Discuss: Who Is the Filmmaker of the Decade…You Decide!

By Fused Film Staff • December 20, 2009 • 16 Comments

With 2009 ending and 10 years into the new millennium passed we have decided to look at who should be considered the filmmaker of the decade. The guy or perhaps girl who has really made a presence and stamp on cinema and filmmaking over the past 10 years. So tell us – is it Steven Soderbergh, the Coen Brothers, Chris Nolan, Michael Bay perhaps?

Think back to 2000 and all the films that have come out since then, all the directors out there. There is such an amazing amount of movies and directors that stand out in this decade and we feel like at FusedFilm.com that this list features all the appropriate names that should be considered Filmmaker of the Decade. We are proud to announce our choice for Filmmaker of the Decade…Mr. Christopher Nolan, beating out Peter Jackson by 1 vote.

Our vote comprised of 12 voters from FusedFilm’s staff and 3 from outside sites – MarketSaw, ScreenRant and The FilmFeed Podcast.

The Full List of Candidates

• JJ Abrams
• Chris Nolan
• James Cameron
• Steven Spielberg
• Sam Raimi
• Michael Bay
• Danny Boyle
• Peter Jackson
• Coen Brothers
• Wachowski Brothers
• Bryan Singer
• Clint Eastwood
• Jason Reitman

Our Executive Editor and President, Kevin Coll, says that Chris Nolan is the best choice due to the fact “he makes movies that make you think, that make you really want to watch. He directs intelligent and entertaining films that Hollywood used to make. He has done small and big films all the way he wants to make them. He succeeded in making two very different Batman films that offer themselves up completely differently than any other comic-book film made before it. Memento is an instant classic.”

Chris Nolan since 2000 has gone from indie filmmaker with the cult hit Memento to ushering in arguably one of the most iconic comic-book film adaptations ever with The Dark Knight. The son of an English father and an American mother, Nolan is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States. He is married to Emma Thomas, his longtime producer. Nolan’s next project is the mysterious sci-fi thriller Inception.

Sean Hunter,  an avid Podcaster/Movie Enthusiast, who has been a host on FS.net’s The Film Feed says, “my vote has to go to Chris Nolan! He just makes hit after hit, other people fluctuate but he has made a profitable business out of doing the kind of films HE wants to make. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself!”

Other members at FusedFilm agree such as our EO podcast co-hosts, Ben Songer and Justin Vactor, who call Nolan a standout, “with The Prestige, Memento and Insomnia but what really stands out for us is what he did with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Two of our favorite super hero movies. Nolan did what not all director’s have been able to do, which is capture the true essence of a super hero origin story and more. That is a great accomplishment.”

Although Chris Nolan has got a lot attention and the ultimate publisher choice it seems some our friends and staff believe that Peter Jackson is the man of the decade not just in the director chair but his writing and producing hits home as well. Jim Dorey of MarketSaw says there is “no question” Jackson is the Filmmaker of the Decade, “I would have loved to have selected James Cameron but he hasn’t done anything before AVATAR and post TITANIC cinematically.”

One the main arguments for Jackson comes from his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Previous to directing LOTR, Jackson, had directed quirky horror films like The Frighteners and Bad Taste. Being entrusted with something so “precious” as LOTR was a concern but proved to be a gamble worth taking as he took home more Awards than any other movie trilogy in film history not to mention he ushered in the special effects house WETA digital. His remake of King Kong was met with interesting reception but that is a movie “that took considerable testicular fortitude, as not only is the original a favorite of cinephiles everywhere, but others have tried and failed spectacularly before him, but Jackson turned in a movie that had passion and respect for the original,” says Hunter Duesing, from the Memphis Film and TV Commission, “2009 hasn’t been his strongest, as he produced the overrated District 9 and directed The Lovely Bones, a contender for the biggest disappointment of the year, however having not yet seen James Cameron’s Avatar, I can say that in mainstream cinema, Jackson had the biggest breakthrough, becoming a household name synonymous with Spielberg.”

Our pal Vic from Screenrant, talked to us about the filmmaker of the decade as well and said with out a doubt it had to be Peter Jackson, saying, “even though it’s a few years behind us now I’d have to say the monumental accomplishment that was the Lord of the Rings trilogy has to take it: Peter Jackson.”

Ultimately the vote is out there and it seems Nolan and Jackson are the two heavyweights although some believe that a guy like Clint Eastwood should be considered for the title of Filmmaker of the Decade. Our Associate Editor, Will Melton, says that Eastwood has “an incredibly lauded list for the decade: Mystic River was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director and won for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Million Dollar Baby won Best Picture and earned a Best Director nod. He received another Best Picture and Best Director nomination for Letter From Iwo Jima.”

Our Viral Director and Guru, Donnie Valentine put his vote in for JJ Abrams saying, “Abrams definitely. Cameron will get in on the next decade as JJ revolutionized marketing for films.”

J.J. Abrams has gotten big, but his level of success in movies is too recent and has yet to prove he can be in same level as Jackson or Nolan or even Eastwood. Where Abrams has truly excelled this decade is in television and in that regard he takes the cake.

Other candidates like Sam Raimi give a great challenge. Like Jackson he sits at a throne of success, as his Spider-Man films have catapulted him into the stratosphere and like Jackson, he comes from a background of making goofy cult horror movies. Raimi took something beloved to pop culture and made damn good movies out of it.

Say what you want of Michael Bay, he will never win an Oscar but you have to admit that he is an extremely talented visual stylist, unfortunately he handles most stories like a teenager and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Transformers films, filled with juvenile antics and leery looks at women. Their is no denying that the guy knows how to craft a damn fine action scene. He just has too many weaknesses as an artist that he refuses to acknowledge, let alone work on.

One Executive Editor Kevin’s favorite filmmakers, as well as Hunter’s, is Danny Boyle. He is one of the most talented filmmakers on the list with Sunshine as one of best sci-fi films of the decade, whereas his horror, 28 Days Later reinvigorated the zombie genre, and his most recent triumph, Slumdog Millionaire was a one of the better Oscar movies in recent memory.

So the question is what do you think? Who should be the filmmaker of the decade! Tell us by voting and commenting below.