This year's Best Director category includes a list of accomplished names. Martin Scorsese aims for his first Oscar with the crime epic Gangs of New York, while Rob Marshall gets a first nomination for his theatrical feature film debut, Chicago. Stephen Daldry earned a nod for his first movie, Billy Elliot, in 2000. He's back again this year with his second effort, The Hours. Pedro Almodovar translated his L.A. critics prize into his first Oscar nomination in the directing category for Talk to Her. Meanwhile, Roman Polanski's The Pianist received a Best Director nod after earning previous accolades from the National Society of Film Critics and Boston as well.