Top Directors
by hiddenagenda1 | created - 30 Mar 2011 | updated - 05 Jan 2013 | Public
1. Wes Craven
Writer | A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.
Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on ...
Best Movie: Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn (1995)
2. David Fincher
Director | Se7en
David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials...
Best Movie: The Game (1997)
3. Hideo Nakata
Director | Honogurai mizu no soko kara
Born in Kinko-cho, Asakuchi-gun (present-day Asakuchi City), Okayama Prefecture. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as Ring (1998), Ring 2 (1999) and Dark Water (2002). Several of these were remade in English as The Ring (2002), Dark Water (2005), ...
Best Movie: Ring 2 (1999)
4. Dwight H. Little
Director | Tekken
A DGA member since 1988, Mr. Little has directed studio movies for
Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures, and has also directed
multiple independent movies with wide theatrical release. Mr. Little has also directed
three prime time television movies and 90 hours of Network series ...
Best Movie: The Phantom of the Opera (1989)
5. Fred Walton
Director | When a Stranger Calls
Fred Walton is known for When a Stranger Calls (1979), The Rosary Murders (1987) and When a Stranger Calls (2006). He has been married to Barbara Boles since 1979. They have two children.
Best Movie: When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)
6. Chris Angel
Director | This Is Not a Test
Christopher (Chris) Angel won a student Academy Award for his film, Mr. October, and was nominated for an Emmy for his work for director James Cameron. He has directed five feature films, and recently completed the screenplay adaptation of Thomas Keneally's (Schindler's List) book about Africa, To ...
Best Movie: Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001)
7. Joseph Zito
Director | Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Joseph Zito is a well known action film director. Three of his movies--Missing in Action (1984), Invasion U.S.A. (1985) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)--each reached the #1 box office position of top grossing film in the country in their opening weeks of U.S. theatrical release. "...
Best Movie: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
8. Jack Sholder
Director | The Hidden
Known for The Hidden, Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and Alone in the Dark, Jack Sholder was born in Philadelphia where he studied to become a classical trumpet player. While still in high school, he performed under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. After a year studying chemical...
Best Movie: A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
9. Kenny Ortega
Director | High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Kenny Ortega was born on April 18, 1950 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), Michael Jackson's 'This Is It': Auditions - Searching for the World's Best Dancers (2010) and Descendants 3 (2019).
Best Movie: Hocus Pocus (1993)
10. Don Bluth
Director | Anastasia
Don Bluth was one of the chief animators at Disney to come to the mantle after the great one's death. He eventually became the animation director for such films as The Rescuers (1977) and Pete's Dragon (1977). Unfortunately, the quality of animation that Disney was producing at this point was not ...
Best Movie: The Land Before Time (1988)
11. Chris Columbus
Producer | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Ohio, Chris Columbus was first inspired to make movies after seeing "The Godfather" at age 15. After enrolling at NYU film school, he sold his first screenplay (never produced) while a sophomore there. After graduation Columbus tried to sell his fourth script, "...
Best Movie: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
12. Stuart Margolin
Actor | Death Wish
Stuart Margolin, the Emmy Award-winning actor and director, was born in Davenport, Iowa. He won two Best Supporting Actor Emmies playing James Garner's former cell-mate "Angel" Martin in The Rockford Files (1974).
Margolin made his debut in The Gertrude Berg Show (1961) before becoming a series ...
Best Movie: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993
13. Michael M. Scott
Director | Dangerous Lies
Michael M. Scott is known for Dangerous Lies (2020), Cedar Cove (2013) and The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2008).
Best Movie: Fatal Lessons: The Good Teacher (2004)
14. George Erschbamer
Special_effects | First Blood
George Erschbamer was born in 1954. He is a director and writer, known for First Blood (1982), Fire Twister (2015) and Rocky IV (1985).
Best Movie: Stranger in My Bed (2005)
15. David Irving
Director | Rumpelstiltskin
David Irving was born on September 25, 1949 in Santa Clara County, California, USA. He is a director and production manager, known for Rumpelstiltskin (1987), Night of the Cyclone (1990) and The Emperor's New Clothes (1987).
Best Movie: Rumpelstiltskin (1987)
16. Penelope Buitenhuis
Director | A Wake
Penelope is an award winning writer and director with a distinguished career working in Europe, Japan, Canada and the US. Most recently she co-wrote and directed A Wake which won best feature at numerous festivals, receiving first prize for the screenplay at the Rhode Island Film Festival and ...
Best Movie: The Secret of Hidden Lake (2006)
17. Michael Schultz
Director | Cooley High
Michael Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Cooley High (1975), Car Wash (1976) and Krush Groove (1985). He has been married to Lauren Jones since December 6, 1965. They have two children.
Best Movie: Scavenger Hunt (1979)
18. Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Director | Third Watch
Félix Enríquez Alcalá was born on March 7, 1951 in Bakersfield, California, USA. He is a director and cinematographer, known for Third Watch (1999), Battlestar Galactica (2004) and Dollhouse (2009).
Best Movie: Seduced and Betrayed (1995)
19. Joe Johnston
Director | Captain America: The First Avenger
Joseph Eggleston Johnston II is an American film director from Texas who is known for directing the cult classic film The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Wolfman, October Sky, The Pagemaster, Jurassic Park III and Captain America: The First Avenger. He was an art director for ...
Best Movie: Jumanji (1995)
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