Al’s Top Rated Screenwriters of All Time

1. Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of...

Star score: 180 — Number of films seen: 13 — Favorites: Jackie Brown (1997), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Pulp Fiction (1994), True Romance (1993), Django Unchained (2012), Reservoir Dogs (1992), The Hateful Eight (2015), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019), Death Proof (2007), Natural Born Killers (1994), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

2. John Hughes

Writer | Planes, Trains & Automobiles

John Hughes was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He was credited for creating some of the most memorable comedy films of the 1980s and the 1990s, when he was at the height of his career. He had a talent for writing coming-of-age stories, and for depicting fairly realistic...

Star score: 160 — Number of films seen: 18 — Favorites: The Breakfast Club (1985), Home Alone (1990), Uncle Buck (1989), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), The Great Outdoors (1988), Dutch (1991), Mr. Mom (1983), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Beethoven (1992), Sixteen Candles (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), Weird Science (1985), Dennis the Menace (1993), Beethoven's 2nd (1993)

3. Billy Wilder

Writer | The Apartment

Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many ...

Star score: 150 — Number of films seen: 14 — Favorites: Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Sunset Blvd. (1950), One, Two, Three (1961), The Apartment (1960), Ace in the Hole (1951), Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), The Bishop's Wife (1947), Sabrina (1954), The Front Page (1974), Irma la Douce (1963), Some Like It Hot (1959), Stalag 17 (1953), The Fortune Cookie (1966)

4. Stephen King

Writer | Maximum Overdrive

Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947, at the Maine General Hospital in Portland. His parents were Nellie Ruth (Pillsbury), who worked as a caregiver at a mental institute, and Donald Edwin King, a merchant seaman. His father was born under the surname "Pollock," but used the last name ...

Star score: 134 — Number of films seen: 13 — Favorites: The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), Stand by Me (1986), Misery (1990), Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), Dolores Claiborne (1995), It (1990), Christine (1983), Creepshow (1982), It Chapter Two (2019), It (2017), The Running Man (1987)

5. Stanley Kubrick

Director | 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would ...

Star score: 121 — Number of films seen: 11 — Favorites: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), The Shining (1980), The Killing (1956), Barry Lyndon (1975), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Lolita (1962)

6. John Huston

Director | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

An eccentric rebel of epic proportions, this Hollywood titan reigned supreme as director, screenwriter and character actor in a career that endured over five decades. The ten-time Oscar-nominated legend was born John Marcellus Huston in Nevada, Missouri, on August 5, 1906. His ancestry was English,...

Star score: 120 — Number of films seen: 11 — Favorites: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), The African Queen (1951), High Sierra (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Killers (1946), Jezebel (1938), The Stranger (1946), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938), Moby Dick (1956)

7. 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 ...

Star score: 118 — Number of films seen: 13 — Favorites: Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992), BlacKkKlansman (2018), Jungle Fever (1991), Mo' Better Blues (1990), He Got Game (1998), Da 5 Bloods (2020), Bamboozled (2000), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), Chi-Raq (2015), She's Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988)

8. Oliver Stone

Director | JFK

Oliver Stone has become known as a master of controversial subjects and a legendary film maker. His films are filled with a variety of film angles and styles, he pushes his actors to give Oscar-worthy performances, and despite his failures, has always returned to success.

William Oliver Stone was ...

Star score: 117 — Number of films seen: 12 — Favorites: JFK (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994), The Doors (1991), Platoon (1986), Scarface (1983), Salvador (1986), Talk Radio (1988), Any Given Sunday (1999), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Snowden (2016), Wall Street (1987), Nixon (1995)

9. Sylvester Stallone

Actor | Rocky

Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws.

Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, ...

Star score: 116 — Number of films seen: 14 — Favorites: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky III (1982), First Blood (1982), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), Cliffhanger (1993), Rambo (2008), Rambo: Last Blood (2019), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rocky Balboa (2006), Rambo III (1988), Rocky V (1990)

10. Ben Hecht

Writer | Notorious

Ben Hecht, one of Hollywood's and Broadway's greatest writers, won an Oscar for best original story for Underworld (1927) at the first Academy Awards in 1929 and had a hand in the writing of many classic films. He was nominated five more times for the best writing Oscar, winning (along with writing...

Star score: 111 — Number of films seen: 15 — Favorites: Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Notorious (1946), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), Gone with the Wind (1939), Strangers on a Train (1951), The Front Page (1974), Lifeboat (1944), Foreign Correspondent (1940), His Girl Friday (1940), Rope (1948), Spellbound (1945), Angel Face (1952), Cleopatra (1963), Scarface (1983), Stagecoach (1939)

11. George Lucas

Writer | Star Wars

George Walton Lucas, Jr. was raised on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. His father was a stationery store owner and he had three siblings. During his late teen years, he went to Thomas Downey High School and was very much interested in drag racing. He planned to become a professional racecar ...

