So both here and in Best Cast there was some revisionism over the years, however, rather than try and readjust things I’ll just let things stand where they are at current.

The Best Director category is an interesting one because it is usually, in the mind of many, inextricably tied to the Best Picture winner. There is a certain logic to that, however, they are two rather different awards when you boil it down. In Best Picture you pick the story and the production. In Best Director you are picking a visionary and the architect of a production. There are times when the direction of a film will outshine its narrative or overall impact or a story that is wonderful but handled with a rather invisible hand that allows splits to occur.

I have six such splits in 1997, 1998, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2020 and 2022 none of which I was hesitant at all about.

2023 Lukas Dhont Close

2022 Steven Spielberg The Fabelmans

2021 Jason Reitman Ghostbusters: Afterlife

2020 Sam Mendes 1917

2019 Jordan Peele Us

2018 Bo Burnham Eighth Grade

2017 Andy Muschietti It 

2016 Gareth Edwards Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

2015 George Miller Mad Max: Fury Road

2014 Daniel Ribeiro The Way He Looks

2013 Gavin Hood Ender’s Game

2012 Bela Tarr The Turin Horse

2011 Martin Scorsese Hugo

2010 Christopher Nolan Inception

2009 Spike Jonze Where the Wild Things Are

2008 Tomas Alfredson Let the Right One In

2007 Timur Bekmambetov Day Watch (Dnevoy bazar)

2006 Richard E. Grant Wah-Wah

2005 Ingmar Bergman Saraband

2004 Jacob Aaron Estes Mean Creek

2003 PJ Hogan Peter Pan

2002 George Lucas Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones

2001 Steven Spielberg Artificial Intelligence: A.I.

2000 Julie Taymor Titus

1999 M. Night Shyamalan The Sixth Sense

1998 Steven Spielberg Saving Private Ryan

1997 Neil Mandt Hijacking Hollywood

1996 Lee Tamahori Mulholland Falls