So much can be said about all of the nominees in each category recognized this year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but none are more controversial or compelling as the films and directors nominated in the two biggest categories of the affair. The nominees for Best Picture and Best Director are in many ways paralleled in both the fact that no Best Picture nominee's man at the helm was left behind when it was time to make nominations for Directing achievement, and the fact that each film has the very distinct touch of its director. In the world of film there is no such thing as a great film with a mediocre director, only great films directed by great men. And that is a theory that could be used as the driving force of justification for the following nominations:

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

• George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck
• Paul Haggis for Crash
• Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
• Bennett Miller for Capote
• Steven Spielberg for Munich
  

It has often been said that every film's success begins and ends with the director. The producer secures finances and manages the money, the cinematographer chooses the right lighting and camera angle, and the actors all deliver their best performance; but the only role that supersedes all of the aforementioned duties is that of the director. A great director is neither seen nor heard by audiences, but their presence is undoubtedly felt. They are the ones whose interpretation of the story is what is played out before our eyes, either for our enjoyment or otherwise. And it is only the most elite of this field that cause us to stop as we exit the theater and say to ourselves, "Wow, that was one hell of a ride."

Such is the case with this year's nominees. There is the very A-List contingent of the group, which includes the incomparable genius of Steven Spielberg, the off-beat but visionary style of Ang Lee and the sizzling hot late-blooming talent of Paul Haggis. The rest of the list is comprised of veritable newcomers. Prior to being at the helm of Capote, Bennett Miller had previously only directed one film. The native New Yorker's limited experience in the mainstream of Hollywood did not detract, though, from his ability to immortalize another great New Yorker in Truman Capote. And last but not least there is the wonder of George Clooney. Here is a man whose acting career has made him a household name that is often associated with cheeky humor, witty dramatic satire, and a list of junior varsity action flicks (Three Kings and The Peacemaker come to mind.) But his newfound excellence in the realm of directing is not only a welcome surprise, but it displays a much unknown genius that people did not know existed within Clooney.