Golden Globe Nominees: Best Director – Motion Picture

My predictions: 3/5, missing Anderson and Duvernay
Who’s missing? Angelina Jolie (Unbroken), Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game), James Marsh (The Thoery of Everything), Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher), Clint Eastwood (American Sniper), Christopher Nolan (Interstellar)

Last year, I started this analysis with “So much for big names helping you get into this race.” That’s true again for Angelina Jolie and, to a lesser extent, Clint Eastwood, who missed out in favor of new contenders like Richard Linklater (Boyhood) and Ava Duvernay (Selma). There are some puzzling inconsistencies about this category, firstly that David Fincher (Gone Girl) scored a bid but his film missed out on a nomination in the top race, whereas “Foxcatcher” was recognized there but not here, and, more crucially, “The Imitation Game” and “The Theory of Everything” seem destined for greatness without their directors along for the ride. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman) was an expected nominee, but the fifth director is a much bigger surprise. I think I’d be a lot more excited for Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel) if I loved the film as much I as did “Moonrise Kingdom” or “The Darjeeling Limited,” but that’s just not the case. Either way, it is commendable and makes that film a much more serious threat for a Best Picture nomination.

Who will win? Probably Linklater, but maybe Duvernay