The award for Best Director is one of the most head-turning categories of the year. The winner of the accolade usually indicates what film will end up winning the Oscar. However, this year, it seems unpredictable and many pundits are predicting that the Academy will split the Bets Picture and Best Director award.
David O. Russell - "American Hustle" - Russell is receiving his third Oscar nomination for Best Director and fifth nomination all together. The director has received rave reviews for his work on "American Hustle." However, he has failed to win a single Best Director award regardless of his nominations for the Directors Guild of America, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and British Academy Awards. It is unlikely that Russell will win the award due to these losses. However, if the Academy decides to depart from the DGA this year and award a feel good movie, Russell will easily win.
Alfonso Cuaron - "Gravity" - Cuaron received his sixth Academy Award nomination but his first for Best Director. The Mexican director is currently the front-runner to win the category as he has raked a total of 21 Best Director awards including the DGA. The DGA is an important win because the guild has many Oscar voters and it has been accurate in predicting who will win the Oscar the majority of the time. However, Cuaron is not secured the win because the DGA has diverged on many occasions including last year when it gave Ben Affleck the award and later Ang Lee went on to win the Oscar. The same happened in 2002 when Rob Marshall took home the DGA and later Roman Polanski went home with the Oscar. While Cuaron has good odds, it is very unlikely the Academy will want to split the Best Director and Best Picture award two years in a row.
Alexander Payne - "Nebraska" - The nomination for Best Director marks Payne's seventh Oscar nomination and third Best Director nod. Even though Payne was nominated for the Golden Globe, the director was the big surprise in this category. Most pundits expected Paul Greengrass to get nominated instead. Payne has yet to win a single precursor award and with the lack of a Directors Guild nomination, he is unlikely to win the Oscar.
Steve McQueen - "12 Years a Slave" - McQueen received his second Oscar nomination and first Best Director nomination. His latest film, "12 Years a Slave" is regarded as the front-runner to win the Best Picture but McQueen failed to win the Critics Choice, Golden Globe and DGA awards. However, he won 14 precursor awards including the New York Film Critics. If the Academy decides not to go for a split and is feeling a difficult movie, expect McQueen to go home with the award.
Martin Scorsese - "The Wolf of Wall Street" - Scorsese received his 12th nomination and seventh Best Director Oscar nomination. Scorsese won the category back in 2007 for his work on "The Departed" but has not won since. "The Wolf of Wall Street" is most the divisive Best Picture nominee and Scorsese has yet to win a single award. As a result, it is unlikely that the director will take home a second Oscar this year.
Prediction: Alfonso Cuaron is predicted to make history by being the first Mexican to win the Best Director Award. However, if the Academy does not want to give special effects driven movie the Best Director award for the second time in a row, McQueen may become the first Black director to win the category.