1. Steven Soderbergh
Directed Memorable Performances in: Traffic (2000), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Solaris (2002), Che (2008), The Girlfriend Experience (2009), The Informant! (2009), Contagion (2011), Magic Mike (2011), Side Effects (2012), and Behind the Candelabra (2012). Best of the Best: Debbie Doebereiner in
Bubble (2005) What will the world of independent film, and film in general, look like without the likes of one of it's most crucial directors? It is very possible that the most prolific directors this century has turned his camera off, indefinitely. Let's all hope that the spark reignites the visionary auteur, but if that doesn't happen he still leaves quite a legacy for performance directing. Anywhere from giant ensemble professional casts, i.e
Traffic, Ocean's Trilogy or
Contagion, to small non-professional actors, i.e
Bubble, the man is able to craft great characters with the casts he gets. One of the most important filmmakers contributing to the rise of American Independent Film in the 90's Soderbergh reignited his some-what creatively stalled career in the 2000's. Beginning with his acclaimed examination of narcotic trafficking
Traffic, winning him the oscar for directing, he continued making at least one film each year to 2013. Each one marked with the filmmaker's eye for cinematic storytelling centered around well acted characters.
Bringing us to Soderbergh's experimental
Bubble, using non-professional actors to convey the director's signature naturalistic approach. Debbie Doebereiner, who formerly worked as a KFC manager, plays Martha a toy factory worker caught in the middle of a murder mystery involving her co-workers. Her unpolished acting only adds to the believability of the the events that transpire. The ability of Soderbergh to take an untrained actor and mold a quietly powerful performance out of it is symbolic of the types of film experiments that he does well, time and again. Through his many, many projects in the last decade. Proving the immense talents of the man, as a visionary and performance-driven filmmaker. All that and more helps to make Soderbergh a director that defined the early 21st, with him hanging it up for other pursuits someone else hopefully will come along to fill the void left in the man's shadow. Given enough time another filmmaker may surpass him on this list, we'll just have to see.