Now that Marty Supreme has been seen and the response was overwhelmingly positive, it feels safer to keep Josh Safdie in the top five for Best Director. And Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) and Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) have been locks for weeks now, so we could really only be looking at two spots up for grabs and the season has barely even started.
Sensible pundits would consider Ryan Coogler (Sinners) a lock, too, but we know the Academy loves to make bonehead decisions in this category. My gut is starting to quake at the thought he could be a shock snub on nomination morning. In saying that, the backlash would be severe, so surely it’s not going to happen, right?
I’m also growing a nagging suspicion this year’s chosen nominated director of a non-English language film will be Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident) over Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value). Panahi has that veteran/never-nominated status that’s hard to ignore. One could argue that for Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice) as well, so who knows what the next few months will bring.
Keep an eye on Clint Bentley (Train Dreams). The buzz around this film only grows stronger by the week. If Netflix really get behind it, Bentley could push into the top five.
BEST DIRECTOR PREDICTIONS:
1. Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.) – Gotham
2. Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (Focus Features)
3. Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
4. Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
5. Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (NEON)
IN CONTENTION
Noah Baumbach – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Clint Bentley – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Kathryn Bigelow – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
James Cameron – Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios)
Jon M. Chu – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Bradley Cooper – Is This Thing On? (Searchlight Pictures)
Scott Cooper – Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (20th Century Pictures)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Jorgos Lanthimos – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Kleber Mendonça Filho – The Secret Agent (NEON)
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident (NEON) – Gotham
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice (NEON)
Benny Safdie – The Smashing Machine (A24)
