg: “Not only is he probably the greatest director of all time, but he’s also clairvoyant. He’s made movies about everything we’re talking about right now, like AI, Nazis, governments targeting harmless aliens. It’s like he predicted the last ten years of our lives. Steven, maybe your next movie will be about an 80-year-old guy on the Epstein list who gets shot in space?”
Nolan, the most prominent directorial brand in Hollywood today, addressed the challenges facing Hollywood’s creative community amid the dramatic downsizing of film and television and the consolidation of its biggest companies. Hollywood’s three major creative unions (SAG-AFTRA, Writers Guild of America, and DGA) are in a new contract negotiation cycle starting February 9, when SAG-AFTRA will consult with the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance.
“Employment fell by about 40% in 2024 and further in 2025,” Nolan said. “The complicated part of this is that we, as directors, have to talk to employers and people who run businesses and really understand that the amount of money that people spend on our work and entertainment is very stable. Audiences are investing in us, and we have to make sure that we can repay that investment.”
Director Nolan continued, “We are storytellers. We are people who have to innovate on screen. And as our industry advances, it’s really important that new technologies and new forms of distribution emerge, and I We’re always sensitive to that: How can we make our voices heard? How can we engage with our audiences and repay them for the investment they continue to make in us?”
