Oscar Eye: Did Zero Dark Thirty Just Become The Frontrunner?

BEST DIRECTOR

It feels bizarre to now have 4 Mortal Lock directors to go along with their films, but it's hard to deny any of these contenders, even with two of them having been such recent Best Director winners that it's hard to imagine either of them winning. This will be a really fascinating category to watch when the lineup is finally set, but right now it feels surprisingly volatile, and the potential of voters not wanting to over-reward a single director could really throw off the mix. All the same: Bigelow is in. There seems to be no denying that now.

MORTAL LOCK

Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

 

LIKELY CONTENDER

Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi

 

STILL IN THE RUNNING

Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

 

OUTSIDE CHANCE

Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
Sam Mendes, Skyfall
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild