The announcement of the five directors nominated at the Oscars in late January brought us zero surprises. As expected, the Academy kept its 17-year streak going and didn’t match 5/5 with the Directors Guild of America nominees, with Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein) dropping out in favour of Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value).
Our final five all nabbed nominations at the BAFTAS, where Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) was the winner last weekend. This added to Anderson’s Critics Choice Award and Golden Globe wins back in early January and his DGA win in early February to give the veteran director a clean sweep of victories as we head into final Oscar voting.
BEST DIRECTOR PREDICTIONS:
1. Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.) – BAFTA, CCA, DGA, GG
2. Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.) – BAFTA, CCA, DGA, GG
3. Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (Focus Features) – BAFTA, CCA, DGA, GG
4. Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (NEON) – BAFTA, CCA, GG
5. Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24) – BAFTA, DGA, CCA