10. Steven Spielberg
The most successful film director of all time financially, Steven Spielberg's storied career has extended throughout the last 15 years, bringing a variety of intriguing films along with it. Spielberg's first movie of the modern era was 1998's Saving Private Ryan, one of the most acclaimed war films of ever made. He followed this up in 2001 with an old Stanley Kubrick project A.I. Artificial Intelligence. In 2002, he made one of his finest films with the science fiction film Minority Report about a future where crimes are discovered and prevented beforehand. 2002 also saw the release of Catch Me If You Can, an extremely effective biopic of one of the most successful con men in history. 2004 saw the release of the underrated comedy the Terminal, followed in 2005 by the double release of War of the Worlds and Munich. In 2008, Spielberg released one of his most derided films when he took the reins of the ill-fated fourth installment of the beloved Indiana Jones franchise. In 2011, Spielberg once again released two films with the children's film The Adventures of Tintin as well as War Horse. In 2012, Spielberg released one of his better works with a biopic of Abraham Lincoln that saw Daniel Day-Lewis present an iconic performance. The film received twelve Academy Award nominations and preformed well financially. Despite receiving almost every award possible and earning more money than any other director, Spielberg continues to soldier on as he currently has a number of films in development.
Eligible Films: Saving Private Ryan (1998), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Minority Report (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Terminal (2004), War of the World (2005), Munich (2005), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012)