The most fascinating thing at the Oscars will be the best director category
We all saw them. I mean the Academy Award nominations. Yes, all of the nominations were made public this week, and along with some snubs and surprises… there were some pretty interesting things. Things to look forward to when the actual ceremony comes along in March, but when I set down to analyze the categories… I actually realized that the most interesting one is the director’s category.
Why? Well because there is plenty to chose from, regarding ethnicity, gender, race and genres. For the first time in almost a decade a woman is nominated in the best director category (Greta Gerwig for her directorial debut Lady Bird), and when I think about it little better, there are four (Yes 4) directors that just had their first nomination in this category. Jordan Peele received a nomination for Get Out, and surprisingly Christopher Nolan just got his first directorial Oscar nomination in his career also.
In fact the only seasoned director in this category is Paul Thomas Anderson who just got his second nomination for best director (for Phantom Thread) and his eight overall in his entire career. Christopher Nolan has a total of 5 nominations so far, Del Toro has 4, while Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele each received two nominations this week.
But let’s look at the genres that each of the directors is bringing to the table. PTA presents a period piece drama set in 50’s London, Jordan Peele presents an innovative twist on the horror genre, The Shape Of Water is Guillermo del Toro’s weird monster love story, Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut is a coming of age comedy/drama while Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is full on WW2 war movie inspired by true events.
And as for who should and will win on March 4th… Well… I’m torn between Christopher Nolan and Guillermo del Toro but frankly my money is on Paul Thomas Anderson. His nomination was a bit of a surprise for a lot of people, but not to his fans and admirers. I’ve been a fan of PTA since Hard Eight in the mid 90’s and will certainly be rooting for Mr. Anderson on Oscar night. He’s the underdog of the evening actually and i loooove underdogs. That is not to say that Nolan and Del Toro don’t deserve that award as well. They do, so I’d be happy if any of them wins that night. But i’m going for PTA in March.
But what about the cost of each of those 5 movies? Well, only one marks the 100 million dollar budget- Dunkirk. The rest of them, are low budget master pieces that are the true testament of the fine craftsmanship and talent that those men and one lady have on their hands. Which is why I’d be waiting and waiting for this particular category in March. No, not the boring and predictable acting categories.
The director’s category is where the fun truly is.
