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Will These Directors Lead?
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Tom Hooper
1 nom | 1 win
LES MISERABLES
Why Him?
He breezed to a win for The King's Speech and there's no reason to suspect his artistic sensibility won't continue to mesh with Oscars
But...
two best pictures three pictures in to a career?
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Alfonso Cuarón
never nominated (in this category)
GRAVITY
Why Him?
He's a terrific director and this project will definitely test his mettle.
But...
Artistics risk only pay off with the artistically conservative industry randomly.
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Steven Spielberg
6 noms | 2 wins (in this category)
LINCOLN
Why Him?
If he can win traction for War Horse (even if it didn't quite pay off for a Director nomination) surely an American history epic will work
But...
He doesn't win love for every picture.
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Ben Affleck
never nominated in this category
ARGO
Why Him?
He's got the career momentum and the kind of backstory -- actor to respected director -- that they respond to. And he's good with actors.
But...
competition is stiff this year.
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Roger Michell
never nominated
HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
Why Him?
He's good with actors and has assembled fine ones for what might be a really interesting American / Brit period piece.
But...
even if it works, actors films don't always get the director proper credit.
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Second Tier... Strong Contenders?
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Paul Thomas Anderson
1 nomination in this category
THE MASTER
Why Him?
He's one of only a handful of working American geniuses. There Will Be Blood might have finally won their respect for good.
But...
he doesn't make heartwarming pictures
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Ang Lee
2 noms | 1 win (in this category)
LIFE OF PI
Why Him?
He makes classy films. He stretches himself. His films are never less than interesting.
But...
this will be very tough to pull off.
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Andrew Dominik
never nominated
KILLING THEM SOFTLY
Why Him?
Brad Pitt tends to have great taste in partners and Jesse James was a wonderful first run for their collaboration
But...
There are always lots of crime dramas so it'll really have to stand out.
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Joe Wright
never nominated
ANNA KARENINA
Why Him?
He stretches himself. He "gets" star muse Keira Knightley and knows how to use her.
But...
this has been made into a movie so often. It could just be another Jane Eyre (2011): critically respected but not Oscar embraced.
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Baz Luhrmann
never nominated (in this category)
THE GREAT GATSBY
Why Him?
It's one of the greatest novels of all time and his best films are pure magic.
But...
Australia, his last would be prestige epic pleased very few people. He can make visuals pop but this will have to work as a whole story, mood and film.
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You Never Know... Especially This Early
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Kathryn Bigelow
1 nom | 1 win (in this category)
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Why Her?
She's been a terrific action director since the beginning and there will be Hurt Locker afterglow
But...
it'll be tough to top her Oscar win.
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David O. Russell
1 nom in this category
THE SILVER LINING PLAYBOOK
Why Him?
He's one of the few that can make dramas absolutely hilarious and push comedies deep.
But...
The Fighter may have been a fluke. His films have generally not received Oscar love.
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Peter Jackson
2 noms | 1 win (in this category)
THE HOBBIT
Why Him?
He has three Oscars already from the Lord of the Rings series so they love Middle Earth
But...
they might think three Oscars is plenty for essentially one long film.
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David Cronenberg
never nominated
COSMOPOLIS
Why Him?
He's a legend and some peers / critics idolize him.
But...
given both of those statements it's weird that he never gains traction for anything. You'd think he'd eventually get his own Mulholland Dr or Last Temptation (i.e. weird stand-alone nomination)
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Chris Nolan
never nominated (in this category)
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Why Him?
Few directors have more feverishly devoted fans and people especially love his Batman work.
But...
it's become almost comical (given the regular precursor attention) that the AMPAS director's branch always shuns him.
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It's Foolish To Predict in April. Anything Can Happen!
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Quentin Tarantino Django Unchained | Robert Lorenz The Trouble With the Curve | Dustin Hoffman Quartet | Wes Anderson Moonrise Kingdom | Park Chan Wook Stoker | Richard Laxton Effie | Lee Daniels The Paperboy | Ridley Scott Prometheus | Paul Andrew Williams Song for Marion
And the Teams!
The Coen Bros Inside Llewyn Davis | The Wachowski Siblings Cloud Atlas | Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini Imogene
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85th Oscars. Director Contenders for the Films of 2012 Might Be...