“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director
Previous Winners: A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Jon Watt (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
The director is a vital part of the film. In fact, these days, a lot of times, the director is more of a star of the movie than the lead actors.
Again, these choices come from the EYG site and may be different than other awards shows. There are some crossover for sure, but there are some on my list than no one else will nominate.
Top 10 directors of 2023
10. Paul King (Wonka)
9. Ben Affleck (Air)
8. Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)
7. Blitz Bazawule (The Color Purple)
6. Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)
5. Sean Durkin (The Iron Claw)
4. James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
3. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson (Spider-Man: Across teh Spider-Verse)
2. Greta Gerwig (Barbie)
and the winner…
#1: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
I actually have always considered Nolan to be overrated as a director. There have not been that many of Nolan’s films that I loved. Most I felt were somewhat pretentious. Plus, it felt like critics always gave this guy a pass. Even garbage like Tenet had many critics making execuses.
There is no arguing that he has made a masterpiece in Oppenheimer. Every bit of this film is wonderful and, while it may be too long, all scenes feel important to what was happening.
Then, the film was a massive hit as well, finding a place with Barbie in one of the biggest events of the summer, Barbenheimer.
Christopher Nolan surpassed what I expected and he truly deserves this award and I do think he is probably the front runner for the Oscar.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 