Radcliffe director Danny Boyle continued his triumphant dash around the awards derby track by bagging another top award.
The acclaimed helmer of Slumdog Millionaire has been named best director by the Directors Guild of America for the movie - a key indicator of Oscar success.
The latest triumph of the movie follows its recent good fortune at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where it won best cast ensemble and best picture from the Producers Guild of America.
Over the last 50 years, the movie that has won the DGA award has gone on to win the top Academy Award 40 times. According to Oscar insiders, the DGA Award agrees more often with the best picture category at the Oscars than the academy's own slot for best director, which usually lines up with best picture.
Despite a distinguished career in both feature films and TV, Danny Boyle had never previously been nominated for a DGA award in either medium.
Slumdog Millionaire competed against The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher), The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan), Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard) and Milk (Gus Van Sant).
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