Modern Directors Who Work in Multiple Genres
by 99Tfl | created - 12 Jul 2018 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicThe film directors of today who, over the years, have made films in a wide variety of different genres. For ease, documentaries and television will be excluded.
(This will be a long list, and some entries may surprise you)
1. Michael Apted
Director | Amazing Grace
Michael Apted was born on February 10, 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Amazing Grace (2006), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Rome (2005). He was married to Paige Simpson, Dana Stevens and Jo Apted. He died on January 7, 2021 in Los Angeles,...
The Triple Echo (period war drama) Stardust (period musical drama) The Squeeze (crime thriller drama) Agatha (period drama thriller) Coal Miner’s Daughter (period biopic drama) Continental Divide (romantic comedy) Gorky Park (mystery crime drama) Firstborn (drama) Critical Condition (comedy) Gorillas In The Mist (biopic drama) Class Action (legal drama) Thunderheart (western crime mystery drama) Blink (neo-noir crime thriller) Nell (drama) Extreme Measures (crime thriller) The World Is Not Enough (action spy thriller) Enigma (period spy war thriller) Enough (thriller) Amazing Grace (period biopic drama) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (epic period fantasy adventure drama) Chasing Mavericks (period biopic sports drama) Unlocked (action thriller)
2. J.A. Bayona
Director | La sociedad de la nieve
Juan Antonio García Bayona is a Spanish film director. He directed the 2007 horror film The Orphanage, the 2012 drama film The Impossible, and the 2016 fantasy drama film A Monster Calls. Bayona's latest film is the 2018 science fiction adventure film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth ...
The Orphanage (horror) The Impossible (survival drama thriller) A Monster Calls (fantasy drama) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (science fiction action adventure horror thriller) The Society of the Snow (survival drama thriller)
3. Susanne Bier
Director | Hævnen
Though Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award winning writer and director Susanne Bier's work often plays out against a wide-reaching global backdrop, its focus is intimate, carefully exploring the explosive emotions and complexities of familial bonds. This unique combination is part of ...
Freud's Leaving Home (comedy-drama) Family Matters (drama) Like It Never Was Before (romantic drama) Credo (thriller) The One and Only (romantic comedy) Once In A Lifetime (comedy-drama) Open Hearts (romantic drama) Brothers (psychological war drama thriller) After the Wedding (drama) Things We Lost in the Fire (drama) In A Better World (romantic drama thriller) Love Is All You Need (romantic comedy-drama) Serena (period romantic drama) A Second Chance (drama thriller) Bird Box (science fiction horror thriller)
4. Bong Joon Ho
Writer | Snowpiercer
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the ...
Barking Dogs Never Bite (dark comedy-drama) Memories of Murder (period crime drama) The Host (science fiction horror drama) Mother (drama) Snowpiercer (science fiction action drama) Okja (action adventure) Parasite (dark comedy drama thriller) Mickey 17 (science fiction)
5. Danny Boyle
Director | 127 Hours
Daniel Francis Boyle is a British filmmaker, producer and writer from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. He is known for directing 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, Millions, Shallow Grave, The Beach, Yesterday, and Steve Jobs. He won many awards for ...
Shallow Grave (dark comedy)
Trainspotting (dark comedy-drama)
A Life Less Ordinary (dark romantic comedy action fantasy)
The Beach (adventure drama)
28 Days Later (science fiction horror)
Millions (family crime comedy drama)
Sunshine (science fiction adventure thriller)
Slumdog Millionaire (romance drama)
127 Hours (biopic adventure thriller)
Trance (psychological crime thriller)
Steve Jobs (biopic drama)
T2 Trainspotting (crime-comedy-drama)
Yesterday (musical romantic comedy)
(Most people familiar with his body of work would agree with this)
6. Kenneth Branagh
Actor | Henry V
Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to parents William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper), both born in 1930. He has two siblings, William Branagh, Jr. (born 1955) and Joyce Branagh (born 1970). When he was nine, his family ...
Henry V (epic period war drama) Dead Again (romantic thriller) Peter's Friends (comedy-drama) Much Ado About Nothing (period romantic comedy-drama) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (period horror) Hamlet (epic period drama) In the Bleak Midwinter (romantic comedy) Love's Labour's Lost (romantic comedy musical) As You Like It (period comedy-drama) The Magic Flute (musical drama) Sleuth (thriller) Thor (superhero action drama) Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (action spy thriller) Cinderella (romantic fantasy) Murder on the Orient Express (period mystery crime drama) All Is True (period drama) Artemis Fowl (science fiction fantasy adventure) Belfast (period drama) Death on the Nile (period mystery crime thriller) A Haunting in Venice (period mystery thriller)
7. Tim Burton
Producer | Edward Scissorhands
Timothy Walter Burton was born in Burbank, California, to Jean Rae (Erickson), who owned a cat-themed gift shop, and William Reed Burton, who worked for the Burbank Park and Recreation Department. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing cartoons, and watching old movies (he was ...
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (adventure comedy)
Beetlejuice (fantasy horror comedy)
Batman (superhero neo-noir action)
Edward Scissorhands (romantic fantasy)
Batman Returns (superhero action)
Ed Wood (period comedy-drama biopic)
Mars Attacks! (science fiction comedy)
Sleepy Hollow (period mystery supernatural horror)
Planet of the Apes (science fiction)
Big Fish (fantasy comedy-drama)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (musical fantasy adventure comedy-drama)
Corpse Bride (musical fantasy)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (period romantic musical horror)
Alice in Wonderland (epic fantasy adventure)
Dark Shadows (period fantasy horror comedy)
Frankenweenie (science fiction horror comedy)
Big Eyes (biopic drama)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (fantasy adventure drama)
Dumbo (period fantasy adventure)
Beetlejuice 2 (fantasy comedy)
(Not someone you would expect here, but when you break it down, he has actually worked in nearly every genre there is, wrapped under his unique aesthetic)
8. Niki Caro
Director | Whale Rider
Niki Caro is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter, born in 1967. Caro was born in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. She was educated first at the Kadimah College in Auckland, and then the Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. The School is a private girls' school, and ranks ...
Whale Rider (drama) North Country (period drama) The Vintner’s Luck (romantic drama) McFarland, USA (sports drama) The Zookeeper’s Wife (period war drama) Mulan (fantasy war action-adventure drama) The Mother (action thriller)
9. Damien Chazelle
Writer | La La Land
Damien Sayre Chazelle is an American director and screenwriter. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Celia Sayre (Martin) Chazelle, is an American-Canadian writer and professor of history at The College of New Jersey. His father, Bernard Chazelle, is a French-American Eugene Higgins...
