Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Director – Motion Picture

The competition:
Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) directs his seventeenth film. He has four previous nominations for acting, most recently in 2011 for “My Week with Marilyn.” He is also nominated for writing his film, which is tied as the nominations leader.

Denis Villeneuve (Dune) directs his tenth film. This is his first Globe nomination. His film is also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama and its score.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter) makes her directorial debut. She has four previous nominations for acting, winning in 2014 for “The Honourable Woman.” Her film also contends for its performance from star Olivia Colman.

Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) directs her eighth film, which also earned her a nomination for writing. She was previously nominated in both categories in 1993 for “The Piano.” Her film is tied as the nominations leader.

Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) directs his thirty-third film. He has an impressive twelve previous nominations in this category and one for screenwriting, plus he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2007. He won twice, in 1993 for “Schindler’s List” and in 1998 for “Saving Private Ryan.” His film is nominated for Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical and its stars Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose.

Additional notes: The winner of this award has gone on to win the corresponding Oscar eight times out of the past fifteen years, with only Ben Affleck missing out on a nomination altogether. In all but two cases, the winner of this race has also won the corresponding top prize (drama, comedy, or foreign). Two women have won this award in the past – Barbra Streisand in 1983 for “Yentl” and Chloe Zhao last year for “Nomadland.” Only “The Lost Daughter” is not nominated for a best picture award.
Who should win? These are all strong choices. I think my pick would be Branagh or Villeneuve.
Who will win? It could be Spielberg, but I think Campion wins.