Film: Ray
Previous best director wins for movie: None
Previous Oscar wins/nominations:
Won for Best Short Film, Live Action, Teenage Father (1978)
Bio: You might not realize it, but Hackford has been around for awhile. He’s directed such big-budgeted fare as An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Dolores Claiborne (1995) and Proof of Life (2000), as well as documentaries, including Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll. But Ray is by far his pièce de résistance, a real labor of love for the passionate Charles fan. Nearly 15 years in the making, Hackford had to hear a lot of “no thank yous” before getting his masterful biopic to the big screen. And we are sure glad he did, as Ray shimmies, pulses and brilliantly highlights one of the music industry’s pioneering souls. Hackford told Entertainment Weekly he’d hope people would come away from the film thinking, “My God, Ray Charles, what an incredibly interesting guy, how he overcame all that he did!” Same could be said of Hackford.