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (romantic musical drama) Whiplash (drama) La La Land (romantic comedy-drama musical) First Man (period space adventure biopic drama) Babylon (epic period comedy drama)
10. Jon M. Chu
Director | G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Jon is an alumni of the USC School of Cinema-Television. There, he won the Princess Grace Award, the Dore Schary Award presented by the Anti-Defamation league, the Jack Nicholson directing award, and recognized as an honoree for the IFP/West program Project: Involve.
After making his student short, ...
Step Up 2: The Streets (romantic dance drama) Step Up 3D (romantic dance drama) G.I. Joe: Retaliation (science fiction action) Jem and the Holograms (musical adventure fantasy drama) Now You See Me 2 (adventure crime caper comedy thriller) Crazy Rich Asians (romantic comedy-drama) In The Heights (musical drama) Wicked (epic musical fantasy drama)
11. George Clooney
Actor | The Ides of March
George Timothy Clooney was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Nina Bruce (née Warren), a former beauty pageant queen, and Nick Clooney, a former anchorman and television host (who was also the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney). He has Irish, English, and German ancestry. Clooney ...
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (period biopic spy comedy)
Good Night, and Good Luck (period biopic drama)
Leatherheads (period sports comedy)
The Ides of March (drama)
The Monuments Men (period war comedy drama)
Suburbicon (period black comedy crime drama)
The Midnight Sky (science fiction adventure)
The Tender Bar (period drama)
The Boys in the Boat (period biopic sports drama)
(He really likes his period pieces)
12. Ethan Coen
Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The younger brother of Joel, Ethan Coen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning writer, producer and director coming from small independent films to big profile Hollywood films. He was born on September 21, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In some films of the brothers- Ethan & Joel wrote, Joel...
Blood Simple (neo-noir crime thriller)
Raising Arizona (crime comedy)
Miller’s Crossing (period crime romantic drama)
Barton Fink (neo-noir period drama)
The Hudsucker Proxy (period comedy)
Fargo (period crime dark comedy)
The Big Lebowski (crime comedy-drama)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (period adventure crime comedy)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (period neo-noir crime drama)
Intolerable Cruelty (romantic legal comedy)
The Ladykillers (black comedy crime thriller)
No Country for Old Men (neo-noir period western crime thriller)
Burn After Reading (spy dark comedy)
A Serious Man (period dark comedy-drama)
True Grit (period western adventure drama)
Inside Llewelyn Davis (period black comedy-drama)
Hail, Caesar! (period comedy-drama)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (period anthology western)
Drive-Away Dolls (crime comedy-drama)*
*Without Joel Coen
13. Joel Coen
Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel ...
Blood Simple (neo-noir crime thriller)
Raising Arizona (crime comedy)
Miller’s Crossing (period crime romantic drama)
Barton Fink (neo-noir period drama)
The Hudsucker Proxy (period comedy)
Fargo (period crime dark comedy)
The Big Lebowski (crime comedy-drama)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (period adventure crime comedy)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (period neo-noir crime drama)
Intolerable Cruelty (romantic legal comedy)
The Ladykillers (black comedy crime thriller)
No Country for Old Men (neo-noir period western crime thriller)
Burn After Reading (spy dark comedy)
A Serious Man (period dark comedy-drama)
True Grit (period western adventure drama)
Inside Llewelyn Davis (period black comedy-drama)
Hail, Caesar! (period comedy-drama)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (period anthology western)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (period drama thriller)*
*Without Ethan Coen
14. Bill Condon
Director | Dreamgirls
Bill Condon was born on October 22, 1955 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Dreamgirls (2006), Gods and Monsters (1998) and Kinsey (2004).
Sister, Sister (mystery drama thriller)
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (horror)
Gods and Monsters (period drama)
Kinsey (period biopic drama)
Dreamgirls (period romantic musical drama)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1 (romantic fantasy)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2 (romantic fantasy)
The Fifth Estate (biopic drama thriller)
Mr. Holmes (period mystery drama)
Beauty and the Beast (romantic fantasy musical)
The Good Liar (drama thriller)
(There is variety in his work, even if he usually frequents the same genres)
15. Ryan Coogler
Director | Black Panther
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American filmmaker and producer who is from Oakland, California. He is known for directing the Black Panther film series, Creed, a Rocky spin-off and Fruitvale Station. He frequently casts Michael B. Jordan in his works. He produced the Creed sequels, Judas and the ...
Fruitvale Station (biopic drama) Creed (sports drama) Black Panther (epic superhero science fiction fantasy action drama) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (superhero science fiction fantasy action drama) Untitled project (period horror)
16. Francis Ford Coppola
Producer | Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in a New York suburb in a creative, supportive Italian-American family. His father, Carmine Coppola, was a composer and musician. His mother, Italia Coppola (née Pennino), had been an actress. Francis Ford Coppola graduated ...
The Bellboy and the Playgirls (sex comedy) Tonight for Sure (western sex comedy) Dementia 13 (horror thriller) You're a Big Boy Now (comedy-drama) Finian's Rainbow (fantasy musical comedy) The Rain People (drama) The Godfather (epic period crime drama) The Conversation (mystery crime thriller) The Godfather Part II (epic period crime drama) Apocalypse Now (epic psychological war drama) One from the Heart (romantic musical drama) The Outsiders (crime drama) Rumble Fish (drama) The Cotton Club (crime drama) Peggy Sue Got Married (fantasy comedy-drama) Gardens of Stone (war drama) Tucker: The Man and his Dream (period biopic) The Godfather Part III (epic crime drama) Bram Stoker's Dracula (period romantic horror) Jack (fantasy comedy) The Rainmaker (legal crime drama) Youth Without Youth (period fantasy drama) Tetro (drama) Twixt (horror) Megalopolis (epic drama)
17. Alfonso Cuarón
Producer | Gravity
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco was born on November 28th 1961 in Mexico City, Mexico. From an early age, he yearned to be either a film director or an astronaut. However, he did not want to enter the army, so he settled for directing. He didn't receive his first camera until his twelfth birthday, and then ...
Solo con Tu Pareja (romantic comedy-drama) A Little Princess (period fantasy drama) Great Expectations (romantic drama) Y Tu Mama Tambien (adventure comedy-drama) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (fantasy adventure drama) Children of Men (science fiction dystopian drama thriller) Gravity (science fiction survival thriller) Roma (period drama)
18. Nia DaCosta
Writer | Candyman
Nia DaCosta was born on November 8, 1989 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Candyman (2021), Little Woods (2018) and The Marvels (2023).