Star score: 102 — Number of films seen: 11 — Favorites: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), American Graffiti (1973)

12. Steven Zaillian

Writer | Searching for Bobby Fischer

Steven Zaillian was born on January 30, 1953 in Fresno, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The Irishman (2019) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). He is married to Elizabeth Zaillian. They have two children.

Star score: 101 — Number of films seen: 11 — Favorites: Schindler's List (1993), Awakenings (1990), Moneyball (2011), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), American Gangster (2007), The Irishman (2019), Gangs of New York (2002), Mission: Impossible (1996), Hannibal (2001), Clear and Present Danger (1994)

13. Richard Brooks

Writer | In Cold Blood

Richard Brooks was an Academy Award-winning film writer who also earned six Oscar nominations and achieved success as a film director and producer.

He was born Reuben Sax on May 18, 1912, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. He graduated from West Philadelphia ...

Star score: 98 — Number of films seen: 9 — Favorites: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Key Largo (1948), In Cold Blood (1967), Blackboard Jungle (1955), The Killers (1946), Elmer Gantry (1960), Deadline U.S.A. (1952), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), Something of Value (1957)

14. 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 ...

Star score: 98 — Number of films seen: 11 — Favorites: Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), Bridge of Spies (2015), Blood Simple (1984), The Big Lebowski (1998), Raising Arizona (1987), Burn After Reading (2008), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

15. 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...

Star score: 98 — Number of films seen: 11 — Favorites: Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), Bridge of Spies (2015), Blood Simple (1984), The Big Lebowski (1998), Raising Arizona (1987), Burn After Reading (2008), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

16. 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 ...

Star score: 98 — Number of films seen: 10 — Favorites: The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman Begins (2005), Dunkirk (2017), Oppenheimer (2023), Memento (2000), Interstellar (2014), Insomnia (2002), Inception (2010), The Prestige (2006)

17. Pat Proft

Writer | Hot Shots!

Pat Proft was born on March 4, 1947 in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Hot Shots! (1991), Wrongfully Accused (1998) and Scary Movie 3 (2003). He has been married to Karen Philipp since May 23, 1981. They have one child.

Star score: 93 — Number of films seen: 12 — Favorites: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Hot Shots! (1991), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Wrongfully Accused (1998), Police Academy (1984), Bachelor Party (1984), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985), Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)

18. James Cameron

Writer | Avatar: The Way of Water

James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his ...

Star score: 90 — Number of films seen: 9 — Favorites: Titanic (1997), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Aliens (1986), The Terminator (1984), Strange Days (1995), Avatar (2009), The Abyss (1989), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

19. Kevin Smith

Producer | Clerks

Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.

His ...

Star score: 85 — Number of films seen: 10 — Favorites: Chasing Amy (1997), Clerks (1994), Clerks II (2006), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Mallrats (1995), Clerks III (2022), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), Jersey Girl (2004)

20. Harold Ramis

Writer | Ghostbusters

Born on November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Harold Allen Ramis got his start in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. In 1969, he joined Chicago's Second City's Improvisational Theatre Troupe before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" ...

Star score: 84 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Back to School (1986), Groundhog Day (1993), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Stripes (1981), Analyze This (1999)

21. Andrew Stanton

Writer | WALL·E

Andrew Stanton has been a major creative force at Pixar Animation Studios since 1990, when he became the second animator and ninth employee to join the company's elite group of computer animation pioneers. As Vice President, Creative he currently oversees all shorts and feature projects at the ...

Star score: 83 — Number of films seen: 9 — Favorites: WALL·E (2008), Toy Story (1995), Finding Nemo (2003), Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 2 (1999), Finding Dory (2016), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 4 (2019), A Bug's Life (1998)

22. Eric Roth

Writer | Dune

Mr. Roth won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump & has been nominated for his screenplays of The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, A Star is Born, & Dune. He wrote Mr. Kurosawa's Rhapsody in August, The Horse Whisperer, Ali, & Best Picture Nominee, Extremely ...

Star score: 82 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: Forrest Gump (1994), A Star Is Born (2018), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Insider (1999), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), Ali (2001), The Drowning Pool (1975), The Postman (1997)

23. 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 ...

Star score: 78 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), The Rainmaker (1997), The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (1990/2020), Apocalypse Now (1979)

24. Mel Brooks

Actor | Spaceballs

Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in WWII, and afterwards got a job playing the drums at nightclubs in the Catskills. Brooks eventually started a comedy act and also worked in radio and as Master Entertainer at Grossinger's Resort before going to ...

