Soldiers from "The Hurt Locker" Melted Jury More than Blue Wise Creatures

Kathryn Bigelow and her tense Iraq Warn drama "The Hurt Locker" from Summit Entertainment copped the DGA Award for best-directed feature film Saturday.

Photo: Soldiers from "The Hurt Locker" Melted Jury More than Blue Wise Creatures

"This is the most incredible moment of my life," Bigelow said.

Bigelow overcame competition including Fox-distributed "Avatar," directed by her ex-husband James Cameron, as well as Lee Daniels for Lionsgate's "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," Jason Reitman for Paramount's "Up in the Air" and Quentin Tarantino for the Weinstein Co.'s "Inglourious Basterds."

The DGA's feature-film award is one of the best gauges of likely success in Oscar's best-director category. The Academy Award for directing has gone to someone other than the DGA winner only six times since the guild launched its awards in 1948, most recently in 2002 when Roman Polanski copped the Oscar for "The Pianist" and the DGA crowned Rob Marshall for "Chicago."

The DGA win for "Hurt Locker" follows its selection by the PGA Awards -- another reliable barometer of Oscar success -- as best feature film.

"This is amazing," a clearly moved Bigelow said in accepting the DGA laurels. "I am so deeply stunned and honored and proud."

She accepted the "unimaginable honor" on behalf of the "men and women in the field" in the Iraq military zone.

The Hollywood Reporter has contributed to the report.