My Director Watch: Updated 2013

Here is my newest update to my Director Watch which was begun in 2010 and has changed since then. Mostly directors get added to the list. Sadly this last year one of my favorite directors, Tony Scott passed on so I am removing him from the list as a current, active filmmaker.

Please refer to my earlier post called My Director Watch for explanations.

The Hollywood Master Directors

James Cameron
Piranha II, Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic, Avatar, Avatar 2, Battle Angel

John Carpenter
Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape From New York, The Thing, Christine, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned, Escape from L.A., Vampires, Ghosts of Mars, The Ward

Francis Ford Coppola
The Godfather, The Conversation, Godfather II, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, Godfather III, Dracula, Jack, The Rainmaker, Youth Without Youth, Tetro, Twixt

Clint Eastwood
Unforgiven, A Perfect World, Bridges of Madison County, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, Absolute Power, True Crime, Space Cowboys, Blood Work, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Torino, Invictus, Hereafter, J. Edgar

Terry Gilliam
Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Brazil, Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Zero Theorem

Werner Herzog
Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Fitzcarraldo, Invincible, Rescue Dawn, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Into the Abyss

George Lucas
THX 1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars Franchise

Terrence Malick
Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World, The Tree of Life, To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, Voyage of Time

Martin Scorcese
Taxi Driver, New York New York, Raging Bull, After Hours, Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Age of Innocence, Casino, Kundun, Bringing Out The Dead, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, The Departed, Shutter Island, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street

Ridley Scott
Duelists, Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Someone to Watch Over Me, Black Rain, Thelma & Louise, 1492, White Squall, GI Jane, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Matchstick Men, Kingdom of Heaven, A Good Year, American Gangster, Body of Lies, Robin Hood, Prometheus, The Councelor, Gertrude Bell

Stephen Spielberg
Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones Movies, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Empire of the Sun, Jurassic Park, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, War of the Worlds, Munich, The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, Lincoln, American Sniper


The Currently En Vogue Directors

J. J. Abrams
Alias (TV), Lost (TV), Mission Impossible III, Star Trek (2009), Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars: Episode VII

Ben Affleck
Gone Baby Gone, Gimme Shelter, The Town, Argo, Live by Night

P. T. Anderson
Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice

Wes Anderson
Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Judd Apatow
40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, This is Forty

Darren Aronofsky
Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Noah

Jacques Audiard
Read My Lips, The Beat That Skipped My Heart, A Prophet, Rust & Bone

David Ayer
Harsh Times, Street Kings, End of Watch, Ten, Fury

Noah Baumbach
Kicking & Screaming, Highball, Mr. Jealousy, The Squid & The Whale, Margot at the Wedding, Greenberg, Frances Ha

Michael Bay
Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, The Island, Transformers, Transformers II, Transformers III, Pain and Gain, Transformers 4

Kathryn Bigelow
Near Dark, Blue Steel, Point Break, Strange Days, The Weight of Water, K-19: The Widowmaker, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty

Timur Bekmambetov
Night Watch, Day Watch, Wanted, 9, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Danny Boyle
Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Trance

Edward Burns
The Brothers McMullen, She's the One, No Looking Back, Sidewalks of New York, Ash Wednesday, Looking for Kitty, The Groomsman, Purple Violets, Nice Guy Johnny, Newlyweds, Fitzgerald Family Christmas

Tim Burton
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetle Juice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie, Big Eyes, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Leos Carax
Boy Meets Girl, The Lovers on the Bridge, Pola X, Tokyo!, Holy Motors

Joe Carnahan
Narc, Ticker, Smokin' Aces, The A-Team, The Grey, Stretch, Killing Pablo

D. J. Caruso
The Salton Sea, Taking Lives, Disturbia, Eagle Eye, I Am Number Four, Standing Up

Park Chan-Wook
Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, Thirst, Stoker

Joel & Ethan Coen
Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Millers Crossing, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Man Who Wasn't There, Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers, No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, True Grit, Inside Llewyn Davis

Sofia Coppola
The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, Somewhere, The Bling Ring

Alfonso Cuaron
Great Expectations, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, Gravity, A Boy and His Shoe

Guillermo Del Toro
Blade II, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, Pinocchio, Hellboy 3

Quentin Dupieux
Nonfilm, Steak, Rubber, Wrong, Wrong Cops, Realite

Mark & Jay Duplass
The Puffy Chair, Cyrus, Jeff Who Lives At Home, The Do-Deca-Pentathlon

Roland Emmerich
Making Contact, Moon 44, Universal Soldier, Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot, Day After Tomorrow, 10,000BC, 2012, Anonymous, White House Down, ID Forever: Part 1 & Part 2

Gareth Evans
Footsteps, Merantau, The Raid: Redemption, V/H/S/2, The Raid 2: Berandal

