Paul Schrader

“First Reformed”

Schrader has racked up a bevy of nominations throughout his career, both as a screenwriter (two Golden Globe and one WGA nom) and as a director (two Spirit Awards noms). But Oscar attention has long eluded him, and “First Reformed” attracted the most attention of any of his late- career works. Early awards attention has been split between screenwriting and directing — with New York Film Critics Circle and Gotham Awards honors for the former, and a Spirit nom for the latter — but the directors’ branch could well give him a long-awaited nomination.