Director Snubs Point to a Threeway Race: 'Lincoln' vs. 'Playbook' and 'Pi' An Oscar race that could have gone in almost any direction suddenly has a shape, and it's not one that anyone was expecting. The shutout of Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck for best director - though their movies, "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Argo," were nominees for best picture and screenplay as well as for performances - will cause much hand-wringing around Hollywood, where both were considered locks, especially after they earned nods from the Directors Guild. Tom Hooper, the director of "Les Miserables," was skipped over too, though his film had a high number of nominations. And in the director category, the inclusion of David O. Russell and Benh Zeitlin, for "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild," speaks to the support that their idiosyncratic films - both highly personal stories that deliver powerful emotional punches -- found among Academy members. Michael Haneke's "Amour," described as a masterpiece by critics and pitched to a demographic that fits the Academy well, also found a sweet spot among voters. The leader in the field, of course, is Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," which earned 12 nominations and seems to be a heavy frontrunner. But prognosticators are already mulling over the possibility that this year could be a rematch of 1999, when Mr. Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" seemed to have all the right momentum, only to be beat by "Shakespeare in Love," with an Oscar campaign led by Harvey Weinstein. The Weinstein Company is behind "Silver Linings Playbook," another feel-good favorite. Historical epic vs. heartwarming romance, take two? Astute Oscar-watchers also know that besides director, another category often foretells a best picture winner: editing. Without a nomination in that category, the top prize is hard to get. The nominees this year are the editors for "Argo," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Lincoln" and "Life of Pi." Triangulating between that and the director category means that the films to watch in the biggest race are "Lincoln," "Silver Linings" and "Life of Pi."