SOLID: B-List Directors
by octagonproplex | created - 24 Apr 2017 | updated - 24 Apr 2017 | PublicDependable under-appreciated filmmakers usually working in various less prestigious genre fair (Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi).
1. Peter Hyams
Director | 2010: The Year We Make Contact
Peter Hyams was born in New York on July 26, 1943, and attended Hunter College Elementary School. He studied art and music at the Art Students League and the High School of Music and Art as well as at Syracuse University, where he majored in music and art. Before he became a CBS News news anchor in...
2. Kevin Reynolds
Director | Waterworld
Raised as an Air Force brat, Kevin Reynolds' love for cinema inspired him to forsake his law school degree and move to Los Angeles to enroll in the University of Southern California's legendary film school. Reynolds' graduate thesis film "Proof" became the basis for "Fandango" starring Kevin ...
3. Andrew Niccol
Writer | GATTACA
New Zealand-born screenwriter-director Andrew Niccol began his career in London, successfully directing TV commercials before moving to Los Angeles in order to make films "longer than 60 seconds." He interested high-powered producer Scott Rudin in his The Truman Show (1998) script, but Rudin was not...
4. Roger Donaldson
Director | The World's Fastest Indian
Roger Donaldson was born on November 15, 1945 in Ballarat, Australia. He is a director and producer, known for The World's Fastest Indian (2005), No Way Out (1987) and Species (1995). He is married to Marliese Schneider. He was previously married to Susan Hockley.
5. Martin Campbell
Director | Casino Royale
Martin Campbell knows how to entertain an audience when he steps behind the camera. When he directed The Mask of Zorro (1998), the movie earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and launched the international careers of Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Next, when he helmed ...
6. Phillip Noyce
Producer | Rabbit-Proof Fence
Born in the Australian rural town of Griffith, New South Wales, Phillip Noyce moved to Sydney with his family at the age of 12. As a teenager, he was introduced to underground films produced on shoestring budgets as well as mainstream American movies. He was 18 when he made his first film, the 15-...
7. David Twohy
Writer | The Fugitive
As both writer and director, David Twohy has contributed much to the film world, helping to elevate movies in such a way that Entertainment Weekly was prompted to name him "one of the 100 most creative people in Hollywood." In his career, Twohy has worked with on-screen notables like Harrison Ford,...
8. Renny Harlin
Producer | Driven
Born in 15 March 1959 as Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola, he is the most successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.
Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like Shell. Later he worked as a ...
9. Stephen Hopkins
Producer | Lost in Space
Stephen Hopkins is a producer and director, known for Lost in Space (1998), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) and Predator 2 (1990).
10. John Badham
Director | WarGames
English-born "Army brat" John Badham is the son of English actress Mary Hewitt and the stepson of an American Army general. Raised in Alabama and schooled at Yale, he cut his teeth producing and directing for TV before making his feature debut with The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor ...
11. Andrew Davis
Director | The Fugitive
Director/Producer/Writer) Andrew Davis is a filmmaker with a reputation for directing intelligent thrillers, most notably the Academy Award-nominated box-office hit The Fugitive (1993), starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best ...
12. Roger Spottiswoode
Writer | 48 Hrs.
Roger Spottiswoode was born on January 5, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for 48 Hrs. (1982), The 6th Day (2000) and Shoot to Kill (1988). He was previously married to Holly Palance.
13. Russell Mulcahy
Director | Highlander
Dynamic film/video director Russell Mulcahy was born June 23, 1953, in Melbourne, Australia. He first gained fame directing visually striking music video clips for such artists as Elton John, Duran Duran, The Buggles and Bonnie Tyler. He is also well known for feature films, starting off with the ...
14. Joe Johnston
Director | Captain America: The First Avenger
Joseph Eggleston Johnston II is an American film director from Texas who is known for directing the cult classic film The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Wolfman, October Sky, The Pagemaster, Jurassic Park III and Captain America: The First Avenger. He was an art director for ...
15. Walter Hill
Writer | 48 Hrs.
Hill was born in Long Beach, California and educated at Mexico City College and Michigan State University. He worked in oil drilling and construction in the 60s before becoming a 2nd assistant director in 1967. He has written and co-written screenplays, including several uncredited works. He has ...
16. Stephen Sommers
Producer | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Stephen Sommers was born on March 20, 1962 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota, he attended St. John's University and the University of Seville in Spain. Afterward, Sommers spent the next four years performing as an actor in theater groups and managing rock bands throughout ...
17. Chuck Russell
Director | The Scorpion King
Graduating from the University of Illinois, Russell left Chicago to begin work in film production in Los Angeles. He worked his way up, assistant directing and production managing independent films while writing screenplays. Russell made his directorial debut in 1987 with A Nightmare on Elm Street ...
18. Simon Wincer
Director | The Phantom
Simon Wincer was born in 1943 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and assistant director, known for The Phantom (1996), Harlequin (1980) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).
