Best Director

This is the part where I remind everyone that several women did indeed direct films this year (an incomplete list, with their previous writing/directing credits):

Across the Universe – Julie Taymor (Frida, Titus)
August Rush – Kirsten Sheridan (In America)
Away From Her – Sarah Polley
Catch and Release – Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich)
The Namesake – Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding)
The Nanny Diaries – Shari Springer Berman (American Splendor)
Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi
The Savages – Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills)
Stephanie Daley – Hilary Brougher
Talk to Me – Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, The Caveman’s Valentine)
Things We Lost in the Fire – Susanne Bier (After the Wedding)
2 Days in Paris – Julie Delpy (Before Sunset)
Waitress – Adrienne Shelley

The only ones who have even a whisper of a chance are Sarah Polley and Tamara Jenkins. Moving on. The Coen brothers have always collaborated on writing, directing, and producing all their films, but until recently, Joel was the only credited director and Ethan was the only credited producer. (They’ve always shared credits for their scripts.) So while Joel was previously nominated in this category for Fargo, Ethan will receive his first directing nod for the brothers’ biggest critical success to date, No Country For Old Men. It will mark only the third time in Oscar history that a directing team has been nominated, after Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story, and Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for Heaven Can Wait. The Coens have split the pre-Oscar pot with Paul Thomas Anderson of There Will Be Blood; this will be his first nomination as a director. I’m going back and forth on whether the French-language The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will get a Best Picture spot, but it’s a sure thing for director Julian Schnabel (the American-born filmmaker of the Spanish-language Before Night Falls and Basquiat), because the Best Director category is always more internationally adventurous than Best Picture. Conversely, even though I’m confident Juno will be short-listed for Best Picture, I don’t see director Jason Reitman making the cut. It’s his second film, he’s only 30 years old…he needs to pay his dues first. That leaves room for both of the remaining Best Picture front-runners, Michael Clayton and Into the Wild. Their respective directors, Tony Gilroy and Sean Penn, were both endorsed by the DGA, which is always a good sign. Even though Gilroy is fairly unknown, I think the steady momentum for MC will carry over for him. Best Actor winner Sean Penn has directed two previous films that were modest critical successes, The Crossing Guard and The Pledge, so I think he’ll make it with his best-received film so far. Tim Burton was an early favorite but again, there was lukewarm response to Sweeney Todd. The Directors’ branch won’t pick Joe Wright even if Atonement manages a Best Picture nod. Fun fact: If Sidney Lumet makes the cut for Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (possible but unlikely), it would be precisely 50 years after his first nomination, for 12 Angry Men.