Today's Auteur Elite
Over the last 10-15 years a new era of great, new (mostly) American directors has emerged. In the time since, these directors have all been working at a similar pace, all releasing five, six or seven films alongside each other. We calculated a score for each director and ranked them amongst their peers accordingly. We’ve also posted each director’s average and a few notes about what they’re doing next. Directors with a “*” next to their name are also known for writing most or all of their films themselves. As you’ll notice, they ones with the “*” are usually our favorites. Long live the auteur!
(Note: Some may find out No. 1 pick a bit controversial, as his work is not for
everyone. We feel that he‘s the a sort of Jean-Luc Godard for his time in that he’s
both incredibly technically sound while also being - more than anything
else - stylish and inventive.)
#1 - WES ANDERSON*
1. The Royal Tenenbaums - 10/10
2. Rushmore - 10/10
3. The Life Aquatic - 10/10
4. Bottle Rocket - 10/10
5. The Darjeeling Limited - 9/10
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox - 9/10
AVERAGE - 9.67
IN THE WORKS: The Rosenthaler Suite. Producer Brian Grazer reportedly paid Anderson to write a US adaptation of the French film My Best Friend. Anderson changed the name and is now working on a second draft. Whether or not he plans to direct and produce is yet to be confirmed. Word is that Noah Baumbach (who may or may not be writing with Anderson on this project) is Grazer’s back-up director.
#2 - CHRISTOPHER NOLAN*
1. The Dark Knight - 10/10
2. Inception - 10/10
3. Memento - 10/10
4. The Prestige - 9.5/10
5. Batman Begins - 9.5/10
6. Insomnia - 8.75/10
7. Following - 8.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.48
IN THE WORKS - With Inception just released, Nolan is now said to be full-go on his third and final Batman film. He’s been writing here and there and has at times seemed very happy/excited about his ideas for how to close out his much-labored trilogy. It’ll be good. Not only will it be good, but expect it to do very well and be very, very big and brilliant.
#3 - QUENTIN TARANTINO*
1. Pulp Fiction - 10/10
2. Kill Bill, Vol. 2 - 10/10
3. Inglorious Basterds - 10/10
4. Jackie Brown - 9.5/10
5. Reservoir Dogs - 9.5/10
6. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 - 9.5/10
7. Death Proof - 7/10
AVERAGE - 9.36
IN THE WORKS - After starting his career out with a huge number of writing projects, some acting projects, some collaborations and both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino has really slowed down his production. Who really knows what he plans to do next. QT has said that he’s focusing on a third Kill Bill film, but don’t be surprised if that gets shelved in favor of something brand new (he‘s also said that there will be a film before Kill Bill 3, but that 3 will be his ninth film). The mouthy auteur has also talked about an Inglourious Basterds prequel and the long-discussed Double V Vega. He’s supposedly written most of the latter, but has decided that its time has past, due to the actors ages (the film was supposed to be a prequel for his two Vega characters).
#4 (tie) - PT ANDERSON*
1. Boogie Nights - 10/10
2. There Will Be Blood - 10/10
3. Punch-Drunk Love - 9/10
4. Magnolia - 9/10
5. Hard Eight - 8.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.3
IN THE WORKS - The Master (working title) is the name of PT’s new baby. The film is about a charismatic intellectual who establishes a new religion in the 1950s. Philip Seymour Hoffman is said to have the lead role, which is said to be based on L. Rob Hubbard, the writer credited for establishing Scientology. Thus far, everyone who has had a look at the script is supposedly “in love” with the story and writing. Jeremy Renner is thus far attached as the second lead.
#4 (tie) - DAVID GORDON GREEN*
1. George Washington - 10/10
2. All the Real Girls - 10/10
3. Snow Angels - 9/10
4. Pineapple Express - 9/10
5. Undertow - 8.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.3
IN THE WORKS - DGG has two films set for 2011 release. First if Your Highness, starring Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel. A comedic period piece written by Danny McBride, we’re not so sure that Your Highness is the kind of film we want to see from DGG (he’s best off doing very pretty, very poetic dramas), but it’ll definitely look good, be full of style and probably cause some solid laughs. After Your Highness we have Suspiria, Green’s remake of Dario Argento’s 1977 horror classic.
