2024 Oscars Best Director nominees: who are the five candidates for the Academy Awards?
This year’s Oscar race for Best Director is a thrilling blend of industry veterans and fresh faces, setting the stage for an unpredictable showdown.
A red carpet must be unfurled with finesse, kicked out to unroll as it spins, its diameter narrowing until it lays perfect. Stars do not walk on just any carpet. This spectacle will unfold at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, a cinematic sanctuary hosting the Oscar ceremony since its opening in 2001.
Follow the 2024 Oscars ceremony and the red carpet latest updates live online on As.com.
Everything you need to know about the 2024 Oscars
The event caps off a memorable year for cinema, highlighted by the Barbenheimer phenomenon. This year’s paradox leaves Greta Gerwig’s film without nominations in two major categories — Best Actress for Margot Robbie and Best Director for Gerwig herself — hinting it might also miss out on Best Picture. The omission in the Best Director category is particularly telling, a crucial indicator for sweeping the awards, understandable only in the context of this year’s stiff competition. Five contenders are vying for this Oscar.
Christopher Nolan, ‘Oppenheimer’
Nolan is a familiar face in the industry, known for ‘Interstellar,’ ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Inception,’ and ‘Dunkirk,’ among others. Despite his extensive, high-quality filmography marked by meticulous and innovative work, Nolan has never won an Oscar, though he’s been nominated five times (once for Best Director, twice for Best Picture, and twice for Best Original Screenplay).
This year might be his breakthrough, having won the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director. This is significant, considering the DGA has been a precursor to the Oscars in 67 out of its 75-year history. Nolan is the frontrunner for the award.
Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
The New York director is on the verge of making history, with this year’s nomination bringing him one step closer to surpassing the legendary William Wyler in the list of most-nominated directors in Oscar history. A stalwart of the New Hollywood era, Scorsese has remained a formidable force for half a century.
Though he has won the Oscar only once, for ‘The Departed,’ he has been a finalist in this category for ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘Gangs of New York,’ ‘The Aviator,’ ‘Hugo,’ ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ and ‘The Irishman,’ in that order. His first nomination came in 1981, and now he seeks gold with ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’
Justine Triet, ‘Anatomy of a Fall’
Triet has quickly become a favorite after winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This accolade was just the beginning, as she swept international awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the Goya for Best European Film.
Curious viewers may wonder why she’s not nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. The answer is simple: France chose to submit ‘Burning Days’ over ‘Anatomy of a Fall,’ removing the latter’s chance for an Oscar. Unlike the other contenders, Triet represents a new generation and a resurgence in the French film industry, aiming to make a significant impact in Los Angeles.
Jonathan Glazer, ‘The Zone of Interest’
With only four feature films to his name, including the nominated film and his work on ‘Under the Skin,’ an adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel starring Scarlett Johansson, Glazer’s career in feature filmmaking may seem brief.
However, his extensive experience in short films, combined with his work as a playwright and advertising director, makes him a unique and distinctive filmmaker.
Yorgos Lanthimos, ‘Poor Things’
Lanthimos is a distinct voice in cinema. The Greek director was previously Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay for ‘The Lobster’ in 2017 and for Best Picture and Best Director for ‘The Favourite’ in 2019. After coming close in those instances, he aims to win this year with ‘Poor Things.’
The film, based on the Scottish novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, blends science fiction, comedy, and adventure in such an extravagant way that it has left audiences and critics alike astonished, with many leaving theaters with indescribable expressions.