David Fincher
Alien 3, Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, House of Cards (TV), Gone Girl

Marc Forster
Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stay, Stranger Than Fiction, Quantum of Solace, Machine Gun Preacher, World War Z

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Intact, 28 Weeks Later, Intruders, Wednesday

Mel Gibson
Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto

Michel Gondry
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, The Green Hornet, The We and the I, Mood Indigo

Paul Greengrass
Resurrected, The Theory of Flight, Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy, United 93, The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone, Captain Phillips, Barca

Davis Guggenheim
An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, Waiting for Superman, From the Sky Down

Mikael Hafstrom
Evil, Derailed, 1408, The Rite, Escape Plan

Michael Haneke
Code Unknown, The Piano Teacher, Cache (Hidden), Funny Games, The White Ribbon, Amour

Jered Hess
Napolean Dynamite, Nacho Libre, Gentlemen Broncos, Loomis Fargo

John Hillcoat
The Proposition, The Road, Lawless, Triple Nine

Gavin Hood
Tsotsi, Rendition, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ender's Game

Tom Hooper
The Damned United, The Kings Speech, Les Miserables

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
21 Grams, Babel, Biutiful, Naran Ja, Birdman

Peter Jackson
Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, Dead Alive, Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, The Hobbit Trilogy, The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun

Jim Jarmusch
Permanent Vacation, Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Mystery Train, Dead Man, Night on Earth, Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, Coffee and Cigarettes, Broken Flowers, Limits of Control, Only Lovers Left Alive

Rian Johnson
Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper

Spike Jonze
Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Where the Wild Things Are, Pretty Sweet, Her

Wong Kar-Wai
Chunking Express, In the Mood for Love, 2046, My Blueberry Nights, The Grandmaster

Richard Kelly
Donnie Darko, Southland Tales, The Box, Corpus Christi

Abbas Kiarostami
Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, Certified Copy, Like Someone In Love

Francis Lawrence
Constantine, I Am Legend, Water for Elephants, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2

Ang Lee
Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, Lust Caution, Taking Woodstock, Life of Pi

Baz Lehrmann
Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, Australia, The Great Gatsby

Louis Leterrier
The Transporter, Unleashed, Transporter 2, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me

Richard Linklater
Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, School of Rock, Before Sunset, A Scanner Darkly, Fast Food Nation, Me and Orson Welles, Bernie, Before Midnight

David Lynch
Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks (TV), Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Rabbits, Inland Empire

James Mangold
Heavy, Copland, Girl Interrupted, Kate & Leopold, Identity, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day, Juliet, The Wolverine, Three Little Words

Michael Mann
Thief, The Keep, Manhunter, Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Ali, Collateral, Miami Vice, Public Enemies, Cyber

Adam McKay
Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, Anchorman: The Legend Continues

Sam Mendes
American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go, Skyfall, Bond 24

John Cameron Mitchell 

Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Shortbus, Rabbit Hole

Michael Moore
Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, Capitalism: A Love Story

Vincenzo Natali
 Cube, Cypher, Nothing, Splice, Haunter, High Rise, ABC's of Death 2

Christopher Nolan
Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar

Niels Arden Oplev
We Shall Overcome, Worlds Apart, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dead Man Down

Wolfgang Petersen
Das Boot, The Neverending Story, In the Line of Fire, Outbreak, The Perfect Storm, Troy, Poseidon

Alex Proyas
Spirits of the Air Gremlins of the Clouds, The Crow, Dark City, Garage Days, I Robot, Knowing, The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, Gods of Egypt

Sam Raimi
Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Darkman, Army of Darkness, The Quick and the Dead, Spiderman Franchise, Drag Me To Hell, Oz: The Great & Powerful

Matt Reeves
Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Ivan Reitman
Foxy Lady, Cannibal Girls, Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Legal Eagles, Twins, Ghostbusters II, Kindergarten Cop, Dave, Junior, Fathers' Day, Six Days Seven Nights, Evolution, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, No Strings Attached, Draftday, Triplets

Jason Reitman
Thank You For Smoking, Juno, Up In The Air, Young Adult, Labor Day

Nicholas Winding Refn
Pusher, Bleeder, Fear X, With Blood On My Hands: Pusher II, I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III, Bronson, Valhalla Rising, Drive, Only God Forgives, I Walk With The Dead

Guy Ritchie
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch., Swept Away, Revolver, RocknRolla, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Robert Rodriguez
El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2, Spy Kids 3, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Sin City, Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Planet Terror, Shorts, Machete, Spy Kids 4, Machete Kills, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Mark Romanek
Static, One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go, The Lost Symbol

David O. Russell
Spanking the Monkey, Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter, The Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Nailed

Walter Salles
Behind the Sun, The Motorcycle Diaries, Dark Water, Paris Je T'aime, On the Road

