No, I haven’t forgotten how to count to 5. The new year has left me in a very generous mood and I’m offering double the amount of greatness without ranking any of it. What we have here are the directors who made the last 10 years of movies something special, putting their stamp on it and making it theirs.
Edgar Wright
Films directed last decade: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
Contribution to the oughts: The chicken, fed until plump on a steady diet of action, horror and comedy films in the 80′s and 90′s, has come home to roost. What Tarantino did in the 90′s by reviving forgotten films and genres, Edgar Wright took a step further by creating a whole new genre and celebrating the cultural building blocks that are the foundation of the next generation of moviegoers.
What’s coming next: Ant Man, an adaptation of the Marvel Comics character. Wouldn’t be my first choice, but I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
Christopher Nolan
Films directed last decade: Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010)
Contribution to the oughts: It might be getting tired, but Nolan’s greatest contribution has been bringing the art house to the multiplex and proving there is money to be made in doing so. It also can’t go unmentioned that he ran a clinic on what a superhero film should look like and how to bring all the newbies young and old under Batman’s wing.
What’s coming next: The geek set waits with bated breath for The Dark Knight Rises, what promises to be the last of the reimagined Batman films – directed by him anyway.
Sam Raimi
Films directed last decade: Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3 (2002, 2004 & 2007), Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Contribution to the oughts: While Christopher Nolan should be crowned king of the superhero film, Raimi was certainly 1st lieutenant on the vanguard of the comic book blockbuster. What was most impressive was that even when at the helm of Sony’s moneymaking juggernaut, he stayed true to the classic Raimi style.
What’s coming next: There are a number of rumoured titles in store for Sam, including a World of Warcraft movie, something to do with The Wizard of Oz, and perhaps even a fourth installment of The Evil Dead.
Peter Jackson
Films directed last decade: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001, 2002 & 2003), King Kong (2005), The Lovely Bones (2009)
Contribution to the oughts: Peter Jackson not only adapted the unadaptable, and opening the depths of nerd culture to the rest of the world (yes, deeper than comic books), he also single handedly put New Zealand’s film industry on the map. If nothing else, the guy should be chairman for life of NZ’s tourism bureau.
What’s coming next: The Hobbit, the almost not produced in New Zealand, but admittedly inevitable prequel to The Lord of the Rings. All signs point to a great set of films including some familiar faces.
Michael Moore
Films directed last decade: Bowling for Columbine (2002), Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), Sicko (2007), Slacker Uprising (2007), Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
Contribution to the oughts: He brought the factual cinematic experience to the masses, turning the documentary film into something people could actually watch somewhere other than a university coffee house. Love him or hate him, his gift was letting the world know that he and his colleagues exist.
What’s coming next: Jury’s still out on that, I’m afraid. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be decried as garbage by the hacks on Fox News.
Steven Soderbergh
Films directed last decade: Oceans Eleven, Twelve & Thirteen (2001, 2004 & 2007), Solaris (2002), Full Frontal (2002), Eros (2004), Bubble (2005), The Good German (2006), Che 1 & 2 (2008), The Girlfriend Experience (2009), The Informant (2009), The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg (2010), And Everything is Going Fine (2010)
Contribution to the oughts: Besides being clearly the most prolific of the bunch, Soderbergh did a lot to bring the “craftmanship” back to the directing process. While many directors’ films have certain trademark sign, Soderbergh has can have the entire look of his films attributed to him.
What’s coming next: The future is hazy, especially for a guy who tackles so many different projects, but my best guess is his next big thing will be Cleo, a 3D musical about Cleopatra starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and music by Guided By Voices. Sounds tasty.
Judd Apatow
Films directed last decade: The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009)
Contribution to the oughts: Much like with Ernst Lubitch, it’s hard to define exactly what Judd Apatow brings to a film he works on, but whatever he associates with comes out funny & crude. Admittedly, he made his mark more as a producer than as a director, but The 40 Year Old Virgin represents a benchmark of modern comedy and most of the funniest movies of the past 10 years have his prints on them somewhere.
What’s coming next: Apatow does apparently have an unnamed film on his plate, but much like the oughts, the tens will see him mostly doing a lot of writing and producing.
