Who will take the gold? Fox411's Dr. Oscar's offers Best Director predictions

The Academy Awards are often described as Hollywood’s Super Bowl. This year, that may actually be an understatement.

But rest assured. If you’re looking for some guidance as you prepare for your office Oscar pool, you’ve come to the right place. For the past four years, Fox 411 has provided some of the most accurate predictions on the web. This year, we plan to do it again.

Today, we take a look at the Best Director category. Let's take a look at the odds.

BEST DIRECTOR

THE NOMINEES: Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist,” Alexander Payne for “The Descendants,” Martin Scorsese for “Hugo,” Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris” and Terrence Malick for “The Tree of Life”

PREDICTION: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”

Best Director almost always lines up with Best Picture, which is good news for Hazanavicius, the only first-time nominee in the group.

The Frenchman also earned the Directors Guild of America Award, which has proved to be an extremely reliable predictor of this Oscar contest. “The Artist” is largely viewed as a directorial achievement, so there seems to be little reason for voters to look elsewhere.

There’s a small chance that beloved director Martin Scorsese could pull off an upset, and an even smaller chance that admiration for Terrence Malick’s stunning “The Tree of Life” could produce a shocking win. Still, Hazanavicius’ work on “The Artist” appears to be a pretty safe bet.

Check back this week for more of Dr. Oscar's predictions. Tune into Fox411.com Sunday at 7 p.m. to watch our live coverage of the Oscars red carpet.