Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has won the Directors Guild of America for his film "Birdman," making him the front-runner to win the Oscar.

The Directors Guild of America is an important precursor because a large portion of the DGA voters also vote for the Academy Awards. Additionally over the past 67 years, the DGA has predicted the winner 60 times. That gives Inarritu a good edge to win the Oscar on Feb. 22.

The last time the Oscars and the DGA did not coincide was in 2012 when Ben Affleck won the DGA for "Argo," but Ang Lee won the Oscar for "Life of Pi." However, it is important to note that Affleck was not nominated for the Oscar, and "Argo" still went home with the Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 2002 the Oscars and the DGA did not coincide as well. The circumstance was different however. The DGA gave the director award to Rob Marshall for "Chicago," and the Oscars gave it to Roman Polanski for "The Pianist." Both directors were nominated at the Academy, and "Chicago" still ended up going home with the Oscar for Best Picture.

In 2000 Ang Lee also won the DGA, but it was Steven Soderbergh who ended up winning the Oscar for "Traffic." Both directors were also nominated at the Oscars.

"Birdman" is in a good state to win Best Picture especially since it has already won three of the four important Guild awards. The film has already won the Producers Guild of America, DGA and the Screen Actors Guild. It only has the Writers Guild left, and if it beats out "Boyhood," then it is safe to call the race over.

When "Slumdog Millionaire" and "No Country for Old Men" won the four Guilds, they also went home with the Oscar.

A best picture winner usually has to win at least two Guilds to be a safe bet for the Oscars. On exception however was "12 Years a Slave," which only won the Producers Guild but was still nominated at the SAG and Directors Guild. It was not nominated at the WGA because it was not eligible.

However, Best Picture winners such as "Crash" won both the SAG and the WGA, and "The Hurt Locker" won the DGA, the PGA and the WGA. Even "The Departed," which famously lost the PGA and the SAG, still took home the DGA and the WGA before going home with the Oscar.

But the closest example to this year's race is by far 2010 when "The King's Speech" surprised all. While "The Social Network" won the Golden Globe, the Critics Choice and the majority of the critics' circles, it lost the PGA, the DGA and the SAG. It only took home the WGA. Meanwhile the "the King's Speech" won the three aforementioned awards except for the WGA because it was eligible.

As a result, "Birdman" is still a viable choice for the Academy Awards.

However, the film still has to overcome the fact that it is not nominated for Best Editing. In the past ten years every Best Picture winner has been nominated for the Editing award. In 2005, when all pundits expected "Brokeback Mountain" to win the Oscar, "Crash" beat it out, and the most likely reason was because it was not nominated for Editing.

Still Oscar history has proved this wrong. In the past 86 years of Oscar history nine Best Picture winners have actually went home with the top prize without being nominated for Best Editing. Among these films include "Hamlet" (1948), "Marty" (1955), "Tom Jones" (1963), "A Man for All Seasons" (1966), "The Godfather, Part II" (1974), "Annie Hall" (1977) and "Ordinary People" (1980).

"Birdman" is also an interesting example as the film is shot in one whole tracking shot. The Academy's editing branch usually elects films with a lot of cuts, and "Birdman" definitely does not fit the Academy's preference.

Another reason why "Birdman" could win is because if the Academy decides to line up with the guilds, it is doubtful the Academy will want another split. The past two years have seen the director and the picture race split. Before those two years "The Artist," "The King's Speech," "The Hurt Locker," "Slumdog Millionaire," "No Country For Old Men" and "The Departed" all won both the Director and Picture award. Three director and picture splits would be very uncommon.

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