#6 (tie) - ALFONSO CUARON*
1. Y Tu Mama Tambien - 10/10
2. Children of Men - 10/10
3. The Prizoner of Azkaban - 9.5/10
4. Great Expectations - 9/10
5. Solo con tu pareja - 9/10
6. A Little Princess - 8/10
AVERAGE - 9.25
IN THE WORKS - A film called Gravity is in the works, but, for now we have A Boy and His Shoe to look forward to, which should be out in 2011. Little is known about either project.
#6 (tie) - JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET*
1. Amelia - 10/10
2. The City of Lost Children - 9.5/10
3. Delicatessen - 9.5/10
4. A Very Long Engagement - 9.25/10
5. Alien Resurrection - 8/10
Haven’t Seen - Micmacs
AVERAGE - 9.25
IN THE WORKS - Having recently pulled out of directing Life of Pi, Jeunet is currently looking for his next project while writing. Micmacs just saw a US release and will be on DVD soon. Looks very promising.
#8 - DAVID FINCHER
1. Fight Club - 10/10
2. Zodiac - 9.5/10
3. Se7en - 9.5/10
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 8.75/10
5. The Game - 8.5/10
6. Panic Room - 8/10
7. Alien 3 - 7.5/10
AVERAGE - 8.96
IN THE WORKS - If there’s any director in the US who has a lot in the works, it’s David Fincher. We’ll see his Facebook-themed film, The Social Network (starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake), before the end of 2010. Other films Fincher is attached to and may or may not end up ever directing: Ness, The Killer, Black Hole, The Goon, Heavy Metal, Chef and Pawn Sacrifice. Many or all of these projects have been put aside since Fincher recently signed on to direct the US versions of writer Karl Stif-Erland Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. Look for the first of that series to come out at the end of 2011.
#9 - NOAH BAUMBACH*
1. The Squid and the Whale - 10/10
2. Kicking and Screaming - 10/10
3. Margot at the Wedding - 9/10
4. Greenberg - 9/10
5. Mr. Jealousy - 8.25/10
6. Highball - 7/10
AVERAGE - 8.875
IN THE WORKS - Noah Baumbach’s next film, The Emperor’s Child, should be released in mid- to late-2011 and stars Keira Knightly, Eric Bana, Michelle Williams and Richard Gere. Little is known about the film thus far, though we do know that Baumbach wrote it and it’s about a group of Brown University graduates pushing 30 in the months leading up to 9/11. So I suppose we could assume that it’ll come out around the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.
#10 - SAM MENDES
1. American Beauty - 9.5/10
2. Revolutionary Road - 9/10
3. Road to Perdition - 8.75/10
4. Away We Go - 8.5/10
5. Jarhead - 8/10
AVERAGE - 8.75
IN THE WORKS - Bond 23. Seriously. Weird, right? I’m sure it’ll do well and probably help Mendes get a few more artsy flicks made.
#11 - TODD HAYNES*
1. I’m Not There - 10/10
2. Velvet Goldmine - 9.5/10
3. Far From Heaven - 9/10
4. Safe - 8/10
5. Poison - 7/10
AVERAGE - 8.7
IN THE WORKS - Haynes is currently working on a five-part mini-series based on writer James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce. Kate Winslet will star.
#12 - CAMERON CROWE*
1. Almost Famous - 10/10
2. Singles - 10/10
3. Say Anything - 9/10
4. Jerry Maguire - 8.5/10
5. Elizabethtown - 7/10
6. Vanilla Sky - 6.5/10
AVERAGE - 8.5
IN THE WORKS - Crowe is working on a Pearl Jam documentary while also developing an adaptation of We Bought a Zoo. He was set to begin production on his next major release, Deep Tiki (set to star Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon) in 2009 when the studio pulled the funding for the time being. No definitive word yet on whether or not the movie will ever be made.
#13 - MICHEL GONDRY
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 10/10
2. The Science of Sleep - 9/10
3. Human Nature - 9/10
4. Be Kind Rewind - 8/10
5. Block Party - 6/10
AVERAGE - 8.4
IN THE WORKS - The Green Hornet, written by star Seth Rogen, is Gondry’s next project. Hmm. Could be good, could be awful.
