2008
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk

2007
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2006
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel

2005
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck
Paul Haggis, Crash
Bennett Miller, Capote
Steven Spielberg, Munich

2004
Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Martin Scorsese, The Aviator
Marc Forster, Finding Neverland
Taylor Hackford, Ray
Alexander Payne, Sideways

2003
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Gary Ross, Seabiscuit
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

2002
Rob Marshall, Chicago
Stephen Daldry, The Hours
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Roman Polanski, The Pianist
Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York

2001
Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge
Christopher Nolan, Memento
Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down

2000
Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous
Ridley Scott, Gladiator
Steven Soderberh, Erin Brockovich
Steven Soderbergh, Traffic