Little Woods (crime drama thriller) Candyman (supernatural slasher horror) The Marvels (superhero science fiction adventure) Hedda (drama)
19. Jonathan Demme
Director | The Silence of the Lambs
Jonathan Demme was born on February 22, 1944 in Baldwin, Long Island, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Rachel Getting Married (2008) and Philadelphia (1993). He was married to Joanne Howard and Evelyn Purcell. He died on April 26, 2017 in ...
Caged Heat (action comedy-drama)
Crazy Mama (period action adventure comedy)
Citizens Band/Handle With Care (comedy-drama)
Fighting Mad (action drama)
Last Embrace (mystery crime thriller)
Melvin and Howard (comedy-drama)
Swing Shift (period romantic war drama)
Something Wild (romantic crime comedy-drama)
Swimming to Cambodia (comedy-drama)
Married to the Mob (romantic crime comedy)
Silence of the Lambs (psychological horror crime thriller)
Philadelphia (legal drama)
Beloved (period horror drama)
The Truth About Charlie (mystery adventure spy thriller)
The Manchurian Candidate (science fiction drama thriller)
Rachel Getting Married (drama)
A Master Builder (drama)
Ricki and the Flash (comedy-drama)
(A lot of the same types pop up, but there's still plenty of variety)
20. Clint Eastwood
Actor | Million Dollar Baby
Clinton Eastwood Jr. was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margaret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took ...
Play Misty for Me (psychological thriller)
High Plains Drifter (western drama)
Breezy (romantic drama)
The Eiger Sanction (action crime thriller)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (western action drama)
Gauntlet (action thriller)
Bronco Billy (action comedy)
Firefox (action adventure thriller)
Honkytonk Man (musical comedy-drama)
Sudden Impact (action crime thriller)
Pale Rider (western)
Heartbreak Ridge (war comedy-drama)
Bird (biopic drama)
White Hunter Black Heart (period adventure drama)
The Rookie (action crime comedy)
Unforgiven (period western drama)
A Perfect World (crime drama)
The Bridges of Madison County (period romantic drama)
Absolute Power (crime thriller)
Midnight in the Garden of Evil (crime drama)
True Crime (mystery crime thriller)
Space Cowboys (space adventure drama)
Blood Work (mystery crime drama thriller)
Mystic River (mystery crime drama)
Million Dollar Baby (sports drama)
Flags of Our Fathers (war drama)
Letters From Iwo Jima (war drama)
Changeling (mystery biopic crime drama)
Gran Torino (drama)
Invictus (biopic sports drama)
Hereafter (fantasy drama)
J. Edgar (period biopic drama)
Jersey Boys (period biopic musical drama)
American Sniper (biopic action war)
Sully (biopic drama)
The 15:17 to Paris (action biopic drama thriller)
The Mule (crime drama)
Richard Jewell (period biopic drama)
Cry Macho (period western drama)
Juror No. 2 (legal drama thriller)
(Holy cow, he's prolific)
21. Dexter Fletcher
Actor | Ghosted
Two-time BAFTA-nominated director Dexter Fletcher is an English actor-turned-filmmaker whose movies and TV work include the Academy Award-winning Elton John biopic Rocketman. Fletcher started his career in front of the camera at the age of 6; three years later he played "Baby Face" in Alan Parker's...
Wild Bill (crime comedy drama) Sunshine on Leith (musical romantic comedy drama) Eddie the Eagle (period sports comedy biopic) Rocketman (musical biopic drama) Ghosted (romantic action adventure comedy)
22. Marc Forster
Producer | World War Z
Marc Forster is a German-born filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films Monster's Ball (2001), Finding Neverland (2004), Stay (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), The Kite Runner (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), and World War Z (2013).
His breakthrough film was Monster's...
Loungers (musical drama) Everything Put Together (drama) Monster's Ball (romantic drama) Finding Neverland (period biopic drama) Stay (mystery thriller) Stranger than Fiction (fantasy comedy-drama) The Kite Runner (drama) Quantum of Solace (action spy thriller) Machine Gun Preacher (action biopic drama) World War Z (action horror thriller) All I See Is You (psychological romantic mystery drama) Christopher Robin (period fantasy comedy-drama) A Man Called Otto (comedy-drama) White Bird: A Wonder Story (war drama)
23. Cary Joji Fukunaga
Producer | Beasts of No Nation
Cary Joji Fukunaga is a Japanese-American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer from Oakland, California who is known for directing the James Bond film No Time to Die, Kofi, Beasts of No Nation, Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre. He co-wrote the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King ...
Sin Nombre (adventure crime thriller) Jane Eyre (period romantic drama) Beasts of No Nation (war drama) No Time To Die (action spy thriller)
24. F. Gary Gray
Director | Set It Off
Felix Gary Gray is an African-American music video director, film producer and film director from New York City known for directing films such as Friday, Men in Black: International, Be Cool, The Fate of the Furious, Set It Off, The Negotiator, Straight Outta Compton and The Italian Job. He ...
Friday (comedy-drama)
Set It Off (action crime drama)
The Negotiator (action crime drama thriller)
The Italian Job (action crime heist thriller)
A Man Apart (action crime drama)
Be Cool (crime comedy)
Law Abiding Citizen (crime drama thriller)
Straight Outta Compton (period biopic drama)
The Fate of the Furious (action)
Men In Black: International (science fiction action comedy)
Lift (heist action comedy)
(Most of his films fall under action, but there is still variation)
25. David Gordon Green
Producer | Halloween Kills
David Gordon Green was born on April 9, 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Halloween Kills (2021), Halloween (2018) and Prince Avalanche (2013).
George Washington (drama) All The Real Girls (romantic drama) Undertow (psychological drama thriller) Snow Falls (drama) Pineapple Express (action crime comedy) Your Highness (fantasy action comedy) The Sitter (comedy) Prince Avalanche (comedy-drama) Joe (crime drama) Manglehorn (drama) Our Brand Is Crisis (political comedy-drama) Stronger (biopic drama) Halloween (slasher horror thriller) Halloween Kills (slasher horror) Halloween Ends (slasher horror) The Exorcist: Believer (supernatural horror) Nutcrackers (comedy-drama)
26. Luca Guadagnino
Director | Call Me by Your Name
Luca Guadagnino was born on August 10, 1971 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and producer, known for Call Me by Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018) and Bones and All (2022).