#14 - MARK FORSTER
1. Monster’s Ball - 9.5/10
2. Stranger Than Fiction - 9/10
3. Finding Neverland - 8.5/10
4. Quantum of Solace - 8/10
5. Stay - 7.5/10
6. Everything Put Together - 7/10
7. The Kite Runner - 6/10
AVERAGE - 7.93
IN THE WORKS - Forster is currently filming Machine Gun Preacher. Once that wraps he’ll start pre-production on The Chancellor Manuscript. Forster ALWAYS has something in the works.
#15 (tie) - M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN*
1. Unbreakable - 10/10
2. Signs - 9.5/10
3. Lady In the Water - 8.75/10
4. The Sixth Sense - 8/10
5. The Happening - 7.75/10
6. The Village - 6/10
7. The Last Airbender - 4/10
AVERAGE - 7.71
IN THE WORKS - Shyamalan will focus on producing for a while, beginning with The Night Series, three films based on his own stories. The first of the series, titled Devil, will be released this year. Looks pretty damn good.
#15 (tie) - TOM TYKWER
1. Run Lola Run - 10/10
2. The Princess and the Warrior - 9/10
3. Perfume - 9/10
4. The International - 8/10
5. Heaven - 7/10
6. Winter sleepers - 6/10
7. Deadly Maria - 5/10
AVERAGE - 7.71
IN THE WORKS - A collection of six stories told at different times and places (yet, of course, related to each other), Tykwer’s next film, Cloud Atlas, stars Tom hanks, Natalie Portman and James McAvoy. This should be Tykwer’s biggest film in the US market to date. Basd on the noel by Luke Howard.
Pt. 2: THE MID-GENERATION UP-AND-COMERS
After compiling a list of our favorite directors who are leading the current generation (most of whom started out in the early- to mid-90s), we decided to put together a list of directors who are still getting started and have two or three (and in one case, four) films to their name. Most of these folks started their directorial career in the early- to mid-2000s and are working on their third or fourth film at the moment. All of the below listed directors are working on what we’re sure they hope will be their big breakthrough film.
#1 - RYAN FLECK
1. Half Nelson - 10/10
2. Sugar - 9.75/10
AVERAGE - 9.88
IN THE WORKS - After directing seven episodes of HBO’s “In Treatment” (that’s seven hour of screen work!!), Fleck went back to work on his third film, titled It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Said to be a bigger production than Fleck’s first two excellent films, Funny will star Emma Roberts, Zach Falifianakis, Viola Davis, Jim Gaffigan, Daniel London and more. It’s on the schedule for a fall 2010 release, but word is that it might get pushed to early 2011 despite being a possible Oscar contender.
#2 - TODD FIELD
1. In the Bedroom - 10/10
2. Little Children - 9.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.75
IN THE WORKS - Todd Field takes his sweet time, putting out a film every five years. Since In the Bedroom came out in 2001 and Little Children in 2006, you guessed it, his next film, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, will be released next yet. Ridley Scott was originally signed on to direct.
#3 - ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU
1. Amores Perros - 10/10
2. Babel - 9.5/10
3. 21 Grams - 9.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.67
IN THE WORKS - Inarritu’s long-labored fourth film, Biutiful, nearly won the Palme d’Or at Cannes a few months ago, lead actor Javier Bardem walking away with Best Actor honors. Look for this film, set for a fall 2010 release, to continue Inarritu’s huge winning streak, likely nabbing some serious Oscar attention along the way.
#4 - RAMIN BAHRANI
1. Chop Shop - 10/10
2. Goodbye Solo - 10/10
3. Man Push Cart - 8.25/10
AVERAGE - 9.42
IN THE WORKS - Bahrani’s last two films, which cost almost nothing to make compared to most every other film on this list, are classics. And not small classic, major art house classics - especially Chop Shop. Bahrani, who also released an EXCELLENT short, titled Plastic Bag, in 2009, releases a film every two years, so don’t be surprised if some news of a new script surfaces soon. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets big studio money and name actors this time around. We kind of hope not.
