Steven Spielberg has broken an Academy Award Record by becoming the first person to be nominated for Best Director across six decades. His latest nomination forWest Side Storyhas not only earned the acclaimed director his latest Oscar nod, but also broke his longstanding tie with Martin Scorsese.
It was announced yesterday that legendary director Spielberg, known for classics likeE.T.: The Extraterrestrial,Saving Private Ryan, andCatch Me If You Canhas earned his 6th Best Director nomination from the Academy. Until the announcement Tuesday, Spielberg and fellowWolf of Wall Streetdirector Scorsesewere tied as having earned the Best Director nomination 5 times across 5 decades. This announcement pushes Spielberg out ahead of Scorsese and breaks a new record.
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Spielberg has broken a record, becoming the first person in Oscar history to earn Best Director nominations across 6 decades. The most recent nomination is forSpielberg’s film adaptation ofWest Side Story.Spielberg took a chance remaking the film, as the previous 1960s version is widely regarded as a Hollywood classic, but in typical Spielberg fashion, he adapted the material so well it has earned him an Oscar nomination and a new record. In his esteemed career, Spielberg has earned 11 Best Picture Oscar nominations and 8 alone in the Best Director category.
In his almost 50-year career, Spielberg has been a familiar face at the Academy Awards. He was first nominated for Best Director in 1978 forClose Encounters of the Third Kind. This nomination was quickly followed by another forRaiders of the Lost Arkin1981,again in 1982forE.T.: The Extraterrestrial,and yet another in 1985 forThe Color Purple.While those nominations did not result in any wins, the filmmaker’s work onSchindler’s Listwould pay off and earn him 2 Academy Awards in 1993, Best Director and Best Picture. While Spielberg has continued to earn nominations from the Academy, his last Oscar win was in 1998 for the WWII drama,Saving Private Ryan, for which he earned Best Director.
While Spielberg is highly regarded and has the awards to prove his chops as a director, he will face heavy competition in the Best Director category this year. His fellow nominees include Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car).
