The Great Directors

Years ago, when The Academy was created, I wonder if they ever imagined the spectacle that it would become. What was intended to honor film making and art has more and more become less of what it once was, and has been replaced by being one of the biggest shows and popularity contests that is seen worldwide. The reality of what it is now has been deluded by concerns of politics, star power on the red carpet, and what everyone is wearing; the film making itself is a passing thought. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy the arrival of the stars, it is an exciting moment, but The Academy Awards was not meant to ever be what it is today. Best Picture and Director were the two most important categories; they meant something, now they are both pushed aside for the acting categories because everyone wants to see their favorite movie star win. Believe it or not, The Academy started out being a dinner and everyone already knew the winners before hand, now look at it. I am not saying this is bad. I am merely just showing how we have taken the very thing intended to award and honor the finest in film making and deluded it into a popularity contest and who's who on the red carpet. People have lost interest in the category of Best Director because no one knows who the directors are; it is a travesty that we have created. When no one knows who Martin Scorsese is? Alexander Payne? Joel and Ethan Coen? Spike Jonze? , we have a problem. 

You simply cannot have a great movie without a great director. I think people may have seen many directors’ names in the credits and say, "Oh I have heard of him" or "Oh that is the guy who made..." but they forget about them, especially because they never see them. They are the ones behind the camera that make the movie. They translate words on paper into beauty on the screen, of course there are editors, cinematographers, and all sorts of people who make the final project of what we get to see, but the directors are the complete driving force behind it. They are not seen, and for that, they often are people with names without faces. At the Oscars they get to be seen and heard, often for many people, it is their first time seeing or hearing them. This just makes me sad. Their importance is everything to a movie, because there would be none without them. The awards should be about them. Their creation. Their work. Everyone else should be second to them, but that is not reality. So before I get into the discussion of who should be nominated this year, let me give you homework, fun homework. Get to know these directors. You can watch some of their other movies and have an understanding of who they are and what they think. It is that easy, and I promise you will have a different outlook on movies and cinema as a whole. Now to the point of why I do this, let’s discuss who to look out for this year (in order of likely nomination): 

1. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave. This would be his first directing nomination, and deserved it would be. I have seen a couple of McQueen's movies, and nothing of his has ever blown me away, like it has for some people, until this movie. There has never been an Oscar contender for Best Picture that has the topic of slavery told from the African American perspective. In fact, there has only been one African American ever to be nominated for directing, and this year would add a second. How awesome would be to see history made with McQueen winning, though he is not American he is British, it still breaks ground. He tackles deep issues in his films, which 12 Years checks off that box, to the point that it stirs up emotion and discussion and that is why so many people have hailed this as one of the best of the year, and I would agree with that statement. This movie could sweep The Oscars, but some say because it is too deep and hard to watch that the Academy might go for something lighter. I have not decided what I want to win Director or Picture, but 12 Years is a worthy contender in my book for both wins. 
2. Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity. I cannot think of a more worthy contender to be nominated in this category. His precision directing of Gravity is one that took my breath away. The visuals. The sounds. In those aspects alone, Gravity is a masterpiece of cinema. If I had to be knit picky, the story line of the movie was the only thing that bothered me, but even that is a stretch. Cuaron has been nominated before, but not for directing. He received nominations for writing both Y Tu Mama Tambien and Children of Men, and a film editing nomination for the ladder. Cuaron has worked all across the board on his movies, not just in the director’s seat, and I think that added to his brilliance in directing Gravity. He knew exactly how to make it feel like you were in space and you felt every struggle of the protagonist, with obvious help from an astonishing performance by Sandra Bullock. I am more sold on him winning this category over anyone else, but I have not seen every movie yet. 100% worthy to win this category, and he too would make history. There has never been a Mexican film maker to win a Directing Oscar; so again, I am all for seeing history made. 