#5 - MARY HARRON
1. American Psycho - 10/10
2. I Shot Andy Warhol - 10/10
3. The Notorious Bettie Page - 8/10
AVERAGE - 9.33
IN THE WORKS - Like many of the directors on this list, Harron takes her time, putting out a new film every five or so years. She currently has a short, Sonnet for a Towncar, playing at festivals. Hopefully word of a new feature length project appears soon, as it’s been five years since Notorious was released.
#6 - SPIKE JONZE
1. Adaption - 10/10
2. Being John Malkovich - 9.5/10
3. Where the Wild Things Are - 8.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.33
IN THE WOKS - Another director who takes his time, always attempting to make both perfect and inventive films, Jonze recently released his new 30-minute short film, I’m Here, to festival audiences. The film, about two robots living in LA during a time where humans and robots co-exist (True Blood style), is the first written entirely by Jonze. No word yet, but the rumor is that Jonze is hoping to secure funding to make I’m Here into a feature film.
#7 (tie) - JASON REITMAN
1. Up In the Air - 9.5/10
2. Juno - 9/10
3. Thank You For Smoking - 8.5/10
AVERAGE - 9.0
IN THE WORKS - Fresh off a near Best Director win, Reitman is now working on his fourth feature film, an adaptation of Joyce Maynard’s new novel, Labor Day.
#7 (tie) - ALEXANDER PAYNE*
1. About Schmidt - 9.5/10
2. Sideways - 9.5/10
3. Election - 9.5/10
4. Citizen Ruth - 8/10
AVERAGE - 9
IN THE WORKS - After a slow decade that included his breakthrough film, Sideways, and a divorce from his now more popular wife (whatshername from “Grey’s Anatomy” and Sideways), Alexander Payne finally seems to be back at it. With his new dramedy, The Descendants, starring George Clooney and Judy Greer, already finished up and ready for an early 2011 release, Payne has already begun work on what will be his sixth film, Fork in the Road, set for a late 2011/early 2012 release.
#9 - GREG MOTOLLA
1. Adventureland - 9.75/10
2. Superbad - 9/10
3. The Daytrippers - 8/10
AVERAGE - 8.92
NEXT - Motolla’s fourth feature film, Paul, should be a pretty big one. Written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Paul has a huge comedy cast, including Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jane Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Simon Pegg, Jason Baseman, Bill Hader, Nick Frost and loads more. Motolla has even cast “Friday Night Lights’” Jesse Plemons, once of our favorite young actors. As usual for Motolla, we can expect more than your everyday Apatow-era comedy. Should be the greatstuff.
#10 - STEPHEN DALDRY
1. The Hours - 9/10
2. The Reader - 9/10
3. Billy Elliot - 8/10
AVERAGE - 8.67
IN THE WORKS - Known mostly for his theater work, Stephen Daldry has no film projects planned right now.
#11 - SOFIA COPPOLA
1. Lost In Translation - 9.5/10
2. The Virgin Suicides - 8.5/10
3. Marie Antoinette - 7/10
AVERAGE - 8.33
IN THE WORKS - Said to be influenced by Sofia’s experiences growing up a Hollywood brat, the director’s fourth film, the much anticipated Somewhere, is set for a December 22 release. Starring Stephen Dorff as Johnny Marco, a Hollywood badboy who receives an unexpected visit from his 11-year-old daughter, Somewhere looks to put Coppola back on track. Great movie poster.
#12 - GEORGE CLOONEY
1. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - 9/10
2. Good Night and Good Luck - 9/10
3. Leatherheads - 6.5/10
AVERAGE - 8.17
IN THE WORKS - Known mostly as a workaholic actor, Clooney the Talented Director has no helmsman projects booked right now. Hopefully when he does start back up he’ll pick a better project than the very disappointing Leatherheads.
#12 (tie) - JUDD APATOW
1. The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 9/10
2. Knocked Up - 8.5/10
3. Funny People - 7/10
AVERAGE - 8.17
IN THE WORKS - Easily the most influential comedy director/writer/producer of the Naughts, Apatow is currently producing a number of projects while writing what will be his fourth film. His most recent work, Funny People, would’ve been great had he chopped off the third act entirely.
Written by G. William Locke