The Protagonists (crime thriller)
Melissa P. (erotic drama)
I Am Love (romantic drama)
A Bigger Splash (drama thriller)
Call Me By Your Name (period romantic drama)
Suspiria (supernatural horror drama)
Bones & All (period romantic horror drama)
Challengers (romantic sports comedy drama)
Queer (period romantic drama)
Separate Rooms (period romantic drama)
(Again, some consistency, but also variety)
27. Curtis Hanson
Director | L.A. Confidential
After small films like The Bedroom Window (1987) and Sweet Kill (1972), Curtis Hanson went on to direct major features including The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The River Wild (1994) and the Academy Award-winning L.A. Confidential (1997). Setting his sights on another city, Hanson was ...
Sweet Kill (erotic horror thriller) The Little Dragons (action adventure comedy) Losin' It (period sex comedy) The Bedroom Window (neo-noir mystery psychological crime thriller) Bad Influence (psychological drama thriller) The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (psychological thriller) The River Wild (adventure thriller) L. A. Confidential (epic neo-noir period crime drama) Wonder Boys (comedy drama) 8 Mile (drama) In Her Shoes (comedy-drama) Lucy You (romantic drama) Chasing Mavericks (period biopic sports drama)
28. Taylor Hackford
Producer | Ray
In addition to helming the iconic feature hits An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Against All Odds (1984), Ray (2004), and the cult thriller The Devil's Advocate (1997), Taylor Hackford has directed the films Dolores Claiborne (1995), Everybody's All-American (1988), and Proof of Life (2000). ...
The Idolmaker (drama) An Officer and a Gentleman (romantic drama) Against All Odds (romantic neo-noir crime thriller) White Nights (drama) Everybody's All-American (period romantic sports drama) Blood In, Blood Out (period crime drama) Dolores Claiborne (psychological drama thriller) The Devil's Advocate (mystery horror thriller) Proof of Life (action thriller) Ray (period biopic drama) The Love Ranch (drama) Parker (action crime thriller) The Comedian (comedy-drama)
29. Catherine Hardwicke
Director | Twilight
Hardwicke's first film as a director was the Sundance winner THIRTEEN which explored the transition into teenage years with an authenticity that still captures young audiences (1.3 billion Tik Tok engagements.) Hardwicke directed LORDS OF DOGTOWN before she became best known as the director of ...
Thirteen (drama) Lords of Dogtown (period biopic sports drama) The Nativity Story (period biblical drama) Twilight (romantic dark fantasy drama) Red Riding Hood (romantic dark fantasy horror) Plush (erotic drama thriller) Miss You Already (romantic comedy drama) Miss Bala (action thriller) Prisoner’s Daughter (drama) Mafia Mamma (action crime comedy)
30. Michel Hazanavicius
Writer | The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius was born and raised in Paris, France. His grandparents were originally from Lithuania, but relocated to France in the 1920s. Hazanavicius attended art school, and moved on to work as a director for commercials and television projects. In 1999, he wrote and directed his first ...
Mes amis (crime comedy) OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (period spy action comedy) OSS 117: Lost in Rio (period action spy comedy) The Artist (period romantic comedy drama) The Search (period war drama) Redoubtable (period biopic comedy drama) The Lost Prince (adventure fantasy comedy drama) Final Cut (horror comedy)
31. Ron Howard
Producer | Arrested Development
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1983), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.
Howard ...
Grand Theft Auto (action comedy) Night Shift (comedy) Splash (fantasy romantic comedy) Cocoon (science fiction fantasy comedy-drama) Gung Ho (comedy) Willow (fantasy adventure) Parenthood (comedy-drama) Backdraft (action drama thriller) Far and Away (period romantic drama) The Paper (comedy-drama) Apollo 13 (period space adventure drama) Ransom (crime thriller) Edtv (comedy-drama) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (fantasy adventure comedy) A Beautiful Mind (biopic drama) The Missing (western thriller) Cinderella Man (period biopic sports drama) The Da Vinci Code (religious mystery thriller) Frost/Nixon (period biopic drama) Angels and Demons (religious mystery thriller) The Dilemma (comedy-drama) Rush (period sports action biopic) In the Heart of the Sea (period adventure drama) Inferno (religious mystery thriller) Solo: A Star Wars Story (science fiction action western) Hillbilly Elegy (biopic drama) Thirteen Lives (biopic drama survival thriller) Eden (thriller)
32. Rian Johnson
Producer | Knives Out
Rian Johnson was born in Maryland and at a young age his family moved to San Clemente, California, where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Brick (2005), was released in 2005 ...
Brick (neo-noir mystery crime drama) The Brothers Bloom (crime adventure heist comedy-drama) Looper (science fiction action crime thriller) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (epic science fiction fantasy action drama) Knives Out (black comedy crime mystery) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (mystery crime comedy)
33. Neil Jordan
Writer | The Crying Game
Neil Jordan was born on February 25, 1950 in Sligo, Ireland. He is a writer and producer, known for The Crying Game (1992), Greta (2018) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005). He has been married to Brenda Rawn since June 30, 2004. They have two children. He was previously married to Vivienne Shields.
Angel (crime drama) The Company of Wolves (period gothic fantasy horror) Mona Lisa (neo-noir mystery crime drama) High Spirits (fantasy comedy) We’re No Angels (period comedy) The Miracle (drama) The Crying Game (crime drama thriller) Interview with the Vampire (period horror fantasy drama) Michael Collins (period biopic war drama) The Butcher Boy (period black comedy crime drama) The End of the Affair (period drama) In Dreams (psychological horror thriller) The Good Thief (crime thriller) The Actors (crime comedy) Breakfast on Pluto (period comedy-drama) The Brave One (psychological crime thriller) Ondine (romantic drama) Byzantium (fantasy horror mystery drama) Greta (drama thriller) Marlowe (period mystery crime drama)
34. John Krasinski
Actor | Jack Ryan
American actor John Krasinski is known for his role as sardonic nice guy Jim Halpert on NBC's popular TV sitcom, The Office (2005), for which he won a 2007 and 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.
Born John Burke Krasinski on October 20, 1979,...
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (comedy-drama) The Hollars (comedy-drama) A Quirt Place (science fiction horror) A Quiet Place Part II (science fiction horror thriller) IF (fantasy comedy)
35. Karyn Kusama
Director | The Invitation
Karyn Kusama was born on March 21, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for The Invitation (2015), Destroyer (2018) and Girlfight (2000). She has been married to Phil Hay since October 2006. They have one child.
Girlfight (sports drama) Æon Flux (science fiction action thriller) Jennifer's Body (horror comedy) The Invitation (mystery horror) Destroyer (neo-noir crime drama)
36. Ang Lee
Director | Wo hu cang long
Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...
