Martin Scorsese scripts history with 10th Best Director nod at Oscars 2024

Martin Scorsese, the 81-year-old filmmaker, became the most-nominated living director in the Oscars history. Scorsese is only behind William Wyler, who holds the record with 12 nominations, per the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Wyler died in 1981, at age 79.

Reacting to this achievement, Scorsese in a statement said, ‘It’s deeply gratifying to receive this recognition from the Academy, for myself and for so many of my collaborators on Killers of the Flower Moon. It was a remarkable experience to make this picture, to work together with the Osage community to tell the story of a genuine American tragedy, hidden in the shadows of official culture for far too long.’

‘I only wish that Robbie Robertson had lived to see his work recognized — our many years of friendship and Robbie’s growing consciousness of his own Native heritage played a crucial role in my desire to get this film onscreen,’ he added of the film's composer, who died two months before its release, at age 80.

Scorsese has now surpassed Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg in Best Director nominations, reaching a total of 10 with his work on ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ The film itself has garnered 10 Academy Award nominations this year, including a nod for Best Picture.

Scorsese, with a potential win, could secure his second Oscar, previously earning Best Director for ‘The Departed’ in 2006. His competitors this year include Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest).

Notable acting nominations for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ include Lily Gladstone in the Best Actress category and veteran Robert De Niro for Best Supporting Actor.

Gladstone, at 37, made history as the first Native American actress to receive an Oscar nomination in the category, becoming the fourth Indigenous actress ever nominated.

About ‘Killer of the Flower Moon’

‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ based on a true story, chronicles the relationship between Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Molly Burkhart during the 1920s, as white settlers in Oklahoma conspired to murder Osage Nation members to gain access to the tribe's oil rights.

When and where will Oscars be held?

The 96th Academy Awards, with Jimmy Kimmel as the host, will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 10th, from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, starting at 7 p.m. ET.

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