2. Steve McQueen - 12 Years A Slave
Steve McQueen, not to be confused with the legendary actor of films like The Great Escape, has been an up-and-coming director since his debut film, Hunger, back in 2008. That film won him numerous awards, including the Camera d'Or at the Cannes film festival, but it wasn't until his next film, Shame, that his work got any serious Oscar buzz. While his frequent thespian collaborator, Michael Fassbender, received a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the NC-17 rated film, when the final Best Actor nominations were announced, Fassbender's name was nowhere to be seen (which may very well likely have been due to the film's touchy subject matter of sex addiction). It is with his third feature film, 12 Years a Slave, that Steve McQueen has officially made it into the mainstream. Based on the autobiography of a 19th Century free African-American man who was tricked and kidnapped into slavery in the South, while the film tackles the difficult subject of slavery in America (an issue that has seldom been explored in a serious manner up until this point), it is still accessible enough to let the Academy recognize the talent behind the work. While some feared the film could prove too brutal for Academy members to stomach, and there have been articles written on what a "tough sit" the film is, the truth of the matter is that the film is done in such an elegant and dispassionate manner, without lessening the cruelty of the institution of slavery, that only the most squeamish will be unable to see the film for the achievement it is. We also have some empirical evidence, such as the film's Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival, that not only can audiences stomach the film's stark presentation, but they are actually appreciating the frank depiction. The real question now then is not if McQueen will be nominated, but can he win Best Director? The answer to that question remains to be seen.
Nomination Chances: 96%