Barry Jenkins Honors ‘The Three Amigos’ After Guillermo del Toro Joins Cuarón and Iñárritu As Best Director Oscar Winner
Zack Sharf
“The Shape of Water” filmmaker Guillermo del Toro won the Oscar for Best Director this year as expected, and his victory was especially notable for being the fourth time a Mexican director has earned the Oscar in this category in the last five years. Del Toro follows in the footsteps of his good friends Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Together, the filmmakers are known in the industry as “The Three Amigos,” and now they’re all officially Oscar winners.
Cuarón was the first of the group to win the Best Director Oscar when he took the trophy for “Gravity” in 2013. Iñárritu followed with back-to-back wins, first for “Birdman” in 2014 and then for “The Revenant” in 2015. Damien Chazelle won the prize in 2016 for “La La Land.”
Del Toro joining his buddies in the Best Director winner’s circle resulted in tons of love from fans on social media. “Moonlight” writer-director Barry Jenkins was one of them, and his mind was totally blown that the three directors managed this feat in only five years.
“Wow wow wow,” Jenkins wrote on Twitter. “Imagine if, within five years, you and your two best homeboys or homegirls or any mix of the two, whatever else forms your bond, all win THE most prestigious award in the craft you love and have dedicated your life to. Like…that’s HEAVEN.”
Cuarón took to his own Twitter page to announce he was joining the audience at the Dolby Theater in giving del Toro a standing ovation. Will the group keep their Oscar momentum going with another win next year? It’s possible, as Cuarón’s new film “Roma” is expected to hit the film festival circuit later this year and open in the fall.
Wow wow wow: imagine if, within five years, you and your two best homeboys or homegirls or any mix of the two+ whatever else forms your bond… all win THE most prestigious award in the craft you love and have dedicated your life to. Like… that’s HEAVEN
— Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) March 5, 2018
I’m joining the standing ovation to @RealGDT https://t.co/oaHqxkvLiN
— Alfonso Cuaron (@alfonsocuaron) March 5, 2018
