30. Wes Anderson
21st Century Filmography:The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Aquatic Life of Steve Zissou (2004), The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2007), Moonrise Kingdom (2012) How exactly does one describe a Wes Anderson movie? Quirky? Offbeat?
Symmetrical? The Texas-born director's movies might prove a little too self-conscious for the majority of filmgoers, but his witty, dry and ultimately life-affirming tales of beaten, brooding characters and their flawed families and friends have struck a chord with audiences since he made his debut in the early 90s.
The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson's first movie of the 21st century (and perhaps the most definitive example of a Wes Anderson film) manages to be both precocious and brilliant, and showcased his natural skill for large casts and elegant structure. Then, in 2007, Anderson tried his hand at animation with a stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's
The Fantastic Mr. Fox and bagged himself an Oscar. His biggest achievement of this century, however, came recently in 2012:
Moonrise Kingdom, a heartfelt, deadpan story about childhood romance and all its trappings, proved to be his best film since 1995's
Rushmore. Whether or not he inspires every inch of your being or annoys the hell out of you, Anderson has proven his worth - and his talent for obsure, odd and (above all) utterly original filmmaking.
First Feature: Bottle Rocket (1992)Cream of the Crop: Moonshine Kingdom (2012)Next Up: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2013)
29. Sofia Coppola
21st Century Filmography:
Lost in Translation (2003), Marie Antoinette (2007), Somewhere (2010) It must have been hard growing up as the daughter of one of the world's most famous directors, but these days Sofia Coppola has proven herself a far better 21st century filmmaker than her father. After success with an adaptation of
The Virgin Suicides in 1999, Coppola made arguably the best film of 2003 and nabbed an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with
Lost in Translation, a Tokyo-based love story starring Bill Murray (in his best performance to date) and Scarlett Johansson which proved to be a perfect meditation on aging, alienation, relationships and culture shock. Continuing with her favourite themes of celebrity and loneliness, Coppola made the underrated costume drama
Marie Antoinette in 2007 and followed it with the quiet
Somewhere in 2010, an art-house outing that picked up the top prize at the Venice Film Festival that same year.
First Feature:The Virgin Suicides (1999)Cream of the Crop:
Lost in Translation (2003)Next Up:The Bling Ring (2013)
28. Gus Van Sant
21st Century Filmography:
Finding Forrester (2000), Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003), Last Days (2005), Paranoid Park (2007), Milk (2008), Restless (2011) You have to give it to Gus Van Sant: he's extremely brave. Considering that this is the director who decided to helm a shot-for-shot remake of
Psycho in the 90s as a kind of artistic experiment, you'd fear he would be relegated to the outskirts of the film community and shunned forever. But it's those kinds of risks that make the Kentucky-born director so special. Whether it's the strange, ponderous
Gerry, or the bleak, haunting and unforgettable Columbine-inspired
Elephant, Van Sant isn't afraid to make movies that hit you with a resounding punch - even if he has to step on Hitchcock's toes to do so.
First Feature: Mala Noche (1985)Cream of the Crop: Milk (2008)Next Up: -
27. Mike Leigh
21st Century Filmography:All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Another Year (2010) Mike Leigh is a constant, reliable force of professionalism and integrity when it comes to the realm of British cinema. Active since the early 70s, and alternating his time between making movies and directing plays, Leigh is renound for the unique way his films flit between moments of humour and sadness. He's perhaps one of very few directors who begins his projects without a script - instead, Leigh prefers to develop on a basic idea with his actors, favoring improvisation. Since 2002, he has directed four films: each and every one has been released to critical acclaim.
First Feature: Bleak Moments (1971)Cream of the Crop: Happy-Go-Lucky (2010)Next Up: -
26. Woody Allen
21st Century Filmography: Small Time Crooks (2000), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), Hollywood Ending (2002), Anything Else (2003), Melinda and Melinda (2004), Match Point (2005), Scoop (2006), Cassandra's Dream (2007), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Whatever Works (2009) You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010), Midnight in Paris (2011) Say what you will about Woody Allen, but there's no denying that the New York-born director is one of the hardest working filmmakers of the last four decades. After a relatively underwhelming strand of films in the 90s, Woody shot back into unexpected form as the second millennium set into motion. 21st century highlights include the dark and brooding
Match Point (with echoes of his 80s classic
Crimes and Misdemeanours), the sexy
Vicky Cristina Barcelona with star turns from Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. But it was with the utterly irresistible and charming
Midnight in Paris that Allen secured his place on this list. A timeless romance that resonated with audiences absolutely everywhere,
Midnight in Paris became Allen's highest grossing film to date - quite an achievement for a 76-year-old man with 45 films under his belt.
First Feature: What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1967)Cream of the Crop: Midnight in Paris (2011)Next Up: From Rome With Love (2012)