Ladies and gentlemen, please return your tray tables to their upright and locked positions. We’re approaching our landing for this week of Academy Award revelry. We didn’t all survive the perilous journey (namely, Melissa Leo), but those who did can say they’re stronger for it. This week Flyer writers Chris Herrington and Greg Akers have examined the Screenplays, Animated/Editing/Cinematography, the Supporting Players, and the Lead Players. Today the experts turn their attention to the biggest categories, Best Director and Best Picture.
Best Director
Nominees: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Ethan & Joel Coen (True Grit), David Fincher (The Social Network), Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), David O. Russell (The Fighter)
GREG AKERS: Hooper won the Directors Guild Award, which makes him a serious contender. But I’m putting my money on David Fincher and his brilliant work on The Social Network. Remember when the idea of him making a Facebook movie with Justin Timberlake was at the least bizarre and sounded like a terrible idea? Vindication.
Should Win: All of these directors deserve to be nominated except for Hooper, whose movie is more about the performance than the visuals. David Fincher should win, hands down, but I respect the work done by Aronofsky, Russell, and the Coens. They’ve all done work I like more, though. (So has Fincher, but that’s another matter.)
The odds-on favorite for Best Picture: The King’s Speech
Got Robbed: This is easy. Perplexingly, Christopher Nolan has never been nominated for a Best Director Oscar. I’ll get into Inception again when we discuss Best Picture, but I think even the most confused or antipathetic of Inception‘s detractors have to give props to the significant technical achievement that the movie is. In light of his filmography — particularly The Dark Knight and Memento — Inception is clearly Nolan’s vision. It’s the best movie yet by one of the best directors there is. (And I feel no need to qualify that statement.)
