3. Gus Van Sant
Without question the most inconsistent filmmaker on this list, Gus Van Sant fleets constantly between making fantastic films and absolutely dreadful ones, thus it's a surprise he garners a steadily devoted legion of fans at all. Van Sant's first films, Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho, were breaths of fresh air, and of course, his Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting is easily the director's most universally-praised work. In the wake of this, Van Sant's work really started to take a turn for the worse; his 1998 Psycho remake was a completely pointless "experiment" and a waste of both his time and talent, and his so-called Death trilogy (comprising Gerry, Elephant and Last Days) is as infuriating as it is thought-provoking. 2008's Milk marked a return to firm ground for the director, though he followed it up with 2011's Restless, again reminding us just how inconsistent the man's career trajectory is. Is he talented? Sure. But he needs to vet his scripts better.