Star score: 78 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: Young Frankenstein (1974), Blazing Saddles (1974), Spaceballs (1987), History of the World: Part I (1981), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), High Anxiety (1977), The Producers (1967), Silent Movie (1976)

25. William Goldman

Writer | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Screenwriter, novelist, playwright, non-fiction author. Born in Highland Park, Illinois, USA, began his career as a novelist in 1957. Started writing screenplays in 1965 with "Masquerade". A two-time Academy Award Winner, he is one of the most successful screenwriters and script doctors in ...

Star score: 75 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Maverick (1994), Misery (1990), Papillon (1973), All the President's Men (1976), Marathon Man (1976), Absolute Power (1997), Harper (1966)

26. David Mamet

Writer | House of Games

Born in 1947 in Chicago, he was educated at Goddard College, in Vermont, and studied drama at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, before returning to Chicago and establishing the St Nicholas Theatre Company in 1972. He remained their resident writer for four years. The first of his plays to secure ...

Star score: 75 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: The Untouchables (1987), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), The Verdict (1982), Redbelt (2008), State and Main (2000), Phil Spector (2013 TV Movie), Hannibal (2001), Ronin (1998)

27. Ernest Lehman

Writer | North by Northwest

One of the most critically and commercially successful screenwriters in Hollywood history, Lehman grew up on Long Island, graduated from NY's City College. One of his first jobs was as a copywriter for a Broadway publicist. This experience would later be reflected in his novel and screenplay, "...

Star score: 74 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: North by Northwest (1959), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Sabrina (1954), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), From the Terrace (1960), The Prize (1963)

28. Adam McKay

Producer | The Other Guys

Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. McKay has a comedy partnership with Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys. Ferrell and McKay also founded their comedy website Funny or Die through ...

Star score: 73 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), The Big Short (2015), Vice (2018), Don't Look Up (2021), Step Brothers (2008), Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Anchorman 2: the Legend Continues (2013)

29. Pete Docter

Writer | Up

Pete Docter is the Oscar®-winning director of "Monsters, Inc.," "Up," and "Inside Out," and Chief Creative Officer at Pixar Animation Studios. He is currently directing Pixar's feature film "Soul" with producer Dana Murray, which is set to release June 19, 2020.

Starting at Pixar in 1990 as the ...

Star score: 72 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Up (2009), WALL·E (2008), Inside Out (2015), Toy Story (1995), Soul (2020), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001)

30. Brian Helgeland

Writer | Finestkind

Brian Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in New Bedford Massachusetts. A born worker, Helgeland has endeavored to achieve in the following fields: snow shoveler, scrap newspaper collector, dishwasher, nursing home janitor, drug store clerk and unreliable nightshift gas ...

Star score: 70 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: 42 (2013), Mystic River (2003), Man on Fire (2004), L.A. Confidential (1997), Blood Work (2002), Payback (1999), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), The Postman (1997)

31. Sergio Leone

Writer | Once Upon a Time in America

Sergio Leone was virtually born into the cinema - he was the son of Roberto Roberti (A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actress Bice Valerian. Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in ...

Star score: 69 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), For a Few Dollars More (1965), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

32. Christopher McQuarrie

Writer | The Usual Suspects

Christopher McQuarrie is an acclaimed producer, director and an Academy Award® winning writer. McQuarrie grew up in Princeton Junction, New Jersey and in lieu of college, he spent the first five years out of school traveling and working at a detective agency. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue...

Star score: 69 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Top Gun: Maverick (2022), The Usual Suspects (1995), Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Jack Reacher (2012)

33. Peter Farrelly

Producer | Green Book

Peter Farrelly was born on December 17, 1956 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Green Book (2018), There's Something About Mary (1998) and Dumb and Dumber (1994). He has been married to Melinda Farrelly since December 31, 1996. They have two children.

Star score: 67 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: There's Something About Mary (1998), Dumb and Dumber (1994), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Green Book (2018), The Three Stooges (2012), Shallow Hal (2001)

34. Robert Riskin

Writer | It Happened One Night

Robert Riskin was born on March 30, 1897 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for It Happened One Night (1934), You Can't Take It with You (1938) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). He was married to Fay Wray. He died on September 20, 1955 in Beverly Hills, Los ...

Star score: 67 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: You Can't Take It with You (1938), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), It Happened One Night (1934), American Madness (1932), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), The Thin Man Goes Home (1944), Mr. Deeds (2002)

35. Frank S. Nugent

Writer | The Quiet Man

Frank S. Nugent was an American screenwriter known for his collaborations with director John Ford. For a writer with only 21 feature films credited to his name, his influence is surprisingly ubiquitous and far-reaching. During his lifetime Nugent won two WGA Awards for Best Written Comedy for The ...

