Best Director 1. Sean Baker (Anora) 2. Luca Guadagnino (Queer) 3. Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) 4. Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door) 5. James Mangold (A Complete Unknown) Original Screenplay 1. Sean Baker (Anora) 2. Steve McQueen (Blitz) 3. Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain) 4. Azazel Jacobs (His Three Daughters) 5. Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold (The Brutalist) Adapted Screenplay 1. Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) 2. Justin Kuritzkes (Queer) 3. Jay Cocks & James Mangold (A Complete Unknown) 4. Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door) 5. Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez)
I definitely think it’s time for Denis Villenueve to finally win an Oscar for Directing. I have a feeling he could sweep the season and curious to see who could give him competition.
I think people are seriously overestimating Denis ngl, I just don't see how he goes from being snubbed by the directors branch for the first film and then all of a sudden turning around and giving him the award outright for the sequel to the same franchise that's a part 2 of 3. Remember the directors branch is notoriously very high brow and will snub the big blockbuster if it's not "prestige" enough for the academy (Denis for Dune part 1, Gerwig for Barbie, Kosinski for Top Gun Maverick). Even if Denis gets nominated I still think there's enough of a contingency within the academy and specifically the directors branch who wouldn't feel comfortable giving him the award. Sean Baker makes the most sense rn imo: writer-director, Palme D'or winner that's not too inaccessible for most and has broad appeal and hasn't really had a moment like this quite yet and I think it would be easier to root for an underdog like him for some. But hey it's all vibes at this point in the year anyways lmao.
