Best Director Predictions (October)

With Denis Villeneuve and Steven Spielberg out of this year’s race and still no certainty if Wes Anderson will follow them into 2021, the five slots for Best Director now have the potential to open up for a stack of first-time nominees.

After dazzling early reviews for Nomadland, Chloé Zhao steamrolls into frontrunner status, but there’s still a long road ahead before we see a second female director snatch the trophy. Oscar-winner Regina King has seen a similarly strong reaction to her directorial debut One Night in Miami. Wouldn’t it be something to see two female filmmakers nominated in the same year?

While Mank remains unseen, the recently-released teaser trailer gave every indication this might finally be David Fincher’s year. Hot on Fincher’s heels is his The Social Network collaborator Aaron Sorkin, whose crime drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 could be a major player across the board and ensnare Sorkin his first nomination as a director.

BEST DIRECTOR PREDICTIONS:
1. Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
2. David Fincher – Mank (Netflix)
3. Regina King – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
4. Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
5. Spike Lee – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)

MAJOR CONTENDERS:
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari (A24)
Sofia Coppola – On the Rocks (A24)
Lee Daniels – The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Paramount Pictures)
Pete Docter – Soul (Disney)
Paul Greengrass – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Ron Howard – Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
Armando Iannucci – The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Shaka King – Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.)
George C. Wolfe – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Florian Zeller – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)

UNCONFIRMED RELEASE DATES:
Wes Anderson – The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
Taika Waititi – Next Goal Wins (Searchlight Pictures)
Tom McCarthy – Stillwater (Focus Features)