2017 Oscar Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (September)

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The Best Director list looks mostly like last month in terms of who’s still in, save Nate Parker (The Birth of a Nation) who falls off the chart completely, but bridesmaid Ang Lee (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk) finally breaks through to land at #1 for the first time this year. But, as with Best Picture, it’s Damien Chazelle and La La Land that marks the biggest, and most important, move. Chazelle makes an 11-point jump to land at #2 off the strength of the hugely positive response and glowing reviews his film garnered at both Venice and Telluride.

Martin Scorsese, like his film Silence, still holds top 5 status but it’s a holding pattern at this point. We’re still pretty sure it’s getting a 2016 release but boy would a solid date be reassuring.

The other big move, and also a result of universal Telluride praise, is Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). We’ve been high on Moonlight for a while (as we also were with La La Land) and we think A24 could land a second Best Director nomination in a row with Jenkins and his revolutionary film.

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) moves up one to #4 this month and Denis Villeneuve’s stellar reviews for Arrival keep him in the top 6 for now.

LISTEN: Oscar Podcast #42: Fall Festivals Kick Off Oscar Season with La La Land, Moonlight, Arrival, Nocturnal Animals

Here are the September Oscar predictions for Best Director from The Gold Rush Gang:

OTHER CONTENDERS
Ava DuVernay – The 13th
Robert Zemeckis – Allied
Ewan McGregor – American Pastoral
Nate Parker – The Birth of a Nation
Ben Younger – Bleed For This
Denzel Washington – Fences
Stephen Gaghan – Gold
Garth Davis – Lion
Ben Affleck – Live by Night
Jeff Nichols – Loving
Tom Ford – Nocturnal Animals
Morten Tyldum – Passengers
Clint Eastwood – Sully

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 ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST SOUND EDITING
BEST SOUND MIXING
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE