EW's 25 greatest "active" film directors.

[Tokyo Slim]

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20259843,00.html

Not that Entertainment Weekly is supposed to be the bastion of taste and non-commercial art, but there are about seven people on this list who wouldn't even make my top 50, and some that I would have actually rated much higher.

1. Steven Spielberg
2. Peter Jackson
3. Martin Scorsese
4. Christopher Nolan
5. Steven Soderbergh
6. Ridley Scott
7. Quentin Tarantino
8. Michael Mann
9. James Cameron
10. Joel and Ethan Coen
11. Guillermo del Toro
12. David Fincher
13. Tim Burton
14. Judd Apatow
15. Sam Raimi
16. Zack Snyder
17. Darren Aronofsky
18. Danny Boyle
19. Clint Eastwood
20. Ron Howard
21. Ang Lee
22. Paul Thomas Anderson
23. Paul Greengrass
24. Pedro Almodóvar
25. Jon Favreau

Personally, I like Zack Snyder, and I hope that he makes Watchmen up to expectations. But considering he's directed TWO movies ever, and neither is particularly what I'd call "artistic" cinema... there are action directors I'd put well above Zack on this list.

And Favreau? Really? Again, I like the guy, but he's not what I'd call a "great" director by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Brian278]

EW sucks, etc.

 

[Neo_Version 7]

Greengrass and Boyle definitely need to be higher. And I agree, Favreau and Snyder have no right to be on that list.

 

[The_Rover]

Peter Jackson at number 2? The guy is a fanboy director at best.

 

[Jekyll]

The Coen's > Spielberg

 

[TheIdler]

I like Jackson's and Nolan's movies a lot, but both of them need to be lower than Soderbergh, Scott and Scorsese.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Agonizing over this list, were I to make it, it would go something like this:

Don't kill me, my rule was set and forget. I thought of some later on that I'd have liked to have higher (Malick) but I didn't want to spend all damn day writing a 25 (technically 26 person) list...

1. Steven Spielberg/Martin Scorsese (lifetime achievement placement)
2. David Fincher
3. Danny Boyle
4. Christopher Nolan
5. David Cronenberg
6. Ridley Scott
7. Quentin Tarantino
8. Satoshi Kon
9. Wener Herzog
10. Darren Aronofsky
11. Clint Eastwood
12. Paul Verhoeven
13. Paul Greengrass
14. Takeski Miike
15. Terrence Malick
16. Hayao Miyazaki
17. Joel and Ethan Coen
18. Wong Kar-Wai
19. Guillermo del Toro
20. Brad Bird
21. Sofia Coppola
22. Johnny To
23. Spike Lee
24. Pedro Almodóvar
25. Woody Allen?

 

[TheIdler]

No David Lynch love?

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by TheIdler

No David Lynch love?
I have a love/hate relationship with Lynch. Its complicated. I like him as a person, and I admire him as a director... I just hate 85% of his movies.

 

[Baron]

David Lynch would be in my top 5 I think. I'd put David O. Russell on there too.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

That list is a joke. Terry Gilliam, Oliver Stone, Wolfgang Peterson are missing among others. I know Stone hasn't done anything good in awhile, but he still can direct.

 

[Fuuma]

It's not americano-centrist at all...

Out of their list I'd keep Almodovar and Eastwood. Scorsese used to be a great director be he isn't anymore...

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

Agonizing over this list, were I to make it, it would go something like this: Don't kill me, my rule was set and forget. I thought of some later on that I'd have liked to have higher (Malick) but I didn't want to spend all damn day writing a 25 (technically 26 person) list... 1. Steven Spielberg/Martin Scorsese (lifetime achievement placement) 2. David Fincher 3. Danny Boyle 4. Christopher Nolan 5. David Cronenberg 6. Ridley Scott 7. Quentin Tarantino 8. Satoshi Kon 9. Wener Herzog 10. Darren Aronofsky 11. Clint Eastwood 12. Paul Verhoeven 13. Paul Greengrass 14. Takeski Miike 15. Terrence Malick 16. Hayao Miyazaki 17. Joel and Ethan Coen 18. Wong Kar-Wai 19. Guillermo del Toro 20. Brad Bird 21. Sofia Coppola 22. Johnny To 23. Spike Lee 24. Pedro Almodóvar 25. Woody Allen?
I like those, half of them wouldn't make my top 25 though... Those lists are gay, WTF are Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the Dardenne brothers or Arnaud Desplechin

 

[matadorpoeta]

almodovar and woody allen would be my top 2. (fyi, if you don't put an accent on almodovar's name it is still pronounced the same way, so the accent is not necessary.)

also, the guy who made amelie, delicatessen, city of lost children, etc...

i don't care for anyone else on that list.

 

[Fuuma]

In Italy you've got Garrone and Sorrentino reviving the moribund local industry and none seems to care.