Joel Schumacher
The Lost Boys, Flatliners, Falling Down, Batman Forever, The Phantom of the Opera, The Number 23, Blood Creek, Twelve, Man in the Mirror, Trespass

M. Night Shyamalan
The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady In The Water, The Last Airbender, After Earth

Bryan Singer
The Usual Suspects, X-Men, X2, Superman Returns, Valkyrie, Jack the Giant Killer, X-Men: Days of Future Past

Tarsem Singh
The Cell, The Fall, Immortals, Mirror Mirror, Marco Polo, Selfless

Kevin Smith
Clerks., Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Cop Out, Red State, Clerks 3

Zack Snyder
Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Sucker Punch, The Man of Steel, Man of Steel 2

Steven Soderburgh
Sex Lies and Videotape, Kafka, The Underneath, Out of Sight, The Limey, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean's 11, Solaris, Ocean's 12, Bubble, The Good German, Ocean's 13, Che, The Girlfriend Experience, The Informant!, Haywire, Contagion, Magic Mike, Side Effects, Behind the Candelabra

Joe Swanberg
Kissing on the Mouth, LOL, Hanna Takes the Stairs, Nights & Weekends, Alexander the Last, Uncle Kent, Silver Bullets, V/H/S, All the Light in the Sky, Privacy Setting, Drinking Buddies, 24 Exposures, Happy Christmas

Quentin Tarantino
Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Vol I-II, Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, Kill Bill: Vol III

Gus Van Sant
My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, Psycho (1998), Finding Forrester, Elephant, Paranoid Park, Milk, Restless, My Own Private River, Promised Land

Gore Verbinski
The Mexican, The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean I-III, The Weather Man, Rango, The Lone Ranger

The Wachowskis
Bound, The Matrix Trilogy, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending

Joss Whedon
Firefly (TV), Buffy The Vampire Slayer (TV), Angel (TV), Serenity, Thor, The Avengers, Much Ado About Nothing, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Edgar Wright
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The World's End, Ant-Man

Joe Wright
Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, The Soloist, Hanna, Anna Karenina




The New Directors with Fresh Eyes
They have made 1-3 films with at least one film that speaks with a new and skillful voice.

Tomas Alfredson - Let the Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Fede Alvarez - Evil Dead

Andrea Arnold - Red Road, Fish Tank, Wuthering Heights

Richard Ayoade - Submarine, The Double

Zal Batmanblij - Sound of my Voice, The East

Jeffrey Blitz - Rocket Science, Lucky

Neill Blomkamp - District 9, Elysium, Chappie

Mike Cahill - Boxers & Bellerinas, Another Earth, I Origins

Antonio Campos - Afterschool, Simon Killer

Shane Carruth - Primer, Upstream Color

Stephen Chbosky - The Four Corners of Nowhere, Perks of Being a Wallflower

Derek Cianfrance - Brother Tied, Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines, Metalhead

Roman Coppola - CQ, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III

Joe Cornish - Attack the Block, Rust

Andrew Dominik - Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing them Softly, Blonde

Lena Dunham - Tiny Furniture, Girls

Sean Durkin - Martha Marcy May Marlene, Janis

Gareth Edwards - Monsters, Godzilla

Ruben Fleischer - Zombieland, 30 Minutes or Less, Gangster Squad

Chris Fuller - Loren Cass, Surpassing All Other Kings

Evan Glodell - Bellflower

Drew Goddard - Cabin in the Woods

Debra Granik - Down to the Bone, Winters Bone

James Gunn - Slither, Super, Guardians of the Galaxy

Ian Hubert - Anagnorisis, Tears of Steel, Project London

Duncan Jones - Moon, Source Code, Warcraft

Harmony Korine - Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy, Mister Lonely, Spring Breakers

Joseph Kosinski - Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Untitled Tron: Legacy Sequel

Jonathan Levine - All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, The Wackness, 50/50, Warm Bodies

Jennifer Chambers Lynch- Surveillance, Chained, A Fall From Grace

Greg Marcks - 11:14, Echelon Conspiracy

John Maybury - The Jacket, The Edge of Love

Martin McDonagh - In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths

Jeff Nichols - Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud

Calvin Reeder - The Oregonian, The Rambler

Kelly Reichardt - Old Joy, Wendy & Lucy, Meek's Cutoff, Night Moves

Scott Stewart - Legion, Priest, Dark Skies, Dominion

M. Dot Strange - We Are The Strange, Heart String Marionette

Josh Trank - Chronicle, Fantastic Four, Venom

Pete Travis - Vantage Point, Endgame, Dredd, Hangman

Colin Trevorrow - Safety Not Guaranteed, Jurassic Park IV

Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Craig Zobel - Great World of Sound, Compliance, Z for Zachariah

Jon's Most Anticipated Movies of 2013

Starting out with the most anticipated...
including updates with my responses to how these movies actually turned out!

1. Ender's Game- Finally the adaptation of Orson Scott Card's best selling sci-fi saga where children are trained to be cutthroat strategists, generals and warriors defending earth against a coming alien invasion! So incredible that this is actually happening! It wasn't as mind-blowing as I thought. But it was a fairly well made and a fun to watch movie, though it didn't make my top 13.

2. Elysium- Neill Blomkamp dishes out another high concept sci-fi epic with socially conscious morals. Wow! It's too bad this film wasn't nearly as good as District 9. Kind of a bummer… but some memorable moments.

3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- Peter Jackson's first film from the Hobbit Trilogy was my favorite of last year and I can't wait to see Smaug in all his gilded glory this next year!! In my opinion this wasn't as great as the first Hobbit film but I did enjoy it!

4. Pacific Rim- Guillermo Del Toro's anime-inspired sci-fi epic, with Mecha and Godzilla-like creatures battling it out over the planet earth. meh… It had some great action and VFX, but story and acting was weak.

5. After Earth- An epic sci-fi with Will & Jaden Smith returning to our planet in the far future to find out what earth has become. Woah… this was bad. Now we know what Will Smith has become.

6. Oblivion- An epic sci-fi with Tom Cruise returning to our planet in the far future to find out what earth has become. Not so great… but there are some cool images and moments.

7. Star Trek Into Darkness- Watching what JJ Abrams has done with the Star Trek franchise has me all in a tizzy. Now instead of Kirk shouting "Khan!" he might be shouting "Cumberbatch!" It's bad when it should be good! Frustration!

8. To The Wonder- The next art house movie by film master Terrence Mallick. This one actually was pretty decent. It made my top 13 of the year.

9. Oldboy- the American remake of the original South Korean film, which was mind-blowingly cool.

10. The World's End- Simon & Nick get back together to round out the Blood & Ice Cream Trilogy. Should be fun! Edgar Wright never seems to disappoint, neither do Nick Frost or Simon Pegg.

11. World War Z- Billed as the zombie movie to end all zombie movies (which is starring Brad Pitt of course). Better than most thought it would be.

12. The Place Beyond the Pines- Gosling/Cianfrance pair up once again to give us another beautiful drama except this time with Gosling as a reckless motor-cycling bank robber! Yayy! Great film, albeit a tad long. But its good enough to warrant that extra length.

13. A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III- Any comedy I can see with Bill Murray & Aubrey Plaza in it will interest me! Its kinda fun but not THAT special.

14. Anchorman: The Legend Continues- The Legend will hopefully get more respect this time around since most of the leads have become super-famous since then, especially Steve Carell.

15. The Evil Dead- This remake of the amazing classic debut film of the same name from Sam Raimi actually looks like it could be worth a watch, even with me not being a horror fan.

16. The Great Gatsby- Regardless of Hollywoods general disregard of Baz Luhrmann's films, I actually really dig his style and this one looks really interesting. Turned out to be pretty great and VERY interesting!!

17. Man of Steel- Looks like a fresh new perspective on the Superman saga by FX genius Zack Snyder. I think this one was the best super hero movie of the summer. There was some angst and some self-discovery going on, and buildings got demolished.

18. This is the End- Seems like NOT just another Seth Rogen comedy! Instead a whole cast of crazy comedy actors can add to the end of the world lampooning of the year. meh… I wasn't that turned on by it. I didn't think these famous people getting sent to hell was that shocking, or interesting and... for someone who seemed to read the Bible to get half of the plot you'd think they wouldn't totally miss the part on HOW you get to heaven.

19. Upstream Color- Could be an art house delight from the director of the breakaway debut film "Primer". It was definitely an art house delight for me! My second favorite film of the year! I hope Shane Carruth makes more films! Quicker!

20. The Heat- A McCarthy & Bullock team up which should offer some side-splitting craziness! It was fun but not a great movie by any means.

21. Kick Ass 2- I loved the first Kick Ass which really had such bright, vivid superhero characters. Hopefully, this one will not disappoint.

22. Riddick- I have a soft spot for the Riddick franchise even though Diesel is the weak part for me. Another excuse to enter into that same world again is really exciting.

23. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- I read the books and even though the first film was awkward I still love the story and what they might do with this film interpretation of a really unique franchise. It was better than I thought it would be!

24. Iron Man 3- This franchise has been one of the best superhero franchises out there & this one should be no exception. Third best super hero movie of the year, after Thor 2.

25. Identity Thief- Another McCarthy movie being released this year except this one is with Jason Bateman. Should prove to be an exercise in hilarity! eh… not so much.

26.The Host- Even though this is written by the writer of the Twilight series, I found the trailers for this film intriguing and a very interesting concept. And I think they could really pull off this one with Saoirse in the drivers seat. Wow! That was worse than After Earth. That was BAD.

27. Warm Bodies- regardless of the fact that my short film "Death Do Us Part" has a similar story I really liked the clip that's been released online from the beginning of the film. Pretty decent film! It is definitely a film of merit this year!

28. Movie 43- A comedy that is as star-studded and as crazy as this one most be good, right? Wow, a real clunker of a film. 

29. Thor: The Dark World- I'm interested in where Hemsworth will take Thor to in the second film of the franchise. Second best super hero film of the year after Man of Steel.

30. Despicable Me 2- I enjoy these kinds of silly animated films and last year there weren't enough of them around.

31. The Lone Ranger- I love Johnny Depp & Army Hammer, so my hope is that this will be even better than "The Pirates" movies. Better than many claimed. Its too bad the film bombed at the box office because it was a very decent interpretation of the Lone Ranger.

32. A Good Day to Die Hard- I actually really enjoyed the last Die Hard film and that Bruce Willis guy has still got that charming know-how to make it work.

33. Small Apartments- Looks like American breakout film for actor Matt Lucas, known for the hilarious BBC show "Little Britain". Not too shabby.

34. Wrong- another random and confusingly quirky film from director Quentin Dupieux, who made the strange film "Rubber" a few years back. A pretty silly film but not as memorable as "Rubber". Still, it is worth a watch.

35. Dead Man Down- an interesting, slick-looking revenge tale featuring Noomi Rapace, Colin Farrell & Terrence Howard. I was pretty unimpressed. The plot was not believable.

36. Jack the Giant Slayer- Fairy Tale goodness from director Bryan Singer.

37. The Last Stand- Could be a good return to fun action flicks for the "Governator". Eh, it was ok.

38. On the Road- I've been waiting for a good accurate adaptation of the classic stream of consciousness tale by locally loved Beatnik author, Jack Kerouac, and this looks like it might do the trick. Nope. 

39. 21 and Over- Looks like a college coming of age party movie that might actually get me to crack a smile, since typically that kind of film bores me to tears. I wasn't bored to tears but afterwards it left my memory. Oh well.

Jon's Top Twelve of 2012

Why the top twelve? Well it sounds good... But also, there were so many great films this year I had to up the ante to make room for more. At this rate, I will add an extra film to the list every year until 2020. So here we are, the top 12!


1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure - Dir. Peter Jackson
The Hobbit is a well deserved second chance at visiting Middle Earth for Peter Jackson. This is where he really gets to share his mutual love of this fantasy world with all of us & regardless of all the negative reviews I've heard lately about the Hobbit from bloggers or soon to be bloggers (who apparently can't just sit back and enjoy themselves while watching movies anymore), I enjoyed every second of this film.

The only problem in my view is his desire to change things to a heightened frame rate. I saw it in 48/fps and in the traditional 24. I didn't like the 48 as it rendered a very video look to it that was uncomfortable for me. But let's get this straight... this in no way reflects on the movie badly. The movie by itself without the 48 is a masterful film, full of Middle Earth goodness and all the great beats of Tolkien's classic stories is there... redemption, sacrifice, humility, the simple things in life and all of the evil forces pitted against Middle Earth as well.

 I found it difficult after watching this film, to listen to reviewers say they didn't like the added reminders of The Lord of the Rings in this film. What? Are you serious? It made it so much better, it added to the story and the context of the film, and it was super fun to watch! Believe me, I know the book, but I know this is a film... And I am so grateful that we will be getting even MORE of a good thing in all three of these films! Peter Jackson proves he can make every single frame of his movie sing with a deep beautiful ancient Dwarven melody. I loved it and had to watch it more than once. Maybe some people just don't enjoy spending time in Middle Earth, but that's the most they can rightly say against this film.

2. The Avengers - Dir. Joss Wedon
I absolutely loved this film! I was a close contender for first place this year! Considering the great challenges just to make this film I was so blown away by the final product! It is now, in my view the very BEST superhero film ever made!

3. Django Unchained - Dir. Quentin Tarantino
One of his best works, although I am still partial to Kill Bill myself. There is a deep, subversive, exploitation goodness to this film. Unless you can really understand & enjoy subversive films I do not recommend this to you. But I have heard from a lot of people that their politics can't seem to let them enjoy this film. My view on that is if it won't let you, you have been way too political in your life and it is time to learn to just sit down and enjoy a film for what it is, instead of what your ideology says it is 'supposed to be'. So, are you okay with banning Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn because the 'N' word is in them? Sorry, you should not watch this movie.

4. Prometheus - Dir. Ridley Scott
I must, again, differ with reviewers on this one. Reviewers often get it in their heads as to what a film is 'supposed to be' just like 'political types' do. This movie did not give them what they wanted on a silver platter. But, if you just enjoy being in this sci-fi universe Ridley created, understanding where he came from with Alien, etc, this is a great offering to supplement that same universe.

