1. Christopher Nolan
In 1979 the San Francisco 49ers drafted a player with the final pick of the third round, 82nd overall. The player drafted number one that year was Tom Cousineau. You've probably never heard of him. Chances are you have heard of the player chosen 82nd; he was Joe Montana. Similarly, prior to Batman Begins Christopher Nolan was a relatively unknown director with Following, Memento, and Insomnia under his belt. Nolan of course would go on to orchestrate one of the greatest trilogies ever, but it was his humble directorial beginnings that enabled him to succeed with a bigger budget and expectations. Nolan used his independent, guerrilla style film making experience to maintain masterful control over the behemoth of a franchise. Never going over budget, and always wrapping production ahead of schedule, Nolan gained a reputation for running a tight ship. Everyone who worked under Nolan marveled at his calm, never yelling and never seeming overwhelmed. Several crew members reported coming to Nolan and telling him that his expectations may have been too inflated, such as actually flipping a tractor trailer end over end, or getting a Batpod prototype with race car tires to actually steer. The common response they received was consistently, "You'll figure it out." Somehow they always did. Like an experienced coach, Nolan knew just how far he could push his team and how much he could realistically expect. Michael Caine described Nolan as being a master of the three qualities required of the perfect director: editing, casting, and script writing. Caine went on to confirm that it indeed took the perfect director to direct the perfect trilogy, "I think, because of these talents, you have the reason for the great success for this great series: a great director." Joe Montana was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame eight years after playing his last game with the 49ers. Perhaps Christopher Nolan will finally receive his Oscar in 2013 - eight years after embarking on the journey to put his stamp on the Dark Knight legend.