Golden Globe Nominees: Best Director – Motion Picture

My predictions: 3/5, picking Eastwood and Boyle over Aronofsky and Russell
Who’s missing: Danny Boyle (127 Hours), Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit), Clint Eastwood (Hereafter), Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone)

In this category, we get a bit of a surprise, which is David O. Russell (The Fighter), whose film performed commendably with six nods (four of them for acting!). It’s the kind of film that is pretty secure for a Best Picture nod but you wouldn’t think it would necessarily get in for Best Director. What’s important to remember, of course, is that the Globes have also nominated people like Tim Burton and Ridley Scott in the past when their Oscar chances were nonexistent, so it may or may not mean something. This is just what Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) needed to help get him closer to a spot, joining Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), David Fincher (The Social Network), and Christopher Nolan (Inception). I’m rather surprised that Danny Boyle (127 Hours) isn’t here when his film did get nominated for Best Screenplay. And of course “True Grit” got completely shut out, so the Coen brothers still may or may not be a factor at the Oscars. For the record, all five of these films got nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama.

Who could win? It could be anyone, but I think Fincher if the frontrunner.
What does this mean for the Oscar race? An enormous boost to Russell and just one step closer to the gold for the other four.