Here are the nominees for Best Director:

Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge

Damien Chazelle – La La Land

Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea

Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

Who Should Win: Might as well start the ‘La La Land’ vs ‘Moonlight’ debate out the blocks.  Like MVPs in sports, is this a reward for ‘putting the most moving parts together into a solid film’ or ‘the director of the most compelling film’?  For the first but not the last time this week, there’s not really a ‘wrong’ answer and you can make a strong case for more than one person (so it’s been a good year for the overall quality of the ‘prestige pic’).  Based on what’s happened so far this season, this category has been won by the director of the film that had two movie stars (one giving a career best performance), gorgeous cinematography of the city a lot of voters work in and a story that pays tribute to old Hollywood.  That would be Chazelle.

Who I Would Have Mixed Feelings About Winning: [REDACTED]

Who I’m Cheering For: It feels like he might get his in writing but I’ll still cheer for Barry Jenkins anyway.

Who Will Win: More and more I feel like the smaller ‘Whiplash’ was a superior film, but timing and politics, so the boy wonder. Chazelle.