Empire Magazine: The 30 most adventurous filmmakers of the last 30 years
A celebration of adventurous filmmaking
Last updated 28th Nov 2018
Empire Magazine has compiled an incredible list of 30 of the most adventurous filmakers from the last three decades. Danny Boyle. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Katherine Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro and Martin Scorsese are on the hotly-debated list.
The list has been compiled by the experts at Empire and included filmmakers who have taken risks to make incredible cinema and been vital in evolving the medium of film.
Steven Spielberg
James Cameron
Martin Scorsese
Peter Jackson
Edgar Wright
Christopher Nolan
Quentin Tarantino
Kathryn Bigelow
Kevin Feige
Spike Lee
Ang Lee
Paul Greengrass
David Fincher
Danny Boyle
JJ Abrams
PT Anderson
Guillermo del Toro
Wes Anderson
Taika Waititi
Denis Villeneuve
Patty Jenkins
Steven Soderbergh
Christopher McQuarrie
Ava DuVernay
Jordan Peele
Damien Chazelle
Alfonso Cuaron
Ryan Coogler
Tim Burton
Coen Brothers
In 2008 Katherine Bigelow made history, becoming the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. Also featured is Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, the only female to direct a superhero film. Joining them is Ava DuVernay, the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Selma in 2014.
Award-winning British directors Edgar Wright, Christopher Nolan, Paul Greengrass, and Danny Boyle also made the list.
Commenting on the list, Editor-in-chief Terri White said: “Empire has been passionately committed to adventurous filmmaking for the last thirty years, so our anniversary was the perfect opportunity to celebrate those who have taken the most risks and created some of the most thrilling moments in cinema.
"At the same time, we’re looking into the future – a future which embraces diversity within filmmaking. Empire is set to publish an upcoming filmmakers of the future list; a list that is made up of almost half women. A sure sign of how quickly, and significantly our industry is evolving."
Over the next 12 months, each filmmaker listed will be celebrated in a unique way across Empire’s touch points: print, digital, audio, video and social.
Empire’s January 2019 issue, including a world exclusive interview with James Cameron, hits the newsstands on Thursday 29 November.