Ian McKellen was Oscar nominated for playing which English-born Hollywood director in the film 'Gods and Monsters'?

Gods and Monsters is a 1998 British-American period drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose experience of war in World War I is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich and David Dukes. The film was directed and written by Bill Condon, based on Christopher Bram's novel Father of Frankenstein.

Gods and Monsters won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Ian McKellen) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Lynn Redgrave). The film features reconstructions of the filming of Bride of Frankenstein, a movie Whale directed. The title comes from a line in Bride of Frankenstein, in which the character Dr. Pretorius toasts Dr. Frankenstein, "To a new world of gods and monsters!" The story has also been adapted as a play of the same name which premiered in London at the Southwark Playhouse in February 2015.