Best Director - Oscar

Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Lee Daniels, "Precious"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"

One certainty in this year's Oscar race: A woman will be nominated for Best Director, for the fourth time ever, in the form of Directors Guild winner Kathryn Bigelow. Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino should each score their second nods in this race, while past winners James Cameron (who won the Golden Globe) and "Precious' " Lee Daniels (who scored the fifth Directors Guild nomination) stand the best shot at rounding out the category. Outside contenders include "District 9's" Neill Blomkamp, "Up's" Pete Docter, and "An Education's" Lone Scherfig, in which case there'd be two women nominated in the same year for the first time.