Star score: 64 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Mister Roberts (1955), The Searchers (1956), 3 Godfathers (1948), Angel Face (1952), The Quiet Man (1952), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Fort Apache (1948)

36. Aaron Sorkin

Writer | The West Wing

Aaron Sorkin grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York City where he was very involved in his high school drama and theater club. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater, Sorkin intended to pursue a career in acting. It took him only a short time to ...

Star score: 63 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Moneyball (2011), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), The Social Network (2010), A Few Good Men (1992), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Molly's Game (2017), The American President (1995)

37. Tony Gilroy

Writer | Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy was born in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA; and raised in upstate New York. His father, Frank D. Gilroy, was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, director, and screenwriter. Tony has penned many films, including The Devil's Advocate (1997) and The Cutting Edge (1992).

Star score: 63 — Number of films seen: 8 — Favorites: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), State of Play (2009), Dolores Claiborne (1995), The Cutting Edge (1992), The Devil's Advocate (1997), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

38. Tim Herlihy

Writer | The Wedding Singer

Tim Herlihy was born on October 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Wedding Singer (1998), Pixels (2015) and Saturday Night Live (1975).

Star score: 63 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Happy Gilmore (1996), Billy Madison (1995), The Waterboy (1998), The Wedding Singer (1998), Big Daddy (1999), Mr. Deeds (2002), Little Nicky (2000)

39. Jim Abrahams

Writer | Airplane!

Jim Abrahams was born on May 10, 1944 in Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Airplane! (1980), Top Secret! (1984) and Hot Shots! (1991). He is married to Nancy Cocuzzo.

Star score: 62 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Airplane! (1980), The Naked Gun: from the Files of Police Squad! (1988), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Hot Shots! (1991), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Top Secret! (1984)

40. David Zucker

Writer | Airplane!

Born on October 16, 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, director/writer/producer David Zucker, along with brother Jerry (Ghost, 1990) Zucker and longtime friend, Jim (Hot Shots, 1991) Abrahams, has established himself among Hollywood's (or at least Wisconsin's) most successful filmmakers.

Starting ...

Star score: 62 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Airplane! (1980), The Naked Gun: from the Files of Police Squad!, BASEketball (1998), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Naked Gun 33 1/3: the Final Insult (1994), Top Secret! (1984)

41. Ed Solomon

Writer | Men in Black

Ed Solomon was born on September 15, 1960 in Saratoga, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Men in Black (1997), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) and Now You See Me 2 (2016). He was previously married to Cynthia Cleese.

Star score: 62 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020), Now You See Me (2013), No Sudden Move (2021), Men in Black (1997)

42. Elmore Leonard

Writer | Out of Sight

Elmore Leonard was born on October 11, 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Out of Sight (1998), Justified (2010) and Get Shorty (1995). He was married to Christine Kent, Joan Shepard and Beverly Claire Cline. He died on August 20, 2013 in Bloomfield Township...

Star score: 61 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Jackie Brown (1997), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Hombre (1967), Out of Sight (1998), Get Shorty (1995), Be Cool (2005)

43. David Koepp

Writer | Jurassic Park

David Koepp is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for writing Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi and Panic Room directed by David ...

Star score: 61 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: Jurassic Park (1993), Carlito's Way (1993), Twister (1996), Panic Room (2002), Spider-Man (2002), Mission: Impossible (1996), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

44. Bobby Farrelly

Producer | There's Something About Mary

Bobby Farrelly was born on June 17, 1958 in Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA. He is a producer and director, known for There's Something About Mary (1998), Osmosis Jones (2001) and Me, Myself & Irene (2000). He has been married to Nancy Farrelly since 1990. They have two children.

Star score: 59 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: There's Something About Mary (1998), Dumb and Dumber (1994), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), The Three Stooges (2012), Shallow Hal (2001)

45. Lawrence Kasdan

Writer | The Big Chill

Lawrence Kasdan is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He directed Body Heat, Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, Silverado and Dreamcatcher. He wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Bodyguard, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He is ...

Star score: 59 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

46. Frances Goodrich

Writer | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Frances Goodrich was born on December 21, 1890 in Belleville, New Jersey, USA. She was a writer, known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), The Thin Man (1934) and Easter Parade (1948). She was married to Albert Hackett, Henrik Van Loon and Robert Ames. She died on January 29, 1984 in New ...

Star score: 59 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: It's a Wonderful Life (1946), The Thin Man (1934), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), Father of the Bride (1950)

47. Albert Hackett

Writer | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Albert Hackett was born on February 16, 1900 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), The Thin Man (1934) and Easter Parade (1948). He was married to Gisella (Svetlik) Orkin and Frances Goodrich. He died on March 16, 1995 in New ...

Star score: 59 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: It's a Wonderful Life (1946), The Thin Man (1934), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), Father of the Bride (1950)

48. David S. Goyer

Writer | Dark City

David S. Goyer was born on December 22, 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dark City (1998), The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman Begins (2005). He is married to Marina Black. They have two children. He was previously married to Jessika Borsiczky.

Star score: 58 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman Begins (2005), Man of Steel (2013), Blade (1998)

49. I.A.L. Diamond

Writer | The Apartment

I.A.L. Diamond was born on June 27, 1920 in Ungheni, Romania [now Moldova]. He was a writer and producer, known for The Apartment (1960), Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). He was married to Barbara Diamond. He died on April 21, 1988 in Beverly Hills, California...

Star score: 56 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: One, Two, Three (1961), The Apartment (1960), The Front Page (1974), Irma la Douce (1963), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Fortune Cookie (1966)

50. Dashiell Hammett

Writer | The Thin Man

Dashiell Hammett was born May 27, 1894, in St. Mary's County, Maryland, to Richard Hammett and Mary Bond. He joined the Baltimore branch of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1915. He enlisted in the US Army's Ambulance Corps in June 1918 and was posted to a camp 20 miles from Baltimore, where he ...

Star score: 56 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: The Thin Man (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), The Thin Man Goes Home (1944), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

51. Richard Linklater

Director | Waking Life

Self-taught writer-director Richard Stuart Linklater was born in Houston, Texas, to Diane Margaret (Krieger), who taught at a university, and Charles W. Linklater III. Richard was among the first and most successful talents to emerge during the American independent film renaissance of the 1990s. ...

Star score: 55 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Dazed and Confused (1993), Before Sunset (2004), Boyhood (2014), Before Sunrise (1995), Before Midnight (2013)

52. Peter Craig

Writer | The Town

Peter Craig is an American screenwriter, producer and novelist from Los Angeles, California who is known for writing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Bad Boys for Life, Blood Father, 12 Strong, The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick and The Town. He is a son of Sally Field and Steve Craig. He has had three ...

Star score: 55 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Top Gun: Maverick (2022), The Town (2010), The Batman (2022), The Unforgivable (2021), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

53. Derek Kolstad

Writer | Nobody

Derek Kolstad was born on April 4, 1974 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Nobody (2021), John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017).

Star score: 54 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick (2014), Nobody (2021)

54. John Michael Hayes

Writer | Rear Window

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, John Michael Hayes began his writing career as a newspaper reporter. Following service with the US Army during WWII, he moved to California where he wrote for such radio dramas as Sam Spade and Inner Sanctum. Moving to film in 1952, he has amassed credits which ...

Star score: 54 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), The Children's Hour (1961), Iron Will (1994), The Trouble with Harry (1955)

55. Jonathan Nolan

Writer | Westworld

Attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, graduating in 1994.

Graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1999. Majored in English.

Shortly after graduating from Georgetown University, Jonathan Nolan served as a production assistant on Memento (2000).

Wrote the short story, "...

Star score: 54 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Memento (2000), Interstellar (2014), The Prestige (2006)

56. Robert Mark Kamen

Writer | Le Cinquième Élément

Robert Mark Kamen was born on October 9, 1947 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Fifth Element (1997), The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and Taken 3 (2014). He is married to Evonne. They have three children.

Star score: 54 — Number of films seen: 7 — Favorites: The Karate Kid (1984), The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Fifth Element (1997), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

57. Bonnie Turner

Writer | Saturday Night Live

Bonnie Turner was born on August 28, 1940 in the USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) and Tommy Boy (1995). She is married to Terry Turner.

Star score: 53 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Coneheads (1993), Wayne's World (1992), Tommy Boy (1995), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Wayne's World 2 (1993)

58. Terry Turner

Writer | Saturday Night Live

Terry Turner was born on December 11, 1947 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) and Tommy Boy (1995).

Star score: 53 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Coneheads (1993), Wayne's World (1992), Tommy Boy (1995), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Wayne's World 2 (1993)

59. Paul Thomas Anderson

Director | Punch-Drunk Love

Anderson was born in 1970. He was one of the first of the "video store" generation of film-makers. His father was the first man on his block to own a V.C.R., and from a very early age Anderson had an infinite number of titles available to him. While film-makers like Spielberg cut their teeth making...

Star score: 52 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), There Will Be Blood (2007), The Master (2012)

60. Dan Gordon

Writer | Wyatt Earp

Dan Gordon was conceived in Alberta Canada, born in Los Angeles California and raised there and in the Valley of Jezreel in Israel.

His screen credits include "Rambo: Last Blood" (story by), " The Hurricane" (Academy Award nomination - Denzel Washington), "Wyatt Earp" (Kevin Costner), "Murder In The...

