This year’s Director race seems like a clash of Oscars‘ past and future. Familiar names such as Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”), Sam Mendes (“1917”), Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), James Mangold (“Ford v. Ferrari”) and Terrence Malick (“A Hidden Life”) in consideration with a more diverse slate of relative newcomers to the race such as Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), Bong Joon-ho (“Parasite”), Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) and Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”), among others. The 2019 class featured more international filmmakers than in recent memory. Will that trend continue or will the white, male American/British director make a comeback? Wait, don’t answer that question… [Updated September 17]
READ MORE: Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” [Cannes Review]
IN THE CONVERSATION
Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”
Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”
Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”
Terrence Malick, “A Hidden Life”
James Mangold, “Ford v. Ferrari”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”
Jay Roach, “Bombshell”
ALMOST THERE
Jordan Peele, “Us”
Lulu Wang “The Farewell”
Taika Waititi, “Jo Jo Rabbit”
Lorene Scafaria, “Hustlers”
Marielle Heller, “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood”
James Gray, “Ad Astra”
POTENTIALLY PLAYERS
Bill Condon, “The Good Liar”
Kasi Lemmons, “Harriet”
Rupert Good, “Judy”
Dexter Fletcher, “Rocketman”
Noah Hawley, “Lucy in the Sky”
Tom Harper, “The Aeronauts”
Tom Hooper, “Cats”
Melina Matsoukas, “Queen and Slim”
More Oscar predictions
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