Pushing Hangs (comedy-drama) The Wedding Banquet (romantic comedy-drama) Eat Drink Man Woman (romantic comedy) Sense and Sensibility (period romantic comedy-drama) The Ice Storm (drama) Ride with the Devil (period action war) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (period romantic action drama) Hulk (superhero science fiction) Brokeback Mountain (period romantic drama) Lust, Caution (period romance drama) Taking Woodstock (period biopic comedy-drama) Life of Pi (fantasy adventure drama) Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (war drama) Gemini Man (science fiction action thriller)
37. Spike Lee
Director | Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended ...
She’s Gotta Have It (romantic comedy-drama)
School Daze (musical comedy-drama)
Do The Right Thing (comedy-drama)
Mo’ Better Blues (drama)
Jungle Fever (romantic drama)
Malcolm X (period biopic racial drama)
Crooklyn (period comedy-drama)
Clockers (mystery crime drama)
Girl 6 (romantic dark comedy-drama thriller)
Get On The Bus (drama)
He Got Game (sports drama)
Summer of Sam (period crime drama thriller)
Bamboozled (dark comedy-drama)
25th Hour (crime drama)
She Hate Me (comedy-drama)
Inside Man (heist crime thriller)
Miracle at St. Anna (period epic action war drama)
Red Hook Summer (religious drama)
Oldboy (neo-noir mystery action thriller)
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (horror comedy thriller)
Chi-Raq (musical crime comedy-drama)
BlacKkKlansman (period biopic racial crime comedy-drama)
Da 5 Bloods (adventure war drama)
High & Low (crime thriller)
(Again, he’s done some variety while also going back to the same territory)
38. Doug Liman
Producer | Edge of Tomorrow
Douglas Eric Liman is a Jewish-American filmmaker and producer who directed Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Chaos Walking, Jumper, Go, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fair Game, Locked Down, Edge of Tomorrow, The Wall and American Made. He executive produced the Bourne sequels except The Bourne Legacy, The ...
Getting In (comedy thriller) Swingers (comedy-drama) Go (crime comedy) The Bourne Identity (action spy thriller) Mr and Mrs Smith (romantic action spy comedy) Jumper (action adventure science fiction) Fair Game (political biopic thriller) Edge of Tomorrow (science fiction action) The Wall (war thriller) American Made (period biopic action crime comedy) Locked Down (romantic crime comedy) Chaos Walking (science fiction adventure) Road House (action) The Instigators (heist crime thriller)
39. David Lowery
Editor | A Ghost Story
David Lowery is an American writer and director. He is best known for The Green Knight (2021), Pete's Dragon (2016), A Ghost Story (2017) and Pioneer (2011). He has been making movies since he was seven years old, but his first work to be widely seen was the short film A Catalog Of Anticipations (...
St. Nick (drama) Ain't Them Bodies Saints (romantic crime drama) Pete's Dragon (period fantasy adventure comedy-drama) A Ghost Story (supernatural fantasy drama) The Old Man and the Gun (period biopic crime comedy-drama) Green Knight (epic period fantasy adventure drama) Peter Pan & Wendy (period fantasy adventure) Mother Mary (epic drama)
40. James Mangold
Producer | Logan
James Mangold is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Films he has directed include Girl, Interrupted (1999), Walk the Line (2005), which he also co-wrote, the 2007 remake 3:10 to Yuma (2007), The Wolverine (2013), and Logan (2017).
Mangold also wrote and directed Cop...
Heavy (drama) Cop Land (crime drama) Girl, Interrupted (psychological drama) Kate & Leopold (fantasy romantic comedy) Identity (psychological mystery thriller) Walk the Line (biopic drama) 3:10 to Yuma (period action western) Knight and Day (romantic action spy comedy) The Wolverine (superhero) Logan (superhero western action drama) Ford v. Ferrari (period sports action drama) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (period action adventure) A Complete Unknown (period biopic drama)
41. Sam Mendes
Producer | 1917
Samuel Alexander Mendes was born on August 1, 1965 in Reading, England, UK to parents James Peter Mendes, a retired university lecturer, and Valerie Helene Mendes, an author who writes children's books. Their marriage didn't last long, James divorced Sam's mother in 1970 when Sam was just 5-...
American Beauty (dark romantic comedy-drama) Road to Perdition (period crime drama) Jarhead (war drama biopic) Revolutionary Road (period romantic drama) Away We Go (comedy-drama) Skyfall (action spy thriller) Spectre (action spy) 1917 (period war drama) Empire of Light (period drama)
42. Steve McQueen
Director | 12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen was born on October 9, 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008). He is married to Bianca Stigter. They have two children.
Hunger (period biopic drama) Shame (erotic psychological drama) 12 Years a Slave (period biopic drama) Widows (heist crime drama thriller) Blitz (period war drama)
43. Roger Michell
Director | Notting Hill
Roger Michell was born on June 5, 1956 in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a director and writer, known for Notting Hill (1999), Venus (2006) and Enduring Love (2004). He was married to Anna Maxwell Martin and Kate Buffery. He died on September 22, 2021.
My Night With Reg (drama)
Titanic Town (period drama)
Nothing Hill (romantic comedy-drama)
Changing Lanes (drama crime thriller)
The Mother (romantic drama)
Enduring Love (romantic mystery drama)
Venus (comedy-drama)
Morning Glory (comedy)
Hyde Park on Hudson (period comedy-drama biopic)
Le Week-End (romantic comedy-drama)
My Cousin Rachel (period romantic drama)
Blackbird (drama)
The Duke (period crime comedy)
(Again, a lot of consistency, but there is still variety. Plus, he was the first choice to direct Quantum of Solace)
44. David Michôd
Writer | The King
David Michôd is known for The King (2019), Animal Kingdom (2010) and The Rover (2014). He is married to Mirrah Foulkes.
Animal Kingdom (crime drama thriller) The Rover (dystopian western action drama) War Machine (war comedy) The King (epic period action war drama) Wizards! (crime comedy)
45. George Miller
Producer | Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is best known for his Mad Max franchise, with Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) being hailed as amongst the greatest action films of all time. Aside from the Mad Max ...
Mad Max (action drama) Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (science fiction dystopian action adventure) Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (science fiction dystopian action adventure) The Witches of Eastwick (fantasy horror comedy-drama) Lorenzo’s Oil (biopic drama) Babe: Pig In The City (adventure comedy-drama) Happy Feet (adventure musical comedy-drama) Happy Feet Two (adventure musical comedy-drama) Mad Max: Fury Road (epic science fiction dystopian action adventure) Three Thousand Years of Longing (epic romantic fantasy drama) Furiosa (epic science fiction dystopian action adventure)
46. Mike Newell
Director | Four Weddings and a Funeral
Mike Newell was born on March 28, 1942 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Donnie Brasco (1997). He is married to Bernice Stegers. They have three children.