Star score: 52 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: The Hurricane (1999), Murder in the First (1995), Rambo: Last Blood (2019), Passenger 57 (1992), Big George Foreman (2023), Surf Ninjas (1993)

61. William Faulkner

Writer | To Have and Have Not

William Faulkner, one of the 20th century's most gifted novelists, wrote for the movies in part because he could not make enough money from his novels and short stories to support his growing number of dependants. The author of such acclaimed novels as "The Sound and the Fury" and "Absalom, Absalom...

Star score: 51 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: To Have and Have Not (1944), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), The Big Sleep (1946), Mildred Pierce (1945)

62. James Gunn

Writer | Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, to Leota and James Francis Gunn. He is from a large Catholic family, with Irish and Czech ancestry. His father and his uncles were all lawyers. He has been writing and performing as long as he can remember. He began making 8mm films at the age ...

Star score: 51 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), The Suicide Squad (2021), Dawn of the Dead (2004)

63. Casey Robinson

Writer | Captain Blood

Casey Robinson was born on October 17, 1903 in Logan, Utah, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Captain Blood (1935), Days of Glory (1944) and Diplomatic Courier (1952). He was married to Tamara Toumanova, Audray Dale and Joan Potts. He died on December 6, 1979 in Sydney, New South Wales, ...

Star score: 51 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Casablanca (1942), Dark Victory (1939), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Now, Voyager (1942), Passage to Marseille (1944)

64. Mario Puzo

Writer | The Godfather

Mario Puzo was born October 15, 1920, in "Hell's Kitchen" on Manhattan's (NY) West Side and, following military service in World War II, attended New York's New School for Social Research and Columbia University. His best-known novel, "The Godfather," was preceded by two critically acclaimed novels...

Star score: 50 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (1990/2020), Superman (1978)

65. Philip Kaufman

Writer | The Right Stuff

Director and screenwriter Philip Kaufman was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago and later Harvard Law School. He won the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at Cannes in 1965 for his film Goldstein (1964). He was the screenwriter for The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and was to ...

Star score: 50 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Right Stuff (1983), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

66. Jay Chandrasekhar

Director | Super Troopers

Jay Chandrasekhar was born on April 9, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a director and actor, known for Super Troopers (2001), Club Dread (2004) and Beerfest (2006). He has been married to Susan Clarke since September 18, 2005. They have three children.

Star score: 50 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Super Troopers (2001), Beerfest (2006), The Slammin' Salmon (2009), Super Troopers 2 (2018)

67. Kevin Heffernan

Actor | Super Troopers

Kevin Heffernan was born on May 25, 1968 in West Haven, Connecticut, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Super Troopers (2001), Club Dread (2004) and Beerfest (2006).

Star score: 50 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Super Troopers (2001), Beerfest (2006), The Slammin' Salmon (2009), Super Troopers 2 (2018)

68. Steve Lemme

Writer | Super Troopers

Steve Lemme was born on November 13, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Super Troopers (2001), Club Dread (2004) and Beerfest (2006). He has been married to Tiffany Chadderton since April 15, 2010. They have two children. He was previously married to Sandra.

Star score: 50 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Super Troopers (2001), Beerfest (2006), The Slammin' Salmon (2009), Super Troopers 2 (2018)

69. David Ayer

Producer | End of Watch

David Ayer is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. David Ayer was born in Champaign, Illinois and grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Bethesda, Maryland, where he was kicked out of his house by his parents as a teenager. Ayer then lived with his cousin in Los Angeles, ...

Star score: 50 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: End of Watch (2012), Training Day (2001), Fury (2014), Harsh Times (2005), The Fast and the Furious (2001), S.W.A.T. (2003)

70. Christopher Guest

Actor | This Is Spinal Tap

U.S.-born actor, director, writer, musician, and composer best known for his mockumentaries, poking fun at heavy metal music, small town theatre, dog shows, folk music and film-making itself, Christopher Haden-Guest was born February fifth, 1948, in New York City. His mother, Jean Pauline (Hindes),...

Star score: 49 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Best in Show (2000), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), A Mighty Wind (2003), The Big Picture (1989)

71. John Lasseter

Writer | Toy Story 2

Although born in Hollywood, John and his twin sister Johanna were raised in Whittier near Los Angeles. His parents were Jewell Mae (Risley), an art teacher, and Paul Eual Lasseter, a parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership. His mother's profession contributed to his interest in animation and ...

Star score: 49 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 4 (2019), A Bug's Life (1998), Cars (2006)

72. Adam Sandler

Actor | The Waterboy

Adam Richard Sandler was born September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York, to Judith (Levine), a teacher at a nursery school, and Stanley Alan Sandler, an electrical engineer. He is of Russian Jewish descent. At 17, he took his first step towards becoming a stand-up comedian when he spontaneously took ...