The race is really between them two, but the three other spots could be given to some men who could be game changers and steal the Oscar right from their hands:

1. David O. Russell, American Hustle. The biggest surprise I have seen happen so far this year is the turnaround from the first screenings of American Hustle to now. It had a rough start, with people writing it off, to now being an actual strong contender for Best Picture and Director. I feel there is starting to become a sense of urgency to give O. Russell a directing Oscar, with his past two films, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, getting numerous nominations but never any wins for Picture or Director. People, are starting to get the vibe that he needs to be rewarded, and I would have to agree. American Hustle, I am finally seeing it tomorrow, may get a big showing on nomination morning for Oscars, and if it does, it could become a true challenger to both Gravity and 12 Years for Picture and Director. O. Russell is making himself known for great film making, and I hope to one day see him win, but I am not so sure this will be it. 
2. Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips. There are four things I liked about this movie: Barhad Abdi's performance, Tom Hanks first hour and last ten minutes of screen time, the first hour of the movie, and lastly, the directing. The movie as a whole fell a little flat to me, but I must be in the minority here because it keeps getting nominated. Greengrass is a good director of popcorn movies, his Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum, has given him success in that area. He has received a nomination for director before, which was for United 93, which oddly failed to get a Picture nomination; generally the two categories go hand in hand. He has made himself a strong contender for an Oscar nomination for his tight directing of Captain Phillips. I do not know how he managed to film in such small spaces, and still be able to get such great footage, but he did, and it is impressive. I will say, he could easily be left out come Oscar nomination morning, but as of now, he stands a pretty good chance. 
3. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street. One must NEVER rule out Scorsese. Scorsese is a directing genius, his contributions of not only his masterpiece films, but to film history as a whole, is what I love about him. Scorsese deserves more Oscars that what he has, it is quite a shame. His films, in total, have received 75 nominations with only 20 wins. That to me is both impressive and a shame. He has only won Best Director once, in 2006 for his brilliant film, The Departed. The reason I have not left Leo or Jonah Hill out of discussion for Wolf, is because he also has an impressive track record for his actors to be nominated and win Oscars. He is just a genius, and that is an understatement. With people proclaiming Wolf to be a masterpiece, after more and more people are seeing it, it is a very dark horse to knock some movies down. I would love to see it happen, and that is without seeing the movie. I do not doubt a man whose films have never disappointed me. 
4. Alexander Payne, Nebraska. Payne has a good track record with the Oscar as well. He has won two Adapted Screenplay Oscars, for Sideways and The Descendants, with directing nominations for both films. His actors also fair well with nominations. This year people have said Nebraska is his best film to date, which has piqued my interest, because every time I watch a Payne film I begin to like him more and more. His films tend to be dark comedies, which sometimes make you feel really uncomfortable. He took a big risk making Nebraska a black and white film, because people nowadays push away even the idea of watching such films. I like when directors are confident in themselves to take those risks, which is why Payne makes the list. Other people see him as a director worthy to be nominated and to win a directing Oscars at some point. He may make the cut, and I would love to see that happen. 
5. Spike Jonze, Her. Yet another great surprise of the year is that Her has managed to become a strong contender for both Picture and Director. A movie that gives people a new prospective on love and our future has many people praising the film. Jonze is such an interesting director, and is a very unorthodox one at that. I have only truly loved one of his films, and love is putting it mildly, Adaptation. Adaptation was a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies, also one of Meryl Streep's best performances. He has one directing nomination under his belt, and that was for Being John Malkovich. With Her, he may find himself another directing nomination, and maybe win. One thing is certain, he will be nominated for writing the film, and that could be a strong contender for him to win the Oscar for Original Screenplay. I will have to see the film, to give you my full opinion, but right now, he is on the radar. 
6. Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis. The Coen Brothers are arguably two of the greatest film directors of all time. Along with Scorsese, they can do no wrong in my book. Together they both of have won four Oscars, writing for Fargo, and writing directing and producing No Country for Old Men. They have received numerous nominations, and The Academy loves them. They have failed to pick up any big nominations for Inside Llewyn Davis, but with the love The Academy has for them, you cannot write them off. I truly think they could be a dark horse for a nomination. 

As of now, I only see two locked nominations: Steven McQueen and Alfonso Cuaron. The other three spots are up in the air, so far in the air, that any one of the listed men could get break into the race. I love this category, and it deserves a bigger spotlight and a lot more attention. The race for Best Director is shaping up to be the most unpredictable category, and that is just the way I like it. I hope you take it upon yourself to accept my homework and watch some of these directors’ films, some are masterpieces, others are just "mehhhh", but either way you gain a respect for the art and for the artist. It is the best homework assignment out there!