The Awakening (horror) Bad Blood (thriller) Dance With A Stranger (period biopic crime drama) The Good Father (drama) Amazing Grace and Chuck (sports drama) Soursweet (drama) Enchanted April (period drama) Into the West (adventure fantasy) Four Weddings and a Funeral (romantic comedy) An Awfully Big Adventure (period comedy-drama) Donnie Brasco (period crime drama) Pushing Tin (romantic comedy-drama) Mona Lisa Smile (period drama) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (fantasy adventure drama) Love in the Time of Cholera (period romantic drama) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (action adventure fantasy) Great Expectations (period drama) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (period comedy-drama)
47. Jeff Nichols
Writer | Take Shelter
Jeff Nichols was born on December 7, 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).
Shotgun Stories (drama) Take Shelter (psychological thriller) Mud (crime drama) Midnight Special (science fiction drama thriller) Loving (period biopic romantic drama) The Bikeriders (period drama)
48. Christopher Nolan
Writer | Tenet
Best known for his cerebral, often nonlinear, storytelling, acclaimed Academy Award winner writer/director/producer Sir Christopher Nolan CBE was born in London, England. Over the course of more than 25 years of filmmaking, Nolan has gone from low-budget independent films to working on some of the ...
Following (psychological thriller)
Memento (neo-noir psychological mystery thriller)
Insomnia (psychological crime drama)
Batman Begins (superhero action drama)
The Prestige (period mystery drama)
The Dark Knight (superhero crime thriller)
Inception (science fiction crime caper)
The Dark Knight Rises (superhero action epic)
Interstellar (science fiction space epic)
Dunkirk (epic war action drama)
Tenet (science fiction action spy thriller)
Oppenheimer (epic period biopic war drama thriller)
(Like Burton, he has worked in a variety of genres wrapped in his own aesthetic and narrative style)
49. Park Chan-wook
Director | Oldeuboi
Park Chan-wook was born on August 23, 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and director, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.
The Moon Is...The Sun's Dream (romantic crime thriller) Saminjo (crime comedy) Joint Security Area (mystery crime thriller) Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (crime thriller) Oldboy (neo-noir action crime thriller) Lady Vengeance (psychological crime thriller) I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay (romantic comedy drama) Thirst (horror drama) Stoker (psychological drama thriller) The Handmaiden (period erotic romantic psychological drama thriller) Decision to Leave (mystery romantic crime drama)
50. Sam Raimi
Director | Spider-Man
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...
It's Murder! (crime comedy) The Evil Dead (horror) Crimewave (horror crime comedy) Evil Dead II (horror comedy) Darkman (superhero action horror) Army of Darkness (fantasy adventure horror comedy) The Quick and the Dead (western action thriller) A Simple Plan (crime thriller) For Love of the Game (sports drama) The Gift (fantasy drama thriller) Spider-Man (superhero action drama) Spider-Man 2 (superhero action drama) Spider-Man 3 (superhero action drama) Drag Me to Hell (horror thriller) Oz the Great and Powerful (fantasy adventure) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (epic superhero fantasy adventure horror)
51. Matt Reeves
Producer | The Batman
Matthew George "Matt" Reeves was born April 27, 1966 in Rockville Center, New York, USA and is a writer, director and producer. Reeves began making movies at age eight, directing friends and using a wind-up camera. He befriended filmmaker J.J. Abrams when both were 13 years old and a public-access ...
The Pallbearer (romantic comedy)
Cloverfield (found-footage science fiction horror)
Let Me In (romantic fantasy horror)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (science fiction action drama)
War for the Planet of the Apes (science fiction action-adventure drama)
The Batman (neo-noir superhero thriller)
(I can't believe his first film was a rom-com)
52. Gary Ross
Writer | The Hunger Games
Gary Ross is an American writer, director and actor born November 3rd, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. His father was screenwriter Arthur A. Ross (1920 - 2008). After writing for television series The Hitchhiker (1983) in 1986, Ross broke through by penning the Tom Hanks hit Big (1988), his first ...
Pleasantville (fantasy comedy-drama) Seabiscuit (period sports drama) The Hunger Games (dystopian science fiction action drama) Free State of Jones (period biopic war drama) Ocean’s 8 (heist crime comedy)
53. Joel Schumacher
Director | The Phantom of the Opera
Joel Schumacher was an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and fashion designer from New York City. He rose to fame in the 1980s for directing the coming-of-age drama "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), and the vampire-themed horror film "The Lost Boys" (1987). In the 1990s, he worked on two ...
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (science fiction comedy) D.C. Cab (comedy) ST. Elmo's Fire (drama) The Lost Boys (horror comedy) Cousins (romantic comedy) Flatliners (science fiction psychological horror) Dying Young (romantic drama) Falling Down (drama thriller) The Client (legal mystery drama thriller) Batman Forever (superhero science fiction) A Time to Kill (legal crime drama) Batman & Robin (superhero science fiction action) 8mm (mystery crime thriller) Flawless (crime comedy-drama) Tigerland (period war drama) Bad Company (action comedy) Phone Booth (crime thriller) Veronica Guerin (biopic crime drama) The Phantom of the Opera (period musical romantic drama) The Number 23 (psychological thriller) Blood Creek (horror) Twelve (action crime drama) Trespass (crime thriller)
54. Martin Scorsese
Producer | Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese, who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later ...
Who's That Knocking At My Door (romantic drama)
Boxcar Bertha (romantic crime drama)
Mean Streets (crime drama)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (romantic comedy-drama)
Taxi Driver (neo-noir crime thriller)
New York, New York (musical drama)
Raging Bull (period sports biopic)
The King of Comedy (dark comedy)
After Hours (dark comedy)
The Colour of Money (sports drama)
The Last Temptation of Christ (biblical biopic drama)
Goodfellas (period crime drama)
Cape Fear (psychological crime thriller)
The Age of Innocence (period romantic drama)
Casino (period gangster crime)
Kundun (religious biopic)
Bringing Out the Dead (drama)
Gangs of New York (epic period crime drama)
The Aviator (epic period biopic drama)
The Departed (crime thriller)
Shutter Island (period psychological horror thriller)
Hugo (period adventure drama)
The Wolf of Wall Street (period dark crime comedy)
Silence (period religious drama)
The Irishman (epic period crime drama)
Killers of the Flower Moon (period western mystery crime thriller)
(His seeming ability to do every film genre under the sun is really underrated)
55. Ridley Scott
Producer | The Martian
Described by film producer Michael Deeley as "the very best eye in the business", director Ridley Scott was born on November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. His father was an officer in the Royal Engineers and the family followed him as his career posted him throughout the United Kingdom ...
