8. Christopher Nolan
I am kicking this list off with a director who I was surprised to find out is on the "either you love him or hate him" list, but that does not mean that those who praise his specific style of filmmaking can be ignored. Christopher Nolan originated in the realms of low-budget and gritty filmmaking, with movies such a Following and Memento, but it was after he directed Batman Begins that this guy really started going places. It is impossible to deny that Nolan's Batman trilogy was ridiculously successful and will be admired for decades. Nolan's realistic and dark take on the Caped Crusader brought on battalions of fans who will now follow this director no matter where he goes. There are few who have serious distaste for Nolan's Batman, but for every one of those people there are twenty who adore his work. Fans came to expect a different type of superhero film after Nolan's trilogy (though that already seems to be changing), but no matter what, this storyteller will always have fans anticipating the next project with his name on it, regardless of the plot or genre.