Sean Penn

Award Central: Directors in the Oscar race -- With "Into the Wild," his fourth film as a director, Penn proves his ability to create the same memorable, mournful and probingly human story from behind the camera as in front of it. Since 1991's "The Indian Runner," a raw tale of sibling conflict, Penn has delivered distinctive directorial visions every four or five years: "The Crossing Guard" (1995) and "The Pledge" (2001). (link)