My closer look at six high profile races for the 96th Academy Awards arrives at Best Director. If you missed my posts covering the four acting derbies, you can peruse them here:
As I have with those categories, I am winnowing the field of my predicted nominees from 15 possibilities to 10. At the moment, I believe Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) are guaranteed slots with Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) darn close to wrapping up one himself.
After that, there are plenty of hopefuls vying for the two spots. I do believe two females could populate them via some combo of Celine Song (Past Lives), Greta Gerwig (Barbie), Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), and Ana DuVernay (Origin).
We also have Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), and Alexander Payne (The Holdovers) as strong possibilities. Perhaps even Cord Jefferson (director of freshly minted Toronto Film Festival People Choice’s winner American Fiction) could make a run.
And there’s the unseen contenders in Blitz Bazawule (The Color Purple) and Ridley Scott (Napoleon).
Lots to ponder and there are now three new players in my final quintet compared to my previous predictions on August 28th. Here’s where I have the race standing at the moment:
Predicted Nominees
1. Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer (Previous Ranking: 2) (+1)
2. Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon (PR: 1) (-1)
3. Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things (PR: 9) (+6)
4. Greta Gerwig, Barbie (PR: 7) (+3)
5. Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall (PR: 6) (+1)
Other Possibilities:
6. Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest (PR: 5) (-1)
7. Alexander Payne, The Holdovers (PR: 12) (+5)
8. Celine Song, Past Lives (PR: 3) (-5)
9. Bradley Cooper, Maestro (PR: 5) (-4)
10. Blitz Bazawule, The Color Purple (PR: 8) (-2)
Dropped Out:
Emerald Fennell, Saltburn
Ridley Scott, Napoleon
Michael Mann, Ferrari
David Fincher, The Killer
Wes Anderson, Asteroid City
Best Picture is up next!
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