As an auteurist in my youth, I appreciate the question. But there's another take: if the director shapes the direction once shooting starts, the producers shape the direction before that point and occasionally during and after production as well--finding financers, buying the script, assigning a director to the project, casting their relatives, etc. That's why it's usually the producers who pick up the statuette. So the best picture award is a nod to everyone who contributed to a film but especially the producers.