2015 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Director

February 27, 2016

The Revenant

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest reaching its conclusion tomorrow at noon, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Best Director is one of the last categories we will look at, and it is one of the least competitive.

(Note: All previous awards listed are only for directing and not other categories.)

Best Director

Lenny Abrahamson for Room
Tomatometer Score: 94% Positive
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Film: None
Director's Previous Major Wins, Film: None
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Career: None
Director's Previous Major Wins, Career: None
Notes: This film deserves all of the Awards Season attention it has been getting so far, and is nearly a lock to win one Oscar, but it is too small of a film to win Best Director.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for The Revenant
Tomatometer Score: 82% Positive
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Film: Golden Globes, BAFTA, and DGA
Director's Previous Major Wins, Film: Golden Globes, BAFTA, and DGA
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Career: Two Oscars, Two Golden Globes, Two BAFTAs, Three DGAs, and One Independent Spirit Award
Director's Previous Major Wins, Career: One Oscar and Two DGAs
Notes: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the directing Oscar last year. That suggests he won’t win this year. However, by most metrics, he is the number one contender and might be more than a 2-1 favorite over the field. If I got a vote, he wouldn't get it, on the other hand.

Thomas McCarthy for Spotlight
Tomatometer Score: 96% Positive
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Film: Golden Globes, DGA, and Independent Spirit Awards
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Wins: None (One Pending)
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Career: One Independent Spirit Award
Director's Previous Major Wins, Career: One Independent Spirit Award
Notes: It is very likely that Tom McCarthy will win an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay for Spotlight. It is highly unlikely he will win another Oscar for Best Directing.

Adam McKay for The Big Short
Tomatometer Score: 88% Positive
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Film: BAFTA and DGA
Director's Previous Major Wins, Film: None
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Career: None
Director's Previous Major Wins, Career: None
Notes: It is very likely that Adam McKay will win an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay for The Big Short. It is highly unlikely he will win another Oscar for Best Directing. Yes. I cut and pasted that from above.

George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road
Tomatometer Score: 97% Positive
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Film: Golden Globes and DGA
Director's Previous Major Wins, Film: None
Director's Previous Major Nominations, Career: None
Director's Previous Major Wins, Career: None
Notes: George Miller has won an Oscar in the past, but for Feature-Length Animated Film and not Directing. If there’s any justice, he will win for Best Directing on Oscar night. The film earned some of the best reviews of 2015 and directing was definitely the key to its success. Unfortunately, the buzz suggests he’s a long shot.

Conclusion: George Miller should win, but Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is the favorite to win his second Oscar in as many years.


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Filed under: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, , Adam McKay, George Miller, Lenny Abrahamson