No, it does not give a lot of answers. Since when was that a requirement of good storytelling? Quite the opposite. He did not make all of his crew intelligent or perfect in their actions or motivations. Since when has THAT been a requirement as well?

In fact, if we go into the horror genre itself, we see that characters are RARELY doing the 'intelligent thing'! Horror films are basically Greek tragedies. Hence, the huge mistakes they make, to create even larger problems which climaxes into a ridiculous, huge problem for everyone. These days we rarely even get a hero to save us in the end of our modern Greek tragedies. This is just normal in these stories in order to make the point they are wanting to make to the audience.

I am, also, a major lover of Production Design as a large element of what makes up a great film because I love very original, world building films. This movie is a beautiful work of art in its design, its sets, its costumes, etc. The world it creates is masterfully fantastical and gorgeous! That counts for something in my book and it SHOULD count for a lot more in other people's books as well.

5. Looper - Dir. Rian Johnson
Another masterful sci-fi this year. This film finds an amazing balance between story, character & setting to give one of the blow away performances of the year! Some really nice anime inspired scenes in the third act to throw us for a looper... errr a loop.

6. Skyfall - Dir. Sam Mendes
For a James Bond film to be one of the best of the year has been unheard of for more than two decades, excepting only 'Casino Royale' in my opinion. This film has the classy Bond feel along with new, exotic locations and regardless of what people say about the story ending flat I have to disagree. The ending set piece at the Skyfall Estate will prove to be one of the most memorable and seminal sequences in James Bond history! A must see for any Bond or Bourne fans out there!

7. Chronicle - Dir. Josh Trank
I struggled a lot with this film because I wanted to put it higher on the list. It has a special place for me as a new kind of superhero film. The acting wasn't perfect but pretty solid. The found footage element of the film was extremely well thought out and very well executed. I hated the last scene of the film where he flies to Nepal. Quite silly. There were a few of these kinds of cheesy moments that seemed out of place but for all the things that were amazing about this film, it makes up for these issues in spades!

8. Moonrise Kingdom - Dir. Wes Anderson
This was another film I struggled to put at the top of this list and I have a very special place in my heart for Wes' films. This one proves to be his best work in my opinion. Full of heart, creativity, quirk, and quaint romanticism. Loved it!

9. The Dark Knight Rises - Dir. Chris Nolan
I expected more of Chris Nolan this year with this film. It has huge plot holes. Unrealistic action. Grandiose gestures that mean almost nothing. But despite all of this it proves to be an enigmatic masterpiece of superhero angst that threatens to rewrite the Bruce Wayne legacy... And no one seems to mind in the slightest because we all had so much fun watching it!

10. The Invisible War - Dir. Kirby Dick
Now we have to bring it down a bit. This film just might change your life. I could save it or end it. If you are a woman and you are considering entering into military service YOU MUST WATCH THIS FILM FIRST! This film blew me into little bitty pieces on the floor and told me I was a dirty, bad and disgusting person. I did not enjoy watching this film and this is exactly WHY this film is important and needs to be seen by everyone. Period.

11. Raid: Redemption - Dir. Gareth Evans
A must watch for anyone who likes action or martial arts films! This guys almost redefine the action/fighting film with new ideas that could terrorize you in your sleep! Not that this is a horror film... But it IS a holy terror to those who feel they've seen everything that action or martial arts films have to offer. I enjoyed it, but there is not much character development or character arc in this movie... it is all crazy action!

12. Cabin in the Woods - Dir. Drew Goddard
Speaking of horror... (LOL) this is a must watch for any horror lover out there! This film may just ruin every experience with your favorite horror flicks for all time. Why is horror what it is? Why do characters in horror always do the WRONG thing? Why do horror lovers love horror? This movie might just answer all of these questions in a way you never thought could be answered... and do it with a smile.

Honorable Mention:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Seven Psychopaths
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Compliance
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
End of Watch
Jack Reacher
Dredd
The Watch
The Grey


There were, no doubt, some films that could have stolen the top positions here on my list if ONLY I had actually watched them!

Movies I Should Have Seen Already from 2012 (But Didn't):
West of Memphis
Yelling to the Sky
Rust & Bone
Killer Joe

I might amend this list once I see these films... Speaking of which, the best of from last year (2011) could also be amended by now since most of the films I never got to see on that list I have actually seen now. We will see if I have time to update that post. Happy watching and see ya next year for the top 13 of 2013!

Update on 8/14/13: Many of the films I had not seen before have now been viewed and many of them I am sorry to say, do actually affect the results of my top twelve list. Also, some of the films on my list, I must admit, given the benefit of time, have soured on me. The current list is...