Star score: 48 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Happy Gilmore (1996), Billy Madison (1995), The Waterboy (1998), Big Daddy (1999), Little Nicky (2000)

73. Harriet Frank Jr.

Writer | Hud

Harriet Frank Jr. was born on March 2, 1923 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Hud (1963), The Cowboys (1972) and Norma Rae (1979). She was married to Irving Ravetch. She died on January 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Star score: 48 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Hombre (1967), Hud (1963), Home from the Hill (1960), The Cowboys (1972)

74. Walter Bernstein

Writer | The Front

Blacklisted writer in the 1950s, a victim of the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), he still continued to write under pseudonyms as did many other blacklisted writers such as Ring Lardner Jr. and Dalton Trumbo, and his biggest contribution during that time was probably his writing work ...

Star score: 48 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Fail Safe (1964), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Fail Safe (2000 TV Movie), Miss Evers' Boys (1997 TV Movie), The Train (1964), Paris Blues (1961)

75. Irving Ravetch

Writer | Hud

Irving Ravetch was born on November 14, 1920 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Hud (1963), The Cowboys (1972) and Norma Rae (1979). He was married to Harriet Frank Jr.. He died on September 19, 2010 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Star score: 48 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Hombre (1967), Hud (1963), Home from the Hill (1960), The Cowboys (1972)

76. Philip Yordan

Writer | Detective Story

Philip Yordan was born on April 1, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Detective Story (1951), Broken Lance (1954) and Dillinger (1945). He was married to Faith Clift and Marilyn Nash. He died on March 24, 2003 in La Jolla, California, USA.

Star score: 48 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Detective Story (1951), Johnny Guitar (1954), The Harder They Fall (1956), No Way Out (1950), The Man from Laramie (1955)

77. Leigh Brackett

Writer | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Leigh Douglass Brackett was born in 1915 in Los Angeles. She was the author of numerous short stories and books regarding science fiction and has been referred to as the Queen of Space Opera. Hollywood director Howard Hawks was so impressed by one of her novels that he had his secretary call in "...

Star score: 47 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959), El Dorado (1966)

78. Tennessee Williams

Writer | A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams met long-term partner Frank Merlo in the summer of 1948 (Merlo died of lung cancer in the fall of 1963). Though separated briefly in 1961 and again in 1962, the two were partners for 15 years. Merlo acted as his personal manager/secretary.

Williams spent much of his most prolific ...

Star score: 47 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

79. Martin McDonagh

Writer | In Bruges

Martin McDonagh was born on March 26, 1970 in Camberwell, London, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).

Star score: 46 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), In Bruges (2008), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Seven Psychopaths (2012)

80. Robert Rossen

Writer | The Hustler

Robert Rossen was born on March 16, 1908 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Hustler (1961), All the King's Men (1949) and Alexander the Great (1956). He was married to Sarah (Sue) Siegel. He died on February 18, 1966 in New York City, New York, USA.

Star score: 46 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: The Hustler (1961), The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), The Sea Wolf (1941)

81. Dan Aykroyd

Writer | Ghostbusters

Daniel Edward Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Hélène (Gougeon), a secretary from a French-Canadian family, and Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd, a civil engineer who advised prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Aykroyd attended Carleton University in 1969, where...

Star score: 46 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Coneheads (1993), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Dragnet (1987), The Blues Brothers (1980)

82. John Wexley

Writer | Angels with Dirty Faces

John Wexley was born on September 14, 1907 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Last Mile (1932) and Hangmen Also Die! (1943). He died on February 4, 1985 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, USA.

Star score: 46 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), City for Conquest (1940), The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)

83. 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 ...

Star score: 45 — Number of films seen: 3 — Favorites: Back to the Future (1985), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990)

84. Bob Gale

Writer | Back to the Future

Bob Gale is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter-producer-director, best known as co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels. Gale was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Cinema from the University of Southern ...

Star score: 45 — Number of films seen: 3 — Favorites: Back to the Future (1985), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990)

85. Cameron Crowe

Writer | Almost Famous

Certainly idiosyncratic as a writer, Cameron Crowe has created a series of scripts that, while liked by the critics, were considered offbeat and difficult to market.

Cameron Bruce Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California, to Alice Marie Crowe (née George), a teacher and activist, and James A. ...

Star score: 45 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Almost Famous (2000), Singles (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), Vanilla Sky (2001)

86. John Milius

Writer | Conan the Barbarian

John Milius is a screenwriter and director who came to prominence in the 1970s, when he was associated with Francis Ford Coppola and the pre-Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) George Lucas. Born on April 11, 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri, Milius was one of the first movie industry ...

