{"id":20829,"date":"2016-05-27T21:48:07","date_gmt":"2016-05-28T01:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=20829"},"modified":"2017-05-02T01:11:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T05:11:19","slug":"five-favorite-filmmakers-working-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/27\/five-favorite-filmmakers-working-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Favorite Filmmakers Working Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tiwest\"<\/a>With the revolving door of filmmaker working in today\u2019s movie industry, Hollywood is thankfully being more and more open to the works of independent filmmakers. They\u2019re welcoming self made directors more and more, offering them bigger projects and the chance to prove themselves. While sometimes they can stumble, often times they prove they can access any audience, and stand alongside the cinematic titans of yesteryear. Every year there\u2019s a new success story, and these are only five of my favorite filmmakers working today, all of whom have broken through on their own terms.<\/p>\n

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers working today?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

5. Ti West<\/strong>
\nTi West has gone on to create some of the most simplistic and thoughtful horror films of all time, many of which are misunderstood and incredibly niche. West is a big fan of the slow boil and big bang, and also practices immense subtlety. It\u2019s not too many indie filmmakers that appreciate those qualities these days as most filmmakers are more prone to offering up gory and gruesome pictures, instead.<\/p>\n

West has been a constant name in indie horror, delivering the cult classic \u201cThe Roost,\u201d and has advanced with every title offering up the fantastic Satanic panic throwback \u201cHouse of the Devil,\u201d and the excellent ghost picture \u201cThe Innkeepers.\u201d In 2013, West delivered the excellent found footage film \u201cThe Sacrament\u201d which examined the horrors and infrastructure of cults. West is more about quality over quantity and I look forward to every cinematic entry he gives his fans.<\/p>\n

I Recommend: <\/strong>If you\u2019re in the mood for a disturbing thriller that directly confronts the rise to power by Jim Jones, \u201cThe Sacrament\u201d is a near masterpiece with top notch performances all around.<\/p>\n

\"jameswan\"<\/a>4. James Wan
\n<\/strong>With James Wan you\u2019re almost always guaranteed a thrill and a horror treat. Sure he has his misfires, but he\u2019s a surefire talent who has also earned his way in to Hollywood. After storming the gates with \u201cSaw\u201d in 2004, he\u2019s gone on to direct gems like the exploitation revenge thriller \u201cDeath Sentence,\u201d as well as the brilliant and terrifying supernatural thriller \u201cThe Conjuring.\u201d He also lent his talents to the fantastic \u201cInsidious\u201d and \u201cInsidious 2\u201d and has also lensed the fun action sequel \u201cFurious 7.\u201d Wan has a dynamic style and a fantastic sense of energy that he injects in every film, no matter the genre. His upcoming \u201cAquaman\u201d may prove to be the most unique superhero film yet.<\/p>\n

I Recommend:<\/strong> \u201cThe Conjuring.\u201d It\u2019s a slow boil and heart felt horror film built around old fashioned horror devices and trickery involving sound and shadows.<\/p>\n

\"james-gunn\"<\/a>3. James Gunn
\n<\/strong>James Gunn is a self made man who worked hard and long to get where he is. He is a former indie director who got his start at Troma. He went on to pen a lot of big movies, and directed a lot of criminally underrated cult films like \u201cSuper\u201d and \u201cSlither,\u201d and the hilarious webs series \u201cPG Porn.\u201d He then ended up being one of the masterminds behind the blockbuster science fiction film \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost no one had much confidence in \u201cGuardians\u201d and expected an action movie that featured a living tree and talking raccoon to be a mild box office entry with a cult following. And yet not only did it storm theaters, but Gunn\u2019s work of love was embraced by the mainstream, and was even mentioned as one of the very few comic book movies loved by Steven Spielberg. When Spielberg gives you his thumbs up, you have it made in the shade. Gunn took his licks and earned his place as a mainstream director.<\/p>\n

I Recommend:<\/strong> \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy.\u201d It is fun, funny, exciting, and packs a lot of heart and awe.<\/p>\n

\"Richard-Linklater\"<\/a>2. Richard Linklater
\n<\/strong>Richard Linklater is yet another self made man who has spent his life directing passion projects and major movies for big studios. Though he\u2019s had the occasional misfire, Linklater has injected his own sense of unique energy with every film. He\u2019s directed thought provoking art house fare like \u201cWaking Life,\u201d experimental character studies like \u201cTape,\u201d hilarious moneymaking family fare like \u201cSchool of Rock,\u201d and awards worthy dramas like \u201cBoyhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

He even went on to direct one of the decade defining drama comedies of the nineties with his acclaimed classic \u201cDazed and Confused.\u201d Linklater has remained a very loyal and down to Earth director over the years who has stuck by his cast of regular performers, many of whom he includes in his projects time and time again. Linklater has only grown as a filmmaker from the time he directed \u201cSlacker\u201d and he promises to grow more and build more visionary dramas and comedies about life, and youth.<\/p>\n

I Recommend:<\/strong> Linklater directs one of the very few irritating romance sagas with \u201cBefore Sunrise,\u201d \u201cBefore Sunset,\u201d and \u201cBefore Midnight.\u201d All three films chronicle the romance and courtship of Jesse and Celine and offer unique takes on life and love.<\/p>\n

\"adam_wingard\"<\/a>1. Adam Wingard
\n<\/strong>Adam Wingard is the closest person we have to John Carpenter making movies today. He makes the movies he wants, he\u2019s a self made man, and he\u2019s finally being embraced by the mainstream. He\u2019s on his way to directing a big screen adaptation of \u201cDeath Note,\u201d and is about to release \u201cThe Woods,\u201d which is garnering positive press all over. Wingard makes horror cinema his way and has earned a ton of raves for some fantastic horror films. He\u2019s a man who has stuck close to pals like Ti West, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, and Simon Barrett and has contributed to hit anthology horror films like \u201cVHS\u201d and \u201cABCS of Death.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2011 he delivered the masterpiece \u201cYou\u2019re Next,\u201d a home invasion slasher thriller that reworked the tropes of the sub-genre to offer up what is an exciting and fantastic indie, and followed that up with 2014\u2019s \u201cThe Guest,\u201d a marvelous thriller about a psychotic soldier who insinuates himself in to the family of a dead soldier, and begins wreaking havoc on their lives. Wingard is a dazzling filmmaker who is slowly changing the horror genre film by film, and he\u2019s the best there is.<\/p>\n

I Recommend: <\/strong>\u201cYou\u2019re Next.\u201d It\u2019s a beautiful amalgam of \u201cStraw Dogs,\u201d \u201cFortress,\u201d and \u201cIls (Them).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the revolving door of filmmaker working in today\u2019s movie industry, Hollywood is thankfully being more and more open to the works of independent filmmakers. They\u2019re welcoming self made directors more and more, offering them bigger projects and the chance to prove themselves. While sometimes they can stumble, often times they prove they can access […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,359,472,477,501,502,846,1087],"class_list":["post-20829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-list-junkies","tag-arthouse","tag-filmmaking","tag-hollywood","tag-horror","tag-indie-film","tag-indie-filmmaking","tag-richard-linklater","tag-thriller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20835,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20829\/revisions\/20835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}