Guillermo Del Toro
Films directed last decade: Devil’s Backbone (2001), Blade II (2002), Hellboy 1 & 2 (2004 & 2008), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Contribution to the oughts: I love the guy for his passion and candour, but aside from his personality, his unique vision whetted the public’s appetite for art and the unusual to go with their movies, and awakened a new age of practical makeup effects worthy of the Mos Eisley Cantina.
What’s coming next: Guillermo will be directing a remake of Frankenstein, which he hopes will deliver on the elements seldom examined in previous incarnations of the story. He is also slated to direct the H.P. Lovecraft story At the Mountains of Madness, to be produced by James Cameron. Both sound like they will be about a intense as Pan’s Labyrinth.
Danny Boyle
Films directed last decade: 28 Days Later (2002), Millions (2004), Sunshine (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010)
Contribution to the oughts: While he created some iconic films in the 90′s, the oughts were where Boyle matured and demonstrated that a genre should never be a barrier for what a director can accomplish. Boyle’s fame and success has only redoubled his efforts to try new projects, and I can’t wait to see what indellible mark he will leave on the decade to come.
What’s coming next: This is still very much a rumour as far as I’m concerned, but it sounds like his next project will be another installment in the 28 Days Later franchise. I guess he’s finally run out of genres to tackle. Couldn’t he try his hand at a Western or something?
Zack Snyder
Films directed last decade: Dawn of the Dead (2004), 300 (2006), Watchmen (2009), Legend of the Guardians (2010)
Contribution to the oughts: Snyder is the director that best reflects the decade with his choices of movies and tools he worked with. Adapting two iconic comic books, one of them almost entirely in front of a green screen, Snyder embodied the decade’s march of technology and dipping into new kinds of creative literary wells.
What’s coming next: Snyder’s got two big ones coming down the pipe, the first being the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets the Matrix with sexy ladies mashup Sucker Punch, the second being the reboot of the Superman reboot Superman: Man of Steel in 2012.
Great post, Steve. Agree with all of these though I’m not a fan of Moore and Apatow. Definitely looking forward to what Jackson, Nolan, Snyder and Boyle’s got to offer. I’m surprised Boyle doesn’t have anything lined up after the much-celebrated 127 Hours.
Thanks Ruth! I expect there’ll be plenty of dispute for Michael Moore, whom I debated switching out for Davis Guggenheim, but really it was Moore that got documentaries out of the art house and had people watching them at the mall or on a Friday night at home. I think that Boyle has accomplished so much that it’s about time he take a breath and come up with another list of genres he hasn’t tried yet. How about Kung Fu, Western, Mystery and Fantasy?
Great list. I believe that Soderbergh’s next movie will be Contagion with Matt Damon.
I’d read something about that – him and Damon do good work. I’m still psyched to see if this Cleo project gets off the ground though.
I agree with you all the way, Steve.
Man, if I’ve got 100% consensus from Branden, I must have done something right! Cheers dude!
It’s hard boiling these down because of the year restriction. For example, Soderbergh’s peak (it would seem) came in the late 90s to early 00s – I really don’t think he’s been all that relevant or important since about the time Full Frontal flopped in 2002. One could certainly argue individual films, and others like myself would claim him to still be on the vanguard of directing, but he operates so far outside the mainstream usually that I don’t think he’s “set the tone.” He tried to, possibly, but who else operates on his level?
In a somewhat similar vein, I see Boyle as being too unpredictable and unique to have set the tone. Who has cloned a Boyle film, or even tried?
To that end, where’s Guy Ritchie? His impact isn’t nearly as strong as Tarantino’s was 15 years ago, but it’s still palpable.
I strongly agree with the inclusion of Jackson, Apatow, Moore, Nolan, and to a lesser extent, Wright and Snyder. Raimi was in the right place at the right time and his biggest achievement in the last 10 years was NOT fucking up Spidey 1 and 2. In fact, he made strong films, but I’m not sure how hard that was, given the material. And, though people liked Drag Me to Hell, it’s certainly no landmark film.
