Golden Globe Musings: Best Director – Motion Picture

Golden Globe nominations for this year will be announced in just a few weeks, so here’s a survey of the contenders and the most likely predictions at this time. Weigh in with your thoughts, and let me know if I’ve left off anything important. A reminder that the Globes are wildly unpredictable and that it is still a bit early to gauge the reception or awards potential of a number of the so-called “contenders” at this point.

Last year’s nominees:
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Christopher Nolan (Inception)
Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
David Fincher (The Social Network)

More so than with the Oscars, Golden Globe voters like to recognize popular directors. If the movie is highly acclaimed enough, there’s the potential for breakthroughs, but they’re not entirely common. This year’s new name is sure to be Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), and he’ll likely join four previously nominated directors. Some will have an easier time with voter-friendly films, such as Steven Spielberg (War Horse), Roman Polanski (Carnage), Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar), and Alexander Payne (Sideways). Other possibilities include Tomas Alfredson (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), George Clooney (The Ides of March), David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method), Cameron Crowe (We Bought a Zoo), Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close),
David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus), and Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life), depending mainly upon how the films are received. This is one place where comedy and drama categorizations don’t matter, and familiar names will likely prevail.

Current predictions:
Clint Eastwood (J Edgar)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Roman Polanski (Carnage)
Steven Spielberg (War Horse)