2017 Oscar Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (August)
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While Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk enjoys its new #1 status in the Best Picture race, he still sits behind Silence‘s Martin Scorsese for Best Director. Both Oscar-winning directors fall in points to red hot Damien Chazelle (La La Land). Like his film, his stock has risen significantly from last month, up 5 places and 26 points. This bumps down Nate Parker (The Birth of a Nation) and last month’s #4, Jeff Nichols (Loving) is bumped off completely and is now down in ‘Other Contenders.’
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) and Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) remain buddy-buddy on the list and then three single-vote getters round it out with Clint Eastwood (Sully), Garth Davis (Lion) and Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) sharing points.
Here are the August Oscar predictions for Best Director from The Gold Rush Gang:
OTHER CONTENDERS
Ava DuVernay – The 13th
Robert Zemeckis – Allied
Ben Younger – Bleed For This
Denzel Washington – Fences
Cédric Jimenez – HHhH
Derek Cianfrance – The Light Between Oceans
Ben Affleck – Live by Night
Yorgios Lanthimos – The Lobster
Jeff Nichols – Loving
Tom Ford – Nocturnal Animals
Morten Tyldum – Passengers
Follow the updated Gold Rush Gang predictions in these Oscar categories here:
BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST FILM EDITING
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST SOUND EDITING
BEST SOUND MIXING
- ‘Wishful Thinking,’ ‘Over Your Dead Body’ Among 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival Juried and Audience Award Winners - March 21, 2026
- Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) Television and Nonfiction Nominations Announced: ‘Adolescence,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Slow Horses’ and More - March 20, 2026
- Trailer Watch: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Dune: Part Three,’ Disclosure Day,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’ - March 20, 2026



‘Wishful Thinking,’ ‘Over Your Dead Body’ Among 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival Juried and Audience Award Winners
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 144 – ‘A Matter of Life and Death (Powell and Pressburger, 1946) with Special Guest Jesse Nussman
Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) Television and Nonfiction Nominations Announced: ‘Adolescence,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Slow Horses’ and More
Trailer Watch: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Dune: Part Three,’ Disclosure Day,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’