19. Mikael Salomon
Director | Band of Brothers
Mikael Salomon was born and grew up in Denmark. He is originally and primarily a cinematographer. The first feature film he shot was Fantasterne (1967) by Kirsten Stenbæk. After almost two decades as one of his country's finest in the field and only a few foreign productions, he then moved his life...
20. Stuart Baird
Editor | Skyfall
Stuart Baird was born on January 14, 1947 in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, UK. He is an editor and director, known for Skyfall (2012), Superman (1978) and Casino Royale (2006).
21. Kevin Hooks
Actor | Innerspace
Kevin Hooks was born on September 19, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Innerspace (1987), Last Resort (2012) and Passenger 57 (1992). He is married to Cheryl. They have two children. He was previously married to Regina Hooks.
22. Louis Leterrier
Director | The Incredible Hulk
Louis Leterrier is a French film director and producer. He notably directed the first two Transporter films, Unleashed, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me, Tower of Strength and The Brothers Grimsby. He also directed episodes of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix ...
23. Jan de Bont
Director | Speed
Jan de Bont was one of 17 children born into a Roman Catholic Dutch family in Eindhoven on 22 October 1943. Credited with being creative and having a good mentality for camera techniques, he became a popular cinematographer. He worked on a huge number of films before finding himself on the ...
24. Rob Cohen
Director | DragonHeart
Rob Cohen is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. One of the 1970's "baby moguls", he built a thriving career as a producer, before concentrating full time on directing from the 1990's, with high adrenaline action blockbusters such as xXx (2002) and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (...
25. Ericson Core
Cinematographer | The Fast and the Furious
After graduating from USC's film program as well a degree from the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Core started his career as a Director of Photography on such films as "187" for Kevin Reynolds, "Payback" for Brian Hegleland, "Mumford" for Lawrence Kasdan, "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" for...
26. John Moore
Director | Max Payne
John Moore was born in Dundalk, Ireland in 1970, a small town situated about 60 miles from the country's capital Dublin. Moore attended a technical college in Dublin where he studied filmmaking and after completing the school he went on to direct and write a series of short films all produced in ...
27. Deran Sarafian
Producer | Swamp Thing
Deran Sarafian began his filmmaking career attending UCLA and working for Roger Corman on films such as ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Inspired by European filmmakers, he moved to Rome where he began writing and quickly sold and directed his first low budget independent feature film THE FALLING, starring...
28. Adam Rifkin
Writer | Dog Years
Adam Rifkin is a Writer/Director whose eclectic career ranges from broad family comedies to cult classics to dark and gritty dramas. Most recently, Rifkin Wrote and Directed THE LAST MOVIE STAR, a poignant drama starring Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter and Chevy Chase. The critically acclaimed film ...
29. Rob Minkoff
Director | The Lion King
Rob Minkoff was born on August 11, 1962 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Lion King (1994), Stuart Little 2 (2002) and The Forbidden Kingdom (2008). He has been married to Crystal Kung Minkoff since September 29, 2007. They have two children.
30. Marco Brambilla
Director | Heaven's Gate
Marco Brambilla was born in 1960 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Heaven's Gate (2021), The Four Temperaments (2020) and Destricted (2006).
31. Nimród Antal
Director | Kontroll
Antal was born in Los Angeles, California of Hungarian ancestry. He moved to Hungary in 1991 to study at the Hungarian Film Academy. After graduating, he went on to work in the film and television industry. In 2005, he moved back to his hometown of Los Angeles to pursue success in Hollywood.
He is ...
32. Simon West
Director | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Simon West is a British born and Hollywood based film director and producer. His films include CON AIR starring Nicholas Cage, "THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER" starring John Travolta and "LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER" starring Angelina Jolie. West is the only live action director ever whose first three 3 films ...
33. Dominic Sena
Director | Kalifornia
Dominic Sena was born on April 26, 1949 in Niles, Ohio, USA. He is a director and cinematographer, known for Kalifornia (1993), Whiteout (2009) and Swordfish (2001).
34. Len Wiseman
Writer | Underworld
Filmmaker Len Wiseman's career began through his work in the art department on the blockbuster hits like Godzilla (1998), Men in Black (1997), and Independence Day (1996). His design talents soon got him behind the camera directing commercials for PlayStation, Time Warner, Oracle, Intel, and ...
35. Pierre Morel
Director | Banlieue 13
Pierre Morel was born on May 12, 1964 in France. He is a cinematographer and director, known for District B13 (2004), Taken (2008) and The Gunman (2015).
36. Florent-Emilio Siri
Director | Hostage
Florent-Emilio Siri was born on March 2, 1965. He is a director and writer, known for Hostage (2005), A Minute of Silence (1998) and Intimate Enemies (2007).
37. Jean-François Richet
Director | L'instinct de mort
Jean-François Richet was born on July 2, 1966 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008), Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (2008) and État des lieux (1995).
38. Albert Hughes
Director | The Book of Eli
Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was ...
39. Allen Hughes
Director | The Book of Eli
Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was ...
40. Michael Spierig
Director | Predestination
Michael Spierig was born in Germany. He is known for Predestination (2014), Daybreakers (2009) and Winchester (2018).
