2018 Oscar Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (July) – Bigelow and Spielberg Tie for the Top Spot
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Kathryn Bigelow (Detroit) returns to the #1 spot this month in our Best Director predictions, albeit tied with last month’s #1, Steven Spielberg (The Papers). Interestingly, Spielberg’s point total remains the same while Bigelow’s rises five.
Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) flip spots, and nearly the same point totals, giving Nolan his highest ranking to date. Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) moves up one to enter the top 5. That pushes Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) out and down to #6.
Two of last month’s debuts not only hang on but improve this month; Sean Baker (The Florida Project) moves up from #8 to #7 and Jordan Peele (Get Out) lands at #9 from a #11 start in June. Two of last month’s debuts fall off after just a single month; Michael Gracey (The Greatest Show on Earth) and Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled).
Richard Linklater (Last Flag Flying) returns the chart this month in a big way, landing at #10. Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) is the month’s sole new entry. He starts out at #14.
Two additions hit the Other Contenders list, featuring some potentially very Oscar-y names. Clint Eastwood is said to be getting his latest film (which hasn’t even started shooting yet) The 15:17 to Paris done by December and Ridley Scott could have his Getty kidnapping drama All the Money in the World, which is currently filming, ready for December as well.
Here are the 2018 Oscar predictions in Best Director for July from the Gold Rush Gang. Keep an eye on all of the Gold Rush Gang’s 2018 Oscar predictions updated LIVE throughout the month.
Green – moves up from last month
Red – moves down from last month
Blue – debut/new entry
Orange – re-entry
| BEST DIRECTOR | ERIK ANDERSON |
BRYAN BONAFEDE | GREG HOWARD | EVAN KOST |
JASON OSIASON | KENNETH POLISHCHUK |
DENIZCAN SÜRÜCÜ | RICHARD ANTHONY |
ŞÜKRÜ SÖĞÜT | MATT DINN | TOTAL POINTS |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathryn Bigelow – Detroit | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 85 |
| 1 | Steven Spielberg – The Papers | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 85 |
| 3 | Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 64 |
| 4 | Joe Wright – Darkest Hour | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 57 | |
| 5 | Luca Guadagnino – Call Me By Your Name | 6 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 55 |
| 6 | Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 47 |
| 7 | Sean Baker – The Florida Project | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 46 | |
| 7 | Dan Gilroy – Roman Israel, Esq. | 8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 46 | ||
| 9 | Jordan Peele – Get Out | 9 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 21 | |||
| 10 | Richard Linklater – Last Flag Flying | 9 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 12 | ||||||
| 11 | Dee Rees – Mudbound | 10 | 4 | 10 | 9 | |||||||
| 12 | Andrew Haigh – Lean on Pete | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||||
| 13 | Todd Haynes – Wonderstruck | 10 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||
| 14 | Guillermo Del Toro – The Shape of Water | 8 | 9 | 5 | ||||||||
| 15 | Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread | 9 | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| 16 | George Clooney – Suburbicon | 9 | 2 | |||||||||
| 16 | Alexander Payne – Downsizing | 9 | 2 | |||||||||
| 16 | Alfonso Gómez-Rejón – The Current War | 9 | 2 | |||||||||
| 19 | Martin McDonaugh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | 10 | 1 | |||||||||
| OTHER CONTENDERS | ||||||||||||
| Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game | ||||||||||||
| Andy Serkis – Breathe | ||||||||||||
| Clint Eastwood – The 15:17 to Paris | ||||||||||||
| Darren Aronofsky – mother! | ||||||||||||
| David Gordon Green – Stronger | ||||||||||||
| Garth Davis – Mary Magdalene | ||||||||||||
| Michael Gracey – The Greatest Showman | ||||||||||||
| Michael Haneke – Happy End | ||||||||||||
| Reginald Hudlin – Marshall | ||||||||||||
| Ridley Scott – All the Money in the World | ||||||||||||
| Sebastián Lelio – Disobedience | ||||||||||||
| Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled | ||||||||||||
| Stanley Tucci – Final Portrait | ||||||||||||
| Stephen Frears – Victoria and Abdul | ||||||||||||
| Woody Allen – Wonder Wheel | ||||||||||||
| Yorgos Lanthimos – The Killing of a Sacred Deer |
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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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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