Star score: 45 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Apocalypse Now (1979), Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Clear and Present Danger (1994)

87. Carl Foreman

Writer | The Guns of Navarone

Carl Foreman was born on July 23, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Guns of Navarone (1961), High Noon (1952) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). He was married to Estelle Barr and Evelyn Smith. He died on June 26, 1984 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, ...

Star score: 44 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), High Noon (1952), Champion (1949), Young Man with a Horn (1950), The Guns of Navarone (1961)

88. Robert Benton

Writer | Kramer vs. Kramer

Robert Douglas Benton is an American screenwriter and filmmaker from Waxahachie, Texas who is known for screenwriting Bonnie & Clyde, Kramer vs. Kramer and Superman. He won two Academy Awards for writing and directing Kramer vs. Kramer. He directed other feature films including Twilight, Bad ...

Star score: 44 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Nobody's Fool (1994), Superman (1978), Twilight (1998)

89. 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 ...

Star score: 44 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed III (2023), Creed (2015), Black Panther (2018), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

90. Will Ferrell

Producer | Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

John William Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, to Betty Kay (Overman), a teacher, and Roy Lee Ferrell, Jr., a musician. His parents were originally from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Ferrell became interested in performing while a student ...

Star score: 44 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Step Brothers (2008), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

91. Danny Strong

Producer | Dopesick

Danny Strong started his career as an actor in numerous classic films and TV shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls, then transitioned into screenwriting, exploding onto the scene with his 2007 script Recount which was #1 on the Hollywood Blacklist and became an award winning HBO ...

Star score: 44 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Game Change (2012 TV Movie), The Butler (2013), Recount (2008 TV Movie), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

92. Ranald MacDougall

Writer | Mildred Pierce

Ranald MacDougall was born on March 10, 1915 in Schenectady, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Mildred Pierce (1945), The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). He was married to Nanette Fabray and Lucille Margaret Brophy. He died on December 12, 1973 in ...

Star score: 44 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Mildred Pierce (1945), We're No Angels (1955), Possessed (1947), Cleopatra (1963), Stage Fright (1950)

93. Ben Affleck

Producer | Argo

Benjamin Géza "Ben" Affleck-Boldt was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to mother Chris Anne (Boldt), a school teacher, and father Timothy Byers "Tim" Affleck, a social worker. Ben has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, who was born in 1975...

Star score: 43 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Good Will Hunting (1997), Gone Baby Gone (2007), The Town (2010), The Last Duel (2021)

94. Robert Towne

Writer | Chinatown

Writer, director, producer, actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, USA, and raised in the seaport town of San Pedro. Got his start acting and writing for legendary exploitation director/producer Roger Corman. Came into his own during the 1970s when he was regarded as one of the finest ...

Star score: 43 — Number of films seen: 6 — Favorites: Chinatown (1974), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Mission: Impossible (1996), The Firm (1993), Mission: Impossible II (2000), Days of Thunder (1990)

95. Todd Phillips

Producer | Joker

Todd Phillips is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.

Growing up on Long Island, New York, Todd Phillips fell in love with feature film teen comedies made in the 1980s, and claims they were his biggest influence in becoming a filmmaker. While studying film at New York University, ...

Star score: 42 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Joker (2019), War Dogs (2016), Old School (2003), Road Trip (2000), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

96. Jerry Zucker

Producer | Airplane!

Jerry Zucker was born on March 11, 1950 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Airplane! (1980), Ghost (1990) and Top Secret! (1984). He has been married to Janet Zucker since May 1987. They have two children.

Star score: 42 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Airplane! (1980), The Naked Gun: from the Files of Police Squad!, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Top Secret! (1984)

97. J.J. Abrams

Producer | Lost

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, the son of TV producer parents. At 15, he wrote the music for Don Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). In his senior year of college, he and Jill Mazursky teamed up to write a feature film, which became Taking Care of Business (1990)....

Star score: 42 — Number of films seen: 5 — Favorites: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Regarding Henry (1991), Forever Young (1992)

98. Nick Schenk

Writer | Gran Torino

Nick Schenk is known for Gran Torino (2008), The Mule (2018) and Narcos (2015).

Star score: 41 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Gran Torino (2008), A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), The Mule (2018), Cry Macho (2021)

99. 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 ...

Star score: 40 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Mean Streets (1973), Silence (2016)

100. John Steinbeck

Writer | Lifeboat

John Steinbeck was the third of four children and the only son born to John Ernst and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck. His father was County Treasurer and his mother, a former schoolteacher. John graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and attended classes at Stanford University, leaving in 1925 ...

Star score: 40 — Number of films seen: 4 — Favorites: The Grapes of Wrath (1940), East of Eden (1955), Lifeboat (1944), Of Mice and Men (1992)