Best Director

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

Joel and Ethan Coen, known to many moviegoers as the Coen brothers, have been directing and producing films together for more than 20 years.

Growing up in Minnesota, the brothers began experimenting with a Super-8 camera at a young age. After graduating from college, Joel and Ethan took their childhood hobby to the next level and wrote and directed their first feature film, Blood Simple.

Since their debut in 1984, the brothers have churned out classic comedies, including O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona and The Hudsucker Proxy, as well as movies with a film noir flair, like Miller's Crossing.

In 1996, Joel and Ethan received their first Oscar® nomination for writing the screenplay for Fargo, a film they also directed.

This year, the Academy is recognizing the Coens' talent as directors for their work on No Country for Old Men, a film based on a novel by author Cormac McCarthy. The movie tells the story of Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam vet who finds a briefcase containing $2 million in the desert. Taking the money only seems to make his life worse when he becomes the target of a ruthless assassin.