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

Ari Folman – Waltz with Bashir

• Peter Gilbert and Steve James – At the Death House Door
• Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco – The Judge and the General
• James Marsh – Man on Wire
• Gonzalo Arijón – Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains

Dan Attias – The Wire for "Transitions"

• Paris Barclay – In Treatment for "Week 8: Alex"
• Jack Bender – Lost for "The Constant"
• Alan Taylor – Mad Men for "The Mountain King"
• Matthew Weiner – Mad Men for "Meditations in an Emergency"

Paul Feig – The Office for "Dinner Party"

• Paris Barclay – Weeds for "The Three Coolers"
• Julian Farino – Entourage for "Tree Tippers"
• Beth McCarthy-Miller – 30 Rock for "Reunion"
• Don Scardino – 30 Rock for "Do-Over"

Jay Roach – Recount

• Bob Balaban – Bernard and Doris
• Tom Hooper – John Adams
• Kenny Leon – A Raisin in the Sun
• Mikael Salomon – The Andromeda Strain

Bucky Gunts – Opening Ceremony Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games

• Louis J. Horvitz – The 80th Annual Academy Awards
• Don Roy King – Saturday Night Live
• Chuck O'Neil – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for "Episode #13107"
• Glenn Weiss – The 62nd Annual Tony Awards

Larry Carpenter – One Life to Live for "So You Think You Can Be Shane Morasco's Father?"

• William Ludel – General Hospital for "Luke in Purgatory"
• Owen Renfroe – General Hospital for "Catch Me If You Can"
• Noel Maxam – Days of Our Lives for "This Is It"
• Herbert Stein – Days of Our Lives for "Airplane Crash Aftermath"

Tony Croll – America's Next Top Model for "Episode #1002"

• Scott Messick – Pros vs. Joes for "Episode #301"
• J. Rupert Thompson – Estate of Panic for "That Sinking Feeling"
• Bertram van Munster – The Amazing Race for "Episode #1303"
• Kent Weed – I Survived a Japanese Game Show for "A Long Way From Home"

Amy Schatz – Classical Baby for "The Poetry Show"

• Matthew Diamond – Camp Rock
• Paul Hoen – The Cheetah Girls: One World
• Shawn Ku – The American Mall
• Lev L. Spiro – Minutemen

Peter Thwaites – Barclaycard's "Waterslide" and Guinness' "Light Show"

• Fredrik Bond – Levi's' "First Time"
• David Fincher – Nike's "Fate", Apple's "Hallway", and Stand Up to Cancer's "Stand Up For Something"
• Tom Kuntz – FedEx's "Carrier Pigeons", Xbox's "Lips", Skittles' "Pinata", and Got Milk?'s "White Gold Is"
• Rupert Sanders – Air Jordan's "Clock Tower"