Battle of the Exes

Both James Cameron and ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow made movies last year. Both were so huge the Academy couldn't help but be wowed. So wowed that they nominated both exes and their respective movies. Nine times over. Each. And now, with both Kath and Cam nominated for directing Avatar and The Hurt Locker respectively, we can begin to imagine what will happen on Oscar Night. Will the war of words begin? Will one sabotage another's campaign? And who'll have the last laugh? War ain't pretty. Not even when it's done Hollywood style. But that's just one side of the coin.

If ever two celebrity soulmates existed, it would have to be these two. Think about it: what are the odds of what happened actually happening? They met, they married, they divorced, they fed off each other's creativity, he made one of the biggest movies of his career. She claims to, "love it, love it, love it". She went on to make the biggest movie of her career, only after the ex gave her the thumbs up to go for it. And now, the self-confessed male and female versions of each other are both going head to head to fight it out for best director on March 7.

Who'll take the little golden man home? Your guess is as good as ours on this one.

Here's our predictions for the Best Director category:

James Cameron

Movie Avatar, nine nominations
About A paraplegic marine sent on a mission to the moon Pandora becomes torn between following his orders and following his heart.
Past Oscar glory Three wins in 1998 for Titanic
Likelihood of winning: 60 per cent
Did you know? Cameron took 15 years to make Avatar

Kathryn Bigelow

Movie The Hurt Locker, nine nominations
About A war drama centred on a US army bomb-disposal team working in Iraq shortly after the 2003 invasion
Past Oscar glory None
Likelihood of winning 70 per cent. Kathryn may get plus points from the Academy for having shot the movie under "tough conditions" in the Middle East
Did you know? If she wins, Kathryn will be the first woman to ever take home the Best Director Oscar.

Quentin Tarantino

Movie Inglourious Basterds, eight nominations
About In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of soldiers known as The Basterds are chosen specifically to spread fear in the country by brutally killing Nazis.
Past Oscar glory Won in 1995 for Pulp Fiction
Likelihood of winning 50 per cent
Did you know? Tarantino worked on the movie's script for nearly a decade before he was satisfied with it.

Lee Daniels

Movie Precious, nominated for six Oscars
About In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enrol in an alternative school in the hope that her life can head in a new direction.
Past Oscar glory None
Likelihood of winning 30 per cent
Did you know? Daniels shot the movie in just five weeks

Jason Reitman

Movie Up In The Air
About With a job that has him travelling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected: ground him.
Past oscar glory Nominated for Juno
Likelihood of winning 30 per cent
Did you know? With the exception of the famous actors, every person we see fired in the film was a recently laid-off person in real life.