Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Lights, camera, Oscars. When you chat with someone about filmmakers and mention Steven Spielberg, even the most oblivious Hollywood consumer knows who you’re talking about.
Yet the helmers of the year’s most critically acclaimed and top-grossing movies aren’t typically household names. Just ask your neighbor if they know who Michel Hazanavicius is.
No, Spielberg doesn’t have a film in the awards race this year. However, with plenty of multi-hyphenate artists and cinema masters in the mix, more well-known directors are hunting for Oscar glory this season than in almost any in recent memory.
Actors-turned-directors who have been snubbed before will once again bring the A-list power. Those include Bradley Cooper, whose Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” follows 2018’s “A Star Is Born,” and Ben Affleck, whose Nike sports drama “Air” comes after 2012’s “Argo” nabbed best picture but not a nomination for its director. Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
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