Ridley Scott for directing is the extra-Oscar choice; the panel compares the 1979 directing nominees and argues Alien belongs among the retrospective five.
The directing nominees are enumerated as Robert Benton for Kramer vs. Kramer, Bob Fosse for All That Jazz, Francis Ford Coppola for Apocalypse Now, Peter Yates for Breaking Away and Édouard Molinaro for La Cage aux Folles; the Best Picture nominees instead include Norma Rae in place of La Cage aux Folles.
