Steven Spielberg is making Oscars history with his Best Director nomination for “West Side Story”.
While the nod is Spielberg’s eighth overall Academy Award nomination, it also makes him the first director to earn a nod in that category in six consecutive decades.
Since his first Best Director nomination with 1978’s “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”, Spielberg has been singled out as an individual in the subsequent decades. The 1980s saw Spielberg land nominations for “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” and “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”, the 1990s brought “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan”, the 2000s saw Spielberg land nominations for “Munich”, while he earned his last nomination for 2012’s “Lincoln”.
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Spielberg has won the Oscar for directing twice, first for “Schindler’s List” at the 1994 ceremony and again in 1999 for “Saving Private Ryan”. He also won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1987 Academy Awards.
Nominated a total of 19 times, including as a producer in the Best Picture category, Spielberg’s “West Side Story” directing nom breaks his tie with Martin Scorsese who has been nominated for Best Director across five decades.
In addition to Spielberg’s individual nod, his “West Side Story” is also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Arina DeBose, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
The Oscars ceremony will be held on March 27.
