2016 Oscar Predictions: Best Director – Iñárritu Way Out in Front
With his DGA and Golden Globe wins under his belt there’s very little in the way of Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant) winning his second Best Director Oscar in a row. This would put him in same group as John Ford and Joseph Mancewicz. He could still do this without The Revenant winning Best Picture but even that is starting to look like a strong possibility (many in the Gold Rush Gang think so).
The BAFTAs are this weekend and that could throw a wrench into matters if Iñárritu doesn’t win. But his only Oscar competition there is Adam McKay (The Big Short). While The Big Short bested The Revenant at the PGA there’s not much reason to think that McKay will triumph here. Last year, BAFTA awarded Boyhood and its director Richard Linklater over the eventual Oscar winners Birdman and Iñárritu. So what if something crazy happens like Todd Haynes (Carol) or Ridley Scott (The Martian) winning? Highly unlikely, to be sure, but Carol is tied for the most nominations at BAFTA. There’s a slight crack in that doorway. What about Steven Spielberg? Bridge of Spies is the other film with the most BAFTA nominations going in but the film has made zero impact at every guild and awards showing so far this season. That seems even less likely.
So, barring a really crazy upset, Iñárritu should be a surefire winner of the next Best Director Oscar.
Here are the predictions and ranking of Best Director by the Gold Rush Gang.
BEST DIRECTOR | Erik Anderson | Evan Kost | Nicole Latayan | James Narvey | Adam Norbury | Jason Osiason | Chris Pepper | Long Pham | Kenneth Polischuk | Jacqui Sutherland | TOTAL POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| Adam McKay, The Big Short | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 35 |
| Tom McCarthy, Spotlight | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 29 |
| George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 26 |
| Lenny Abrahamson, Room | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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