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure

2. The Avengers

3. Life of Pi

4. Moonrise Kingdom

5. Les Miserables

6. Looper

7. Skyfall

8. The Dark Knight Rises

9. Prometheus

10. Chronicle

11. Cabin in the Woods

12. Silver Linings Playbook

Honorable Mention:

Django Unchained

The Invisible War

Raid: Redemption

Holy Motors

The Impossible

Zero Dark Thirty

Killing Them Softly

Beasts of the Southern Wild
Seven Psychopaths
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Compliance
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
End of Watch
Jack Reacher
Dredd
The Watch
The Grey

Joyce Newman R.I.P.: a life of acting and activism

I regret to inform our readers that Joyce Newman, our wonderful leading lady on "Death Do Us Part", has passed away on December 1st, 2012. She was a massive talent, a gracious lady and she will be greatly missed by local Tampa Bay filmmakers and talent.

There has been a memorial service for her in Tampa and it was beautiful to see all of her wonderful family and friends that I never knew. It was the activists and the film people together singing "Spirit in the Sky" as we released butterflies into the air. With all the things we did and all the things we might do to show her we love her, it is still not good enough for her. She was a dearly loved actress and she was always smiling and positive.

Her obituary on this site states her name as 'Newnam' but I know her as Newman and this is because she told me she only indicated herself as 'Newnam' on Facebook. So, I suppose she made her stage name 'Newman'. She was a natural talent and she was very focused and dedicated during the making of our film. I will greatly miss her.

During the memorial service I stated that I will try to screen our film finally, along with other films that featured Joyce, so we can see her at her best, together. We will see if we can screen it in the next few weeks so stay tuned!  I am hoping the screening will do her memory justice... at least a little.

The Official Trailers for Death Do Us Part

Here they are!! The Official Trailers 1 & 2 for the short film Death Do Us Part. So many amazing people helped us to make this short film, we can't thank you enough!

And a Happy Halloween from Jon & Rebecca Croft @ Liberty No. 5 Pictures!

Enjoy!!
:)

Official Teaser for Jon Croft's short film "Death Do Us Part"

Here is the official teaser on YouTube...



So, let me know what you think... 1. Is this good as a teaser?
2. Does it make you want to watch the movie? Also,
3. What do you like about it?

A lot of people helped on this movie and we cannot credit everyone now or in other promotional work- but you will get official credits in the movie- so don't be discouraged.  Speaking of other promotional work- there are...

Two official trailers are also coming on Halloween!
...It's all happening folks!
Wish me luck! :)

Don't Negotiate With Zombies

Barbara knows what she wants, and it's not a Zombie Husband.

If zombies could do more than just groan, gurgle, stumble and snarl - if they could actually talk to you - what would they say? Would they make degrading, undead demands in broken sentence fragments blighted by bad grammar; or with smooth speech, would they seductively convince us to let them consume our brains? Would they rant on their dry, scratchy vocal cords, about how annoying the living are with their delight in the "little things in life"; or would they grumble about the uncomfortable accommodations of the grave: the aches and pains which are a nightly part of zombiehood?

Or, if indeed they were so articulate, would they repent for all evils committed in the past, or stubbornly stand by each and every selfish act while living?

Whatever they do, I think we can safely assume that if - and when - zombies do learn to verbally express themselves... we won't like it. When it comes down to it, do you really want to hear what that maladjusted, filthy, worm-eaten shell of a post-human has to say? The best advice is to board up your windows, keep your fire arm loaded, aim for the head, and don't ever negotiate with Zombies!

AND WATCH "DEATH DO US PART," a short film by Jon Croft!

Written by Rebecca Croft

Is There Love After Death?

Barbara and Henry stand in the living room looking at old photos and wondering what happened to their forty year marriage. At one time it seemed they were deeply in love. They spent every minute together and barely left their one room apartment on Oak street that they rented right out of college. They planned out their future, a promotion, a nice house in the suburbs and a few children. They had it all. But somewhere along the way things began to deteriorate as time drove a splintered wedge between them. Forgiveness was forgotten. Second chances were squandered and they slowly grew apart. Its only been six months since Henry's funeral but it feels like a lifetime. Now Henry wants her back, but is there love after death?

On the mantle piece sit several items that represent Barbara. We used objects that were inherently feminine and catholic to symbolize her saintly devotion to her husband while he was alive.  We used a statuette of the virgin mary, a pair of praying hands and a ceramic lamb. Joy Newman who plays Barbara contributed many details, including a small angel statue of her own which fit in nicely. 

We also added some framed photos to the display. One is a photoshoped image of Joy Newman and Patrick McCall with their arms around each other taken in happier times. We had initially wanted this to be a wedding photo but neither of our actors had wedding photos for us to use and since they had never met before working on the film together we had to merge two of their old photos together creating a alternate history. The other framed photo is of Joy and her two nephews who portray Barbara and Henry's sons. The objects fade into the background and become the clutter of everyday life but if you really look you can see symbols of Barbara's character all around the house.

