Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard in An Education (Kerry Brown / Sony Pictures Classics)
- District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
- An Education, Nick Hornby
- Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
- Precious, Geoffrey Fletcher
- Up in the Air, Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Other possibilities: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Tony Roche, In the Loop; Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia; Anthony Peckham, Invictus; Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart. Less likely: Joe Penhall, The Road; David Scearce and Tom Ford, A Single Man; Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, Where the Wild Things Are.
Any of the "possibilities" listed above could take the place of Precious, Fantastic Mr. Fox, or District 9. In the Loop won a couple of critics' awards, Julie & Julia provided Meryl Streep with a meaty role, while Crazy Heart boosted Jeff Bridges' career. Joe Penhall's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road would have a better chance had the film caused more of splash either at the box office or with critics' groups. But screeners do help. It all depends on how many Writers Branch voters actually bothered to watch John Hillcoat's bleak, post-apocalyptic film.