41. Peter Spierig
Director | Predestination
Peter Spierig was born in Germany. He is known for Predestination (2014), Daybreakers (2009) and Undead (2003).
42. Vincenzo Natali
Director | Cube
Vincenzo Natali was born on January 6, 1969 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Cube (1997), In the Tall Grass (2019) and Cypher (2002).
43. James Foley
Director | At Close Range
James Foley was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for At Close Range (1986), After Dark, My Sweet (1990) and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).
44. John Dahl
Director | The Last Seduction
John Dahl was born on June 15, 1956 in Billings, Montana, USA. He is a director and writer, known for The Last Seduction (1994), Kill Me Again (1989) and Rounders (1998). He is married to Beth Jana Friedberg. They have four children.
45. David Slade
Director | Hard Candy
David Slade was born on September 26, 1969 in the UK. He is a director and producer, known for Hard Candy (2005), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) and 30 Days of Night (2007).
46. Alex Proyas
Director | Dark City
Alex Proyas has moved effortlessly between helming TV commercials and music videos to feature films. Born to Greek parents in Egypt, Proyas relocated to Australia with his family when he was three years old. He began making films at age ten and went on to attend the Australian Film Television and ...
47. Rupert Wyatt
Director | The Escapist
Writer, Director and Producer Rupert Wyatt was born and raised in the South of England.
He is the founding member of the film collective Picture Farm that along with its prolific Commercial output has produced numerous Documentaries and Feature Films including the multi-award winning DARK DAYS (2001...
48. Michael Rymer
Director | Angel Baby
Michael Rymer was born in 1963 in Australia. He is a director and producer, known for Angel Baby (1995), Battlestar Galactica (2004) and Hannibal (2013).
49. Carl Franklin
Director | One False Move
Carl Franklin studied history and dramatic arts at UC Berkeley. After several years as a television actor with guest shots, roles in TV movies, miniseries, and appearing as a regular on a few unsuccessful series, he returned to school and received his master's degree in directing from the American ...
50. Jon Amiel
Director | Copycat
After studies in English literature, Jon Amiel graduated from Cambridge University and ran the Oxford and Cambridge Shakespeare Company, which often toured the USA. He became the Hampstead Theatre Company's literary manager and began directing there, relocating to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
...
51. Michael Apted
Director | Amazing Grace
Michael Apted was born on February 10, 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Amazing Grace (2006), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Rome (2005). He was married to Paige Simpson, Dana Stevens and Jo Apted. He died on January 7, 2021 in Los Angeles,...
52. Michael Caton-Jones
Director | Memphis Belle
Michael Caton-Jones was born on October 15, 1957 in Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Memphis Belle (1990), Basic Instinct 2 (2006) and City by the Sea (2002).
53. Breck Eisner
Director | The Crazies
Breck Eisner was born on December 24, 1970 in California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for The Crazies (2010), The Expanse (2015) and Sahara (2005). He has been married to Georgia Irwin Eisner since June 24, 2006.
54. Simon Wells
Director | The Time Machine
Simon Wells was born on October 19, 1961 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. He is a director, known for The Time Machine (2002), The Prince of Egypt (1998) and Flushed Away (2006). He has been married to Wendy Wells since June 1988. They have two children.
55. Brad Peyton
Producer | Daybreak
Brad Peyton was born on May 27, 1978 in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He is a producer and writer, known for Daybreak (2019), Rampage (2018) and San Andreas (2015).
56. Wes Ball
Director | Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Wes Ball was born on October 28, 1980 in the USA. He is a director, known for Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) and The Maze Runner (2014).
57. James McTeigue
Director | V for Vendetta
James McTeigue is known for V for Vendetta (2005), The Raven (2012) and Survivor (2015).
59. Mimi Leder
Producer | The Morning Show
Mimi Leder was born on January 26, 1952 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a producer and director, known for The Morning Show (2019), On the Basis of Sex (2018) and Deep Impact (1998). She has been married to Gary Werntz since January 26, 1986. They have one child. She was previously married ...
60. John Stockwell
Actor | Top Gun
John Stockwell is an American actor, director, producer and writer who is probably best known - as an actor - for his roles in the Tom Cruise vehicles Losin' It (1982) and Top Gun (1986), and the Stephen King - John Carpenter film Christine (1983).
John has since moved from acting into the ...
61. Robert Harmon
Director | The Hitcher
Robert Harmon attended film school at Boston University and worked for many years as a still photographer prior to embarking on a film career. Harmon worked as a still photographer on the movies "Roller Boogie," "Fade to Black," and "Hell Night." He was a second unit camera operator on "They Call ...
62. Jonathan Mostow
Director | Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Jonathan Mostow was born on November 28, 1961 in Woodbridge, Connecticut, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Breakdown (1997) and U-571 (2000). He has been married to Laurie Sandell since October 7, 2018.
63. Jonathan Liebesman
Director | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Jonathan Liebesman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on September 15, 1976. He would remain in his home country, studying filmmaking at the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance, until 1996; that year, he traveled to New York City to visit his cousin who was ...
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