2018 Oscar Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (April)
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Kathryn Bigelow remains at #1 with her still Untitled Detroit Riots Project but her competitors are starting to chip away at that lead. Strong word of mouth from the 10-minute clips shown at CinemaCon keeps Alexander Payne (Downsizing) at #2 and Todd Haynes (Wonderstruck) at #3.
The big debut entry this month is two-time Best Director Oscar winner Steven Spielberg for The Post. In the month since March predictions, he dropped production of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara to fast-track the Pentagon Papers film that is set to star Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. This bumps the never-nominated Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) out of the top five.
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Despite the assurance that Paul Thomas Anderson’s fashion project with Daniel Day-Lewis will be a Christmas Day release, PTA’s stock plummets all the way down to #15. On the flip side, Call Me By Your Name‘s Luca Gaudagnino jumps up from the bottom to land at #8 this month.
Piqued interest in Darron Aronofsky’s very secretive mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Pfeiffer moves him up a bit, to #11.
George Clooney enters the list at #13 this month with Suburbicon. He joins Richard Linklater (Last Flag Flying, #15) as the other newcomers.
Green – moves up from last month
Red – moves down from last month
Blue – debut/new entry
MARCH Best Director Predictions
Keep an eye on all of the Gold Rush Gang’s 2018 Oscar predictions updated LIVE throughout the month.
|
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 – The Untitled Detroit Riots Project | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 89 |
| 2 | Alexander Payne – Downsizing | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 80 |
| 3 | Todd Haynes – Wonderstruck | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 77 |
| 4 | Steven Spielberg – The Post | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 71 |
| 5 | Joe Wright – Darkest Hour | 6 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 54 | |
| 6 | Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk | 10 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 48 |
| 7 | Andrew Haigh – Lean on Pete | 8 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 32 | |
| 8 | Luca Guadagnino – Call Me By Your Name | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 20 | ||||||
| 9 | Dee Rees – Mudbound | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 18 | |||||
| 10 | Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 17 | ||||
| 11 | Darren Aronofsky – mother! | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 14 | ||||
| 12 | Michael Haneke – Happy End | 9 | 6 | 9 | 9 | |||||||
| 13 | George Clooney – Suburbicon | 5 | 10 | 7 | ||||||||
| 13 | Dan Gilroy – Inner City (possibly 2018) | 6 | 9 | 7 | ||||||||
| 15 | Paul Thomas Anderson – Untitled Fashion Project | 8 | 10 | 4 | ||||||||
| 15 | Richard Linklater – Last Flag Flying | 9 | 9 | 4 | ||||||||
| OTHER CONTENDERS | ||||||||||||
| Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game | ||||||||||||
| Alfonso Gómez-Rejón – The Current War | ||||||||||||
| David Gordon Green – Stronger | ||||||||||||
| Garth Davis – Mary Magdalene | ||||||||||||
| Guillermo Del Toro – The Shape of Water | ||||||||||||
| Jordan Peele – Get Out | ||||||||||||
| Martin McDonaugh – Three Bilboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | ||||||||||||
| Michael Gracey – The Greatest Showman | ||||||||||||
| Reginald Hudlin – Marshall | ||||||||||||
| Sebastián Lelio – Disobedience | ||||||||||||
| Stephen Frears – Victoria and Abdul | ||||||||||||
| Woody Allen – Wonder Wheel |
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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