Paul Thomas Anderson -There Will Be Blood
The Coen Bros -No Country For Old Men
Tony Gilroy -Michael Clayton
Sean Penn -Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel -The Diving Bell and Butterfly
how'd I do on my predictions?
4/5 from the predix I submitted to Tom O'Neill's panel of experts, missing only Julian Schnabel (I still didn't quite believe that Diving Bell had garnered enough steam to compete for Best Picture at the Oscars --I could be wrong) thinking that maybe Reitman would get his first notice for Juno instead --even though I didn't see him making it to Oscar's shortlist.
what it means
The Best Picture race at the Oscars has been combative all season but this is a very good sign for Michael Clayton ... I've been confident about its prospects for months but others haven't so it's nice to see some vindication. Into the Wild and No Country still look like the frontrunners for the win. Schnabel (Diving Bell) and Anderson (Blood) are most definitely in contention for the directors' shortlist --they always were-- even if their films don't come through for Best Picture. Prediction updates will be up tonight in both categories. (my time is finally freeing up this evening)
previous blather
...will be announced very shortly. Refresh your screen to see the results when they come in. The DGA sometimes offers up twists. Complicating the matter is that their list often reads closer to Oscar's eventual Best Picture list than what you'd think of as a directorial list. So you might see names you haven't been hearing under "best director" like, say, Jason Reitman for Juno or Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton. Or you might just hear the usual suspects: Anderson, Burton, Coen Bros, Penn, Schnabel or Wright. That's 8 names already and we haven't mentioned DGA favorite Ridley Scott. We shall see. News should be up around 1:00 PM EST.
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