FauxNixon

I’ve no doubt that I’ll receive a large amount of email and comments claiming someone else should be listed or someone on the list shouldn’t be. Relax, seriously. As with anything I write here, this is my perception and opinion. These happen to be the ones that I feel are the best. Though I’m thinking of editing out Joel Coen for Tim Burton. Anyway, on with the show:

1. Francis Ford Coppola

• Vital Statistics: He was born April 7, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is 6ft tall and married to Eleanor Coppola.
• Current Movie: Tetro (2009)
• Tendencies: Often casts his relatives in his movies; Re-releases his work later.
• Best Movie: The Godfather, Part II (1974)
• Good Movies: The Conversation (1974), The Godfather (1972), Dracula (1992), Apocalypse Now (1979)
• Worst Movie: Jack (1996)
• Quotation: “In a sense, I think a movie is really a little like a question and when you make it, that’s when you get the answer.”

2. Roman Polanski

• Vital Statistics: Born August 18, 1933 in Paris, France. Stands 5ft 5in tall. Currently married to Emmanuelle Seigner.
  
• Current Movie: None
  
• Tendencies: Has a tendency to shoot a sequence from an actor’s point-of-view and pan around the room.
  
• Best Movie: Chinatown (1974)
  
• Good Movies: The Pianist (2002), Oliver Twist (2005), The Ninth Gate (1999), Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
  
• Worst Movie: Pirates (1986)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater.”

3. Steven Spielberg

• Vital Statistics: Steven was born December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is 5ft 7.5in. He is married to Kate Capshaw.
  
• Current Movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
• Tendencies: References to World War II; music by John Williams; Often has a character who is ordinary and transforms into more.
  
• Best Movie: Schindler’s List (1993)
  
• Good Movies: Minority Report (2002); Saving Private Ryan (1998), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Empire of the Sun (1987)
  
• Worst Movie: The Terminal (2004)
  
• Quotation: “The older I get, the more I look at movies as a moving miracle.”
  
• Member of Theta Chi Fraternity, like this article’s author.

4. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

• Vital Statistics: Jean-Pierre was born September 3, 1953 in Roanne, Loire, France. He is married to Liza Sullivan.
  
• Current Movie: Micmacs ? tire-larigot (2009)
  
• Tendencies: Always includes Dominique Pinion; Uses coloring extensively to achieve the intended feeling.
  
• Best Movie: Amelie (2001)
  
• Good Movies: The City of Lost Children (1996), Delicatessen (1991), A Very Long Engagement (2004)
  
• Worst Movie: Alien: Resurrection (1997)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema since the New Wave always seems to be about a couple fighting in the kitchen. I prefer to write positive stories.”

5. Martin Scorsese

• Vital Statistics: Born November 17, 1942 in Queens, NY, USA. He is 5ft 4in. Married to Helen Morris.
  
• Current Movie: Shine a Light (2008)
  
• Tendencies: Frequently casts Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro; Makes skilled and frequent use of long tracking shots.
  
• Best Movie: Goodfellas (1990)
  
• Good Movies: Taxi Driver (1976), Gangs of New York (2002), The Departed (2006), Raging Bull (1980)
  
• Worst Movie: After Hours (1985)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.”

6. David Fincher

• Vital Statistics: Fincher was born in Denver, Colorado, USA, on August 28, 1962. He is presently unmarried.
  
• Current Movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• Tendencies: Single-frame inserts; Fluid tracking shot pioneer; Uses lots of wide shots.
  
• Best Movie: Fight Club (1999)
  
• Good Movies: Se7en (1995), The Game (1997), Panic Room (2002)
• Worst Movie: Zodiac (2007)
  
• Quotation: “People will say, ‘There are a million ways to shoot a scene,’ but I don’t think so. I think there’re two, maybe. And the other one is wrong.”

7. Darren Aronofsky

• Vital Statistics: Darren was born February 12, 1969 in Brooklyn, NY, USA. 6ft tall. Presently he is engaged to Rachel Weiscz.
  
• Current Movie: The Wrestler (2009)
  
• Tendencies: Short, repeated sequences of actions with very quick edits, accompanied by music
  
• Best Movie: Requiem for a Dream (2000)
  
• Good Movies: Pi (1998), The Fountain (2006)
  
• Worst Movie: Protozoa (1993)
  
• Quotation: “To me, watching a movie is like going to an amusement park. My worst fear is making a film that people don’t think is a good ride.”

8. Luc Besson

• Vital Statistics: Born March 18, 1959 in Paris, France. Luc is presently married to Virginie Silla.
  
• Current Movie: Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard (2009)
• Tendencies: Frequently casts Jean Reno; Often has a character getting slapped; Sometimes features scenes in real-time.
  
• Best Movie: The Fifth Element (1997)
  
• Good Movies: Leon (1994), Nikita (1990)
  
• Worst Movie: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema never saved anyone’s life, it is not a medicine that will save anyone’s life. It is only an aspirin.”

9. Quentin Tarantino

• Vital Statistics: He was born March 27, 1963 in Knoxville, TN, USA. 6ft 1in tall. He is presently unmarried.
  
• Current Movie: Inglorious Bastards (2009)
  
• Tendencies: Mexican stand-offs in his movies; Avoids product placements with fake products; Often casts Samuel L. Jackson.
  
• Best Movie: Pulp Fiction (1994)
  
• Good Movies: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Four Rooms (1997)
  
• Worst Movie: Jackie Brown (1997)
  
• Quotation: “When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, ‘no, I went to films.’”

10. Joel Coen

• Vital Statistics: Joel was born November 29, 1954 in Minneapolis, MN, USA. 6ft tall. Married to actress Frances McDormand.
  
• Tendencies: Often casts wife Frances McDormand; Movies often have a victim who seems like they may deserve what happens to them.
  
• Current Movies: Burn After Reading (2008)
  
• Best Movie: Fargo (1996)
  
• Good Movies: The Big Lebowski (1998), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991)
  
• Worst Movies: Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
  
• Quotation: “Ethan [Coen] had a nightmare of one day finding me on the set of something like The Incredible Hulk, wearing a gold chain and saying, ‘I’ve got to eat, don’t I?’

Runner-up: Sam Mendes

• Vital Statistics: Born August 1, 1965 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He is 5ft 10in tall. Sam is married to Kate Winslet.
  
• Current Movie: Revolutionary Road (2008)
  
• Tendencies: Beginning his films with narration from a prime character; Sometimes repeats this tendency at the end of his movies.
  
• Best Movie: American Beauty (1999)
  
• Good Movies: The Road to Perdition (2002)
  
• Worst Movie: Jarhead (2005)
  
• Quotation: “If you shout in the theater, people think you’ve gone a bit mad. But if you raise your voice on a film set, people just work a bit harder.”

Again, thanks to Amazon.com and IMDb.