The Duellists (period drama) Alien (science fiction horror) Blade Runner (neo-noir dystopian science fiction drama) Legend (romantic fantasy) Someone to Watch over Me (romantic crime thriller) Black Rain (crime thriller) Thelma and Louise (crime comedy-drama) 1492: Conquest of Paradise (period epic biopic) White Squall (adventure survival drama) G.I. Jane (action war drama) Gladiator (epic period action drama) Hannibal (psychological horror crime thriller) Black Hawk Dawn (war drama) Matchstick Men (dark crime comedy) Kingdom of Heaven (period epic action war drama) A Good Year (romantic comedy) American Gangster (period crime drama thriller) Body of Lies (action spy thriller) Robin Hood (period epic action war drama) Prometheus (science fiction mystery adventure horror) The Counsellor (crime thriller) Exodus: Gods and Kings (epic biblical adventure drama) The Martian (science fiction) Alien: Covenant (science fiction horror) All the Money in the World (period biopic crime drama) The Last Duel (period drama thriller) House of Gucci (period biopic crime drama) Napoleon (epic period biopic war drama) Untitled Gladiator sequel (epic period action drama)
56. Cate Shortland
Director | Lore
Catherine Shortland is an Australian filmmaker from Temora, New South Wales who is known for directing the Marvel film "Black Widow." She also directed the feature-length films "Somersault", "Lore", and "Berlin Syndrome." She directed the short films "Pentuphouse", "Flowergirl", and "Joy." She is ...
Somersault (romantic drama) Lore (period war drama) Berlin Syndrome (psychological mystery drama thriller) Black Widow (superhero action spy)
57. Steven Soderbergh
Director | Sex, Lies, and Videotape
Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age, his family moved to ...
Sex, Lies and Videotape (drama)
Kafka (mystery thriller)
King of the Hill (period drama)
The Underneath (crime thriller)
Gray's Anatomy (comedy-drama)
Out of Sight (crime comedy)
The Limey (mystery crime drama)
Erin Brockovich (biopic drama)
Traffic (crime drama thriller)
Ocean's Eleven (crime caper comedy thriller)
Solaris (science fiction drama)
Full Frontal (romantic comedy-drama)
Ocean's Twelve (crime caper comedy)
Bubble (mystery drama)
The Good German (period mystery thriller)
Ocean's Thirteen (crime caper comedy thriller)
Che (period biopic war drama)
The Girlfriend Experience (drama)
The Informant! (period biopic crime comedy-drama)
Contagion (drama thriller)
Haywire (action thriller)
Magic Mike (comedy-drama)
Side Effects (psychological mystery thriller)
Logan Lucky (crime caper comedy-drama)
Unsane (psychological horror drama)
High Flying Bird (sports drama)
The Laundromat (crime comedy-drama)
Let Them All Talk (comedy-drama)
No Sudden Move (period crime thriller)
KIMI (thriller)
Magic Mike's Last Dance (comedy-drama)
Presence (psychological horror thriller)
(While he has sometimes gone back to familiar ground, his body of work is still incredibly diverse. And like Eastwood, he's really prolific)
58. Steven Spielberg
Producer | Schindler's List
One of the most influential personalities in the history of cinema, Steven Spielberg is Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. He has an extraordinary number of commercially successful and critically acclaimed credits to his name, either as a director, ...
The Sugarland Express (crime drama) Jaws (action horror) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (science fiction drama) 1941 (war comedy) Raiders of the Lost Ark (period action-adventure) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (science fiction adventure) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (period action-adventure) The Colour Purple (period racial drama) Empire of the Sun (war epic) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (period action-adventure) Always (supernatural fantasy romantic comedy-drama) Hook (fantasy adventure) Jurassic Park (science fiction action thriller) Schindler's List (epic historical war drama) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (science fiction action thriller) Amistad (period legal racial drama) Saving Private Ryan (epic war drama) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (science fiction adventure drama) Minority Report (science fiction action thriller) Catch Me if You Can (period biopic crime caper drama) The Terminal (romantic comedy-drama) War of the Worlds (science fiction thriller) Munich (period spy thriller) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (period action-adventure) The Adventures of Tintin: Secrets of the Unicorn (period action-adventure) War Horse (period war drama) Lincoln (epic period biopic drama) Bridge of Spies (period spy drama) The BFG (fantasy adventure) The Post (period thriller drama) Ready Player One (science fiction action-adventure) West Side Story (period musical romantic drama) The Fabelmans (period drama)
59. Roger Spottiswoode
Writer | 48 Hrs.
Roger Spottiswoode was born on January 5, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for 48 Hrs. (1982), The 6th Day (2000) and Shoot to Kill (1988). He was previously married to Holly Palance.
Terror Train (mystery horror) The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper (adventure crime thriller) Under Fire (war drama thriller) The Best of Times (sports comedy drama) Shoot to Kill (action crime drama) Turner & Hooch (crime comedy) Air America (period action war comedy) Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (black comedy action) Mesmer (period biopic drama) Tomorrow Never Dies (action spy) The 6th Day (science fiction action) Spinning Boris (comedy drama) Ripley Under Ground (crime thriller) Shake Hands With the Devil (period war drama) The Children of Huang Shi (period war drama) The Journey Home (adventure drama) A Street Cat Named Bob (comedy drama biopic)
60. Tate Taylor
Producer | Get on Up
Tate Taylor was born on June 3, 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Get on Up (2014), The Help (2011) and The Girl on the Train (2016).
Pretty Ugly People (black comedy-drama) The Help (period drama) Get On Up (period biopic drama) The Girl on the Train (mystery thriller) Ma (psychological horror thriller) Ava (action thriller) Breaking News In Yuba County (comedy-drama)
61. Jean-Marc Vallée
Director | C.R.A.Z.Y.
Jean-Marc Vallée was a Canadian filmmaker, editor and screenwriter from Montreal. He directed Black List, C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victoria, Wild, Dallas Buyers Club, Los Locos, Loser Love and Café de Flore. He also created the HBO shows Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. He was married to Chantal ...
