Yes, he is badass. And should be over a LOT of these guys.
49. Mary Harron
I love that just because she's a woman her work apparently subverts the patriarchy or whatever. I'm in a women's studies class and OH MY GOD, GUYS, I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE, WHITE WOMEN WHO ARE WEALTHY ENOUGH TO MAKE FILMS AREN'T THE MOST OPPRESSED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD CAN WE MOVE ON????? ahem
48. Michael Moore
He's an absolute beyond obnoxious asshole........ and he's generally right as all hell. His movies are very strong.
47. Andrew Stanton
Well seeing as he's made, like, ALL my favorite movies, yes. I just never know who's really in charge of what in an animated movie, stupid as that might sound.
46. Mira Nair
Her work is beautiful, but often doesn't do all that much for me. I feel very underinformed about the Indian culture, though.
45. Wes Anderson
Sometimes he's great. Sometimes he's crap. I'll always love him for having a man-crush on Bill Murray and constantly keeping him employed, though.
44. Wong Kar-Wai
OMG MAKE HIM HIGHER NOWWWWW
43. David Lynch
Eh. He's very overrated, but I can't deny how much I love Blue Velvet. Oh, and Lost Highway formed a cult? Mulholland Dr. was a masterpiece? See, EW, this is why I call him overrated.
42. Spike Lee
HELL YES. Not always great, not always even good, but when he's on, this guy is on. And he's on quite a bit. He should be much higher.
41. Richard Linklater
Very uneven.
40. Spike Jonze
So weird. I do like some of his movies a whole lot, though.
39. Roman Polanski
There is no denying he is a legend, but his work lately has been meh.
38. Oliver Stone
Sometimes I love him and sometimes I want to punch him in the jaw. Oooh, I really need to see W.
37. Mike Leigh
Love him, even if Happy-Go-Lucky and Sally Hawkins' performance in it were huge disappointments. His methods of working are just great, and he looks like a cuddly uncle.
36. Hayao Miyazaki
Uh, yeah. He's basically flawless. He and Pixar should just make every animated movie and nobody else should even bother.
35. Alfonso Cuaron
A little too technical, a little overpraised, but still very good.
34. JJ Abrams
I haven't seen a whole lot of what he's done, because it's mostly TV stuff, but yeah, he is extraordinarily influential with a huge fanbase.
33. Wachowski brothers
No. =/ Hated The Matrix, all of them.
32. Mel Gibson
Again, no. =/
31. Sam Mendes
I adore him, but I don't think he'll ever make a film that will live up to American Beauty. That thing is fuckin' flawless.
30. Bryan Singer
He made The Usual Suspects, which was badass and which I always forget he did. For that, I've got a lot of respect for him. I would have liked to see his take on Milk because IIRC he was originally slated to direct.
29. Sofia Coppola
I LOVE YOU RIGHT NOW EW. PLEASE MAKE HER HIGHER.
28. David Cronenberg
Eh. A History of Violence was pretty much perfect though.
27. Brad Bird
The favorite films of mine Andrew Stanton didn't make, this guy did.
26. Woody Allen
Yup. Lately he's been on a sort of creative renaissance too, which is great. He should be much higher, and beat...
25. Jon Favreau
Uh. I loved Iron Man, you loved Iron Man, we all loved Iron Man, but he does not deserve to be this high yet.
24. Pedro Almodovar
Love him, hate EW's explanation. "HURRRR HE SHOWS OFF PENELOPE'S TITS A+++!!!!"
23. Paul Greengrass
He really is a very good director, but I can't say I LOVE any of his films.
22. Paul Thomas Anderson
YES HIGHER PLZ KTHNXBYEEEEE
21. Ang Lee
He is such an asshole, as I have whined about before, but yes, an excellent director.
20. Ron Howard
His movies are usually good but not GREAT. I don't think he deserves a Best Director Oscar, but I did loooove Apollo 13.
19. Clint Eastwood
Like him, don't love him. I don't get the Academy's hard-on for him, or the bloggers' hate-on for him.
18. Danny Boyle
LOOK GUISE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE WE ARE TRENDY. He's a good director, but not this good.
17. Darren Aronofsky
YES. Also, EW, you morons, you weren't sure he was concerned with human beings until The Wrestler? Did you see The Fountain or Requiem for a Dream? Idiots.
16. Zack Snyder
Well... I'll always appreciate that he made the cheesefest that is 300.
15. Sam Raimi
Yes, though probably not this high. And stop hating on Spider-Man 3!
14. Judd Apatow
Oh, I was wondering when he was going to show up. Seeing how this is EW, I think we should all be happy he's not in the top ten... get off his cock, Entertainment Weekly. And yes, when it comes to EW and Judd Apatow, I will always say the crudest thing possible. I think it's what Judd would want.
13. Tim Burton
He's not really my kind of director to be honest but he's prolific and he's made some very good films. I just think he's overrated and shouldn't be this high.
12. David Fincher
Yes. Of course, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is like his worst film, and the one he gets an Oscar nomination for, because that's how these things work.
11. Guillermo del Toro
He shouldn't be this high. He's very inventive, but that's... about... it.
10. Joel & Ethan Coen
Ugh, I love them. For some reason, they get misanthropy and dark comedy SO PERFECT.
9. James Cameron
Ummmmm... maybe. Definitely not top ten in my world.
8. Michael Mann
OHHHH MAN, I LOVE YOU FOR THIS ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. Well, except Miami Vice. Man, that movie was bad, and all the people trying to justify it were even worse. People, there are better ways to subvert stupid ass summer movies than by MAKING THEM SUPER BORING.
7. Quentin Tarantino
Yes. He can basically do no wrong in my book.
6. Ridley Scott
In the past, maybe, but he's been in such a slump lately, unfortunately. I do need to see Body of Lies and judge for myself.
5. Steven Soderbergh
I LOOOOVE how he effortlessly moves between genres, from summer blockbusters to typical Oscarbait to weird-ass crap. Certainly one of the most important and yes, probably best directors of our time.
4. Christopher Nolan
Heck yes. I'm not exactly a fangirl, but I love how he subverts mainstream films and makes them thirty times more interesting. Like, Michael-Mann-directing-Miami-Vice, you need to learn from this guy.
3. Martin Scorsese
Why is he not #1? Look, I love Spielberg and like Jackson, but there's really no excuse.
2. Peter Jackson
I like him, but don't ZOMGLOTRLOOOOVE him.
1. Steven Spielberg
I'd put him more in the top five than #1 itself, but yeah, there's no doubt he has a very strong ouevre. And I think he's badass and really like him.
