2017 Oscar Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (April)
Martin Scorsese (Silence) is still the king of the Best Director predictions with a perfect score of 50 (#1s across the board) but Jeff Nichols (Loving) makes a big jump in points to move past Nate Parker (The Birth of a Nation) to #3 this month. This is largely on the strength of his film securing an In Competition spot at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Parker is no slouch though, he’s still solidly in the top 5 with a significant point separation between him and his closest competitor, Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea), who moves up one from #6 to #5.
As with Best Picture, news of Ben Affleck’s Live By Night landing a 2017 release takes him out of the running this year. Damien Chazelle (La La Land) falls off the list this month and Clint Eastwood (Sully) and Garth Davis (Lion) hold on with single votes.
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- Interview: ‘Pillion’ Director Harry Lighton and Star Harry Melling Bring Kink to the Mainstream - February 19, 2026
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Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: The Pre-BAFTA Conclave Begins, Will a New Frontrunner Be Anointed? (2/20/26)
‘Paradise’ Season 2 Review: There Goes the Neighborhood [B-]
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 140 – ‘A Couch in New York’ (Chantal Akerman, 1996)
Interview: ‘Pillion’ Director Harry Lighton and Star Harry Melling Bring Kink to the Mainstream