Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu wins best director for 'Birdman'

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesAlejandro González Iñárritu is pictured above at the Directors' Guild Awards.

It was a tight race, but Alejandro González Iñárritu beat out Peter Linklater to take home the best director Oscar for his work on the tour-de-force, "Birdman."

The movie, which follows an actor (Michael Keaton) as he attempts to revitalize his career with a return to the stage, was shot to appear as though it was one long, continuous shot. It was a huge stylistic feat.

Wes Anderson ("The Grand Budapest Hotel"), Morten Tyldum ("The Imitation Game"), and Bennett Miller ("Foxcatcher") were also nominated for best director.

This is Iñárritu's second film to receive accolades from the Academy. He received best motion picture and best director nominations in 2007 for "Babel."

He previously won the award for best feature film director at the Directors' Guild Awards for his work on "Birdman," which took only 30 days to film.

"Birdman" is up for nine Oscars, including best picture. Iñárritu is also nominated for best original screenplay for the film.

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