Originally Posted by
Mister Mets
The Academy doesn't fill out nomination slots. That's not how it works.
Individuals choose their favorite in a category, typically one where they have experience (IE- writers pick screenplays, actors pick the four performances; some people are able to vote in multiple categories like writers who also direct) for the nomination. Then the members of the academy can vote among the nominees for all categories.
Often the winner of Best Picture doesn't win Best Director. But that's happened in the past. In the 1940s, 1950s and 2000s, there were three times each decade when Best Director didn't correspond to Best Picture. It was 50/50 in the 2010s, and that may be more about small sample size and a side effect of expanding the selection of Best Picture nominees.
Looking at resumes of winners, it seems that a big difference is that directors tended to be more prolific. Joseph Mankiewicz won Best Director twice in his first five years, but he also made nine movies in the same time period.
I like older movies and there are plenty of good ones that didn't win and were never seriously in the running because it was the wrong genre. I certainly think Spider-Man: No Way Home should have been nominated for a lot of awards, but recent Best Picture winners have included a sci-fi film about the multiverse, a Korean black comedy thriller and a romance with a sea creature.
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