The nominations for the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics Choice Awards highlighted there’s a clear top four in the race for Best Director in Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), and Greta Gerwig (Barbie). All four scored nominations from both groups and are starting to feel like the four locks on an Oscar nomination.
As for the additional spots, the Globes went with Bradley Cooper (Maestro) and Celine Song (Past Lives) and CCA went with Cooper and Alexander Payne (The Holdovers). That might suggest Cooper is the one taking the fifth spot with the Academy, but we know they snubbed him for directing A Star is Born and you get the feeling the same is happening again this year.
While he failed to receive nominations from either group, we know the Academy has a recent history of including one director of an international film and this year’s choice would undoubtedly be Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest). The film seems likely to earn nods elsewhere and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Glazer earn nods from other groups like BAFTA and DGA.
BEST DIRECTOR PREDICTIONS:
1. Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) – CCA, GG
2. Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon (Paramount Pictures / Apple Original Films) – CCA, GG
3. Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures) – CCA, GG
4. Greta Gerwig – Barbie (Warner Bros.) – CCA, GG
5. Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest (A24)
IN CONTENTIONS:
Bradley Cooper – Maestro (Netflix) – GG
Andrew Haigh – All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Pictures)
Todd Haynes – May December (Netflix)
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction (Amazon MGM Studios / Orion)
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers (Focus Features) – CCA
Celine Song – Past Lives (A24) – GG
Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall (NEON)