4. David Fincher
One of Hollywood's darkest mainstream directors, Fincher has directed some of the defining films of the last few decades and is easily one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation. His first film after the cut-off was 1999's Fight Club, a cult hit that has gone on to become one of the defining films of the 1990's. Fincher followed that film with 2002's well received but ultimately forgettable thriller Panic Room.In 2007, Fincher released Zodiac, a film that followed the aftermath and investigation of the Zodiac killings and the impact of obsession on one of the the investigators. The film was one of the best received movies of the year and established Fincher as one of Hollywood's elite directors. The following year, Fincher's film the Curious Case of Benjamin Button received 13 Academy Award nominations, of which it won three. While extremely ambitious, the Curios Case of Benjamin Button was a bit flawed and not quite the masterwork it was intended to be although there was still much to be admired in it. Fincher's 2010 film the Social Network, on the other hand, was one of the best films of the decade. Despite being robbed at the Oscars, the Social Network's portrayal of the rise of Facebook was both a riveting drama and a portrait of the rise of social networking and its place in the modern world. 2011's the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was another excellent, if a bit underwhelming, effort from Fincher and was one of the darkest major Hollywood productions I've ever seen. Fincher has a host of intriguing films that haven't gotten off the ground although he currently has nothing in production. A visual master and one of the sharpest minds in Hollywood, Fincher could easily produce a number of incredible films before he's through.
Eligible Films: Fight Club (1999), Panic Room (2002), Zodiac (2007), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Social Network (2010), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2012)