Written By Rebecca Croft

Event: Will Prometheus be the Best?

Do you wonder if Ridley Scott's new film "PROMETHEUS" will be the BEST film of 2012?  Find out with us!  Yayy!  MOVIE NIGHT!!

My readers and fellow filmmakers are invited to attend a screening of "Prometheus" in 3D IMAX with me and my wife on Saturday Jun 9th at 7pm at MUVICO Baywalk IMAX!

Additional Instructions:  Please show up early because this is prime-time movie watching so grab your seats earlier rather than later. Keep in touch with me beforehand if you want to sit together so we can meet up with you. Afterwards we will go for drinks! It will be massive Ridley Scott fun!

How to get good Production Design in your movies: A philosophy and a learning experience.

Written by:

Rebecca Croft

Production Design is an Art Form! 

I can't tell you how many indie films I've seen that are shot in somebody's apartment with wall to wall carpeting, a media rack in the background and bare yellow walls, where the lead is about 18 years old, vanilla plain, without any defining characteristics at all. So many filmmakers have great aspirations to a smart and witty hard hitting indie but lack visual inspiration. Film is primarily a visual medium so there's no reason why it shouldn't be a feast for the eyes, or at least a buffet for the eyes. Jon really wanted to pour as much creativity and character as possible into his directorial debut "Death Do Us Part". He wanted his indie zombie short to stand out from the crowd and have style. Being our first professional film that we created and authored together we had a lot to learn about making good production design work.

Using the funeral scene as an example in our movie- we knew there were certain items that were absolutely necessary to convey "funeral" to the audience. A cemetery, a coffin, a headstone, a priest and mourners in black.  In reality I don't think many people wear black to funerals anymore but in movies they do. It's part of the strange real/unreal language of movies. We were concerned about our crew being kicked out of a cemetery if anyone saw us filming there. We didn't want to ask for permission incase the answer was "No". We though about shooting in a park and creating some headstones out of styrofoam and keeping all the shots very tight. But in the end Jon decided to risk it and film at the actual cemetery being careful to appear very respectful and even dressing the cast as well as the crew like an actual funeral party. We filmed at the very back of a large cemetery, where we wouldn't be visible from the road. The extras and supporting cast were told to wear black, suits for the men. I also wore black and Jon wore a suit, that way we could cast ourselves as extras if not enough people showed up or at least look like a real funeral if anyone got suspicious. As it turned out I was used as an extra and no one stopped us or questioned us.

Since the scene is dominated by the Priest's eulogy, we started looking online for a clerical priests shirt. It was not difficult to find. We resisted buying the costume version and went for a more expensive Catholic supply tab-collar clergy shirt and I'm so glad we did, a touch of authenticity makes all the difference. We cast Jim Webb for his deep voice and benevolent personality. He showed up looking the part in a black suit, sporting the clergy shirt Jon gave him and dark shades. 

Earlier in the production our actress Joy Newman showed us several black dresses. Jon favored one with a puff sleeve bolero jacket. It was kind of 80's and it had lots of style. We asked joy to wear black shoes and a cross necklace and we would provide the black veiled pill box hat left over from my goth days. She looked amazing with her pale blue eyes peering our of the black veil.  

It was completely out of our budget to buy or rent a casket and completely beyond our ability to carve one out of wood. At one point we knew someone who thought they knew a girl with a coffin that she used as a coffee table but that never panned out.  So Jon painstakingly made a casket shaped from styrofoam and cardboard planning to cover it with a satin casket cloth. We went to our local craft store and bought blue satiny fabric to make the cloth and fake flowers which we mixed with real flowers in a hunk of florist foam to create a large funereal looking flower arrangement (we priced these and they are very expensive). Our brilliant cinematographer did the short casket justice and never shot it from unflattering angles. Then it was all placed on several yards of green astroturf, which seems to be the standard way of covering the large hole in the ground and nearby pile of grave dirt. 

There are many things we could have done to make the funeral scene even better and more professional. Grave diggers standing off in the background, the ever popular movie cliche of rain and a crowd of black umbrellas, more flowers, renting a real casket, a framed photo of the deceased. There are always things you look back and wish you could have done. But you do the best you can with the budget you have and try to apply what you learned to the next film. In all I'm very pleased with what we accomplished in this scene and all the cast and crew who contributed their talents. It wouldn't have been possible without them!

The most memorable iconic characters have something unexpected about them. Pulp Fiction, Blade Runner, Napoleon Dynamite, Royal Tenenbaums are just a few movies I can't forget because, among other reasons, their characters and production design are so memorable.  Do you have any favorite films with great character and production design?  Think about how these movies would not be as memorable or unique without these visual flourishes to help accentuate the characters and locations of the story.  It is truly an indispensable feature to good filmmaking!

Written by:

Writer/Producer Rebecca Croft