Fincher and Wes Anderson are the two that spring to mind for me. And hell, what about Pixar’s tone-setting? I know it’s a team…perhaps Brad Bird gets the credit on this one?
Fun to argue, either way.
Always happy to joust with you, Fletch!
Soderbergh’s most influential films might have happened in the late nineties, I couldn’t believe it when I saw that Traffic came out before 2001, but you have to give the man his due. There’s no doubt that his Ocean’s movies have had an effect on the Hollywood landscape, and that he set a wonderful example for the filmmaking community by continuing to turn out independent and experimental films.
Boyle’s 28 Days Later alone made a significant mark on Hollywood, and for continuing to release intelligent unpretentious films he should be commended.
Guy Ritchie though, I would have sooner put up Matthew Vaughn (and I almost did). Ritchie is mostly known for falling apart in the oughts while his greatest films were in the 90s (yes, if you’ll check, 2000 counts as the last year of the 90′s decade). Sherlock Holmes was awesome and I love Rocknrolla, but this was no his decade.
As for Raimi, I thought it was only fair to include him. He did so well for himself last decade, and he funneled so much of that money back into other films that might not have been made otherwise. I had thought about switching him out with Darren Aronofsky, Spider-Man was just too big to be swept under the rug.
Fincher was a big deal in the 90′s, but over the lat 10 years he’s lost a lot of his lustre. Anderson too. As for Pixar, it’s too much of an assembly line over there to attribute things to a particular director. They would merit recognition in a producer/corporate list, but not here.
RE Soderbergh – I couldn’t disagree more. I love the guy, but I don’t think the Ocean’s flicks had a single effect on the industry. In what way?
Fair enough on Boyle.
Matthew Vaughn, please. Ritchie’s films might have been best int he late 90s, but that’s not what this post is about – it’s about who set the tone, and there were a fuckload of Ritchie wannabes this past decade. Vaughn could quite possibly be counted amongst them. Who has a larger sphere of influence?
Aronofsky >>>>> Raimi, at least for this decade.
Anderson’s lost his lustre in the last 10 years? You are aware that all of his films save Rushmore and Bottle Rocket came out since 2001, right?
Mucho respect for taking me to task on the title of this list. You’re right – I went with “the tone” and so I’ve gotta stick with “the tone”… unless I change the title of this thing…
Anyways, I think that Ocean’s films set the new standard for super-casting, and helped revive Rat Pack coolness that reverberated both through Hollywood and television too. Erin Brockovich was also no small film either.
The ripples of Ritchie can be seen this past decade, but that’s because of the influence that he exercised in the decade previous. As for Vaughn, Kick-Ass came in late but will undoubtedly be influencing films of its same calibre, Layer Cake was a gangster film unto itself and also set the standard for films of its kind and budget, and he went and did his own thing with Stardust – keeping it contained, light and pleasant. He also knows how to make proper use of Mark Strong… Come on, I acted the professional and left him off the list despite my total devotion to the guy.
I had my reasons for going with Raimi (especially as far as putting the Superhero stamp on the decade) – Aronofsky is no doubt a force to be reckoned with, but I think he was at his most dangerous in the 90′s.
As for Anderson – he was still in my good graces at the opening of the decade, but I’ve got little love for The Life Aquatic or Darjeeling Limited. (Don’t care so much for Bottle Rocket either, but that’s neither here nor there.)
Good list!
My 2 cents:
I think David Fincher set a very subtle yet influential tone in filmaking that will not be seen for years. (Especially Zodiac)(Yes — someone had to mention Fincher! ha ha)
Also would you say Hayao Miyazaki set a definite tone on Animation and storytelling in the past decade? (I know most of the Pixar crew think so)
Actually, it’s my contention that Fincher enjoyed his heyday in the 90s with The Game, Fight Club and Seven. I really haven’t been a big fan of his later works and I don’t think they’ve reverberated through the industry, the way that Seven and Fight Club changed a lot of things.
Good call on Miyazaki – although I’m far more familiar with his 90s work, like Princess Mononoke and Porco Rosso. He’s definitely had an influence on the whole animation industry, to the point they even put one of his characters in Toy Story 3!