Oscars 2023: Best Picture and Best Director

Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer

In ideal circumstances, the Oscar would crescendo to its biggest awards, concluding an eventful and surprising night with a final announcement that’s legitimately suspenseful. That ain’t happening this year. The Best Actress race is a corker, and both screenplay categories are coming down to the wire. But when it comes to the big prize, there isn’t a whole lot of mystery remaining.

To quote one of the best movies of 2023 (albeit not one nominated for Best Picture): such is life. Besides, just because the Academy has already made up its mind doesn’t prevent me from announcing my own preferences. I’m sure you’re excited.

BEST DIRECTOR

NOMINEES
Jonathan Glazer—The Zone of Interest
Yorgos Lanthimos—Poor Things
Christopher Nolan—Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese—Killers of the Flower Moon
Justine Triet—Anatomy of a Fall Read More

Oscars 2022: Best Picture and Best Director

Felix Kammerer in All Quiet on the Western Front; Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

The two biggest awards at this year’s Oscars feel somewhat anticlimactic—partly because their outcome isn’t exactly suspenseful, and partly because it’s always more fun for me to present my personal choices in the acting categories. Still, the Academy has proved capable of delivering massive surprises at the end of the night, so you can never rule out fireworks. Let’s get to it.

BEST DIRECTOR

NOMINEES
Todd Field—Tár
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert—Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh—The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Östlund—Triangle of Sadness
Steven Spielberg—The Fabelmans Read More

Oscars 2020: Best Director and Best Picture

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

And here we are. It’s been a busy week here at MovieManifesto: We’ve already analyzed 18 feature categories at this year’s Oscars, including the lead and supporting actors, the screenplays, the big techies, and the odds and ends. Now, we get to the top two prizes. Will there be a Picture/Director split, as has happened three times in the past five years? Let’s find out!

BEST DIRECTOR

NOMINEES
Lee Isaac Chung—Minari
Emerald Fennell—Promising Young Woman
David Fincher—Mank
Thomas Vinterberg—Another Round
Chloé Zhao—Nomadland Read More

Oscars 2019: Best Picture and Best Director

Parasite! 1917! Duel!

And here we are. After a week spent analyzing 19 different feature categories at this year’s Oscars—including odds and ends, technical fields, supporting actors, lead performances, and screenplays—we’ve finally arrived at the big ones. Let’s get right to it.


BEST DIRECTOR

NOMINEES
Bong Joon-ho—Parasite
Sam Mendes—1917
Todd Phillips—Joker
Martin Scorsese—The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino—Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

WILL WIN
It used to be easy; whoever made the winner of Best Picture also won for Best Director. But the two categories have split as often as not in the past decade—five times in the past seven years, in fact—so now things are more complex. You can tie yourself into knots trying to locate points of synergy or disconnect between the two categories, but at this point, I’m partial to essentially ignoring the Best Picture lineup and analyzing the two fields independently. Read More