Black List (thriller) Los Locos (period western) Loser Love (drama thriller) C.R.A.Z.Y. (period comedy-drama) The Young Victoria (period biopic drama) Cafe de Flore (drama) Dallas Buyers Club (period biopic drama) Wild (period biopic adventure drama) Demolition (comedy-drama)
62. Gore Verbinski
Director | Rango
Gore Verbinski, one of American cinema's most inventive directors who was a punk-rock guitarist as a teenager and had to sell his guitar to buy his first camera, is now the director of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) which made the industry record for highest opening weekend of ...
Mousehunt (slapstick comedy) The Mexican (romantic adventure comedy) The Ring (supernatural horror) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (period action-adventure fantasy romance) The Weather Man (comedy-drama) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (period action-adventure fantasy) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (epic period action-adventure fantasy romance) Rango (western action comedy) The Lone Ranger (western action-adventure) A Cure for Wellness (fantasy horror)
63. Paul Verhoeven
Director | RoboCop
Paul Verhoeven graduated from the University of Leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the Royal Netherlands Navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the Navy and later for TV. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series, Floris (1969), about a medieval ...
Diary of a Hooker (comedy) Turkish Delight (romantic drama) Katie Tippel (period drama) Soldier of Orange (period war drama thriller) Spetters (romantic sports drama) The Fourth Man (mystery drama thriller) Flesh + Blood (romantic adventure drama) Robocop (science fiction action crime) Total Recall (science fiction action thriller) Basic Instinct (erotic crime thriller) Showgirls (erotic drama) Starship Troopers (science fiction action war) Hollow Man (science fiction horror) Black Book (period war drama thriller) Elle (neo-noir psychological crime thriller) Benedetta (period biopic erotic drama)
64. Taika Waititi
Producer | What We Do in the Shadows
Taika Waititi, also known as Taika Cohen, hails from the Raukokore region of the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, and is the son of Robin (Cohen), a teacher, and Taika Waititi, an artist and farmer. His father is Maori (Te-Whanau-a-Apanui), and his mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Irish...
Eagle vs Shark (romantic comedy) Boy (comedy-drama) What We Do In The Shadows (horror comedy) Hunt for the Wilderpeople (adventure comedy-drama) Thor: Ragnarok (superhero science fiction fantasy action-adventure) Jojo Rabbit (period dark comedy-drama) Thor: Love and Thunder (superhero science fiction action) Next Goal Wins (biopic sports comedy-drama)
65. Jon Watts
Director | Cop Car
Jon Watts is an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He directed Cop Car and Clown before he was picked by Marvel and Sony to direct Spider-Man: Homecoming starring Tom Holland and Zendaya. It's success resulted in two sequels, Far from Home in 2019 and No Way Home in 2021. He was also picked by ...
Clown (supernatural horror) Cop Car (crime thriller) Spider-Man: Homecoming (superhero action comedy) Spider-Man: Far From Home (superhero science fiction action comedy) Spider-Man: No Way Home (epic superhero science fiction action adventure) Wolfs (psychological crime thriller)
66. Peter Weir
Director | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Peter Weir was born on August 21, 1944 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), The Way Back (2010) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Wendy Stites since 1966. They have two children.
The Cars That Ate Paris (horror comedy) Picnic at Hanging Rock (mystery drama) The Last Wave (psychological fantasy mystery drama) Gallipoli (period war drama) The Year of Living Dangerously (romantic drama) Witness (thriller) The Mosquito Coast (drama thriller) Dead Poets Society (period comedy-drama) Green Card (romantic comedy) Fearless (drama) The Truman Show (psychological comedy-drama) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (epic period adventure war drama) The Way Back (period adventure survival drama)
67. Chris Weitz
Writer | About a Boy
Christopher John Weitz is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter who is known for Antz, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, American Pie, About a Boy, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and The Golden Compass. He is married to Mercedes Martinez since 2006 and has three ...
Down to Earth (fantasy comedy) About a Boy (comedy-drama) The Golden Compass (epic fantasy adventure) The Twilight Saga: New Moon (romantic fantasy drama) A Better Life (drama) Operation Finale (period drama thriller) They Listen (horror)
68. Edgar Wright
Director | Shaun of the Dead
Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his comedic Three Flavours Cornetto film trilogy consisting of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), made with recurrent collaborators Simon Pegg...
A Fistful of Fingers (western comedy)
Shaun of the Dead (horror comedy)
Hot Fuzz (action buddy-cop crime comedy)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (romantic musical action comedy)
The World's End (science fiction comedy)
Baby Driver (action crime romantic thriller)
Last Night In Soho (psychological horror)
(Yeah, most of his films have a comedic bent, but they are still damn good examples of their respective genres, and starting with Baby Driver he seems to be shifting to darker tones)
69. Robert Zemeckis
Writer | Back to the Future
A whiz-kid with special effects, Robert is from the Spielberg camp of film-making (Steven Spielberg produced many of his films). Usually working with writing partner Bob Gale, Robert's earlier films show he has a talent for zany comedy (Romancing the Stone (1984), 1941 (1979)) and special effect ...
I Want to Hold Your Hand (period comedy) Used Cars (dark comedy) Romancing the Stone (romantic comedy action-adventure) Back to the Future (science fiction comedy) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (period adventure mystery comedy) Back to the Future Part II (science fiction comedy) Back to the Future Part III (science fiction western comedy) Death Becomes Her (dark comedy fantasy) Forrest Gump (period comedy-drama) Contact (science fiction mystery drama) What Lies Beneath (supernatural horror drama) Cast Away (survival drama) The Polar Express (fantasy adventure) Beowulf (epic action fantasy) A Christmas Carol (period fantasy drama) Flight (drama) The Walk (period biopic crime adventure drama) Allied (romantic war thriller) Welcome to Marwen (biopic fantasy drama) The Witches (period fantasy horror comedy) Pinocchio (fantasy adventure) Here (drama)
70. Edward Zwick
Producer | The Last Samurai
Zwick moves deftly between the roles of writer, director and producer. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the 1989 critically acclaimed Civil War drama, Glory. He received his second Golden Globe nomination as a director for Legends of the Fall. Zwick received an Academy Award...
About Last Night... (romantic comedy-drama) Glory (period war drama) Leaving Normal (comedy-drama) Legends of the Fall (epic historical drama) Courage Under Fire (war drama) The Siege (action drama thriller) The Last Samurai (epic period war drama) Blood Diamond (adventure war drama thriller) Defiance (period war drama) Love & Other Drugs (romantic comedy-drama) Pawn Sacrifice (period biopic drama) Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (action thriller) Trial By Fire (period biopic drama)
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