The 2016 Summer Movie Wager: Results

The 2016 Summer Movie Wager has come to a close…

Here are the final standings for this very hard to predict year! Films that never showed up on my list made millions more than assumed, but mostly, there were quite a few duds that we all expected to do better! Such as Angry Birds, Pete’s Dragon, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Ice Age, The BFG, Warcraft & Ben-Hur.  

So, lets see how I did. Did I do better than last year? I hope so, because I didn't do too well last year. I got only 33 points last year, but I got 66 points the year before! Ok. So, lets see first what I wagered and then compare it to the actual numbers this year. What was my wager this time?? What did I think would be the BIGGEST films of this summer?

1. Captain America Civil War

2. The Secret Life of Pets

3. Finding Dory

4. Suicide Squad

5. X-Men Apocalypse

6. Angry Birds

7. TMNT 2

8. The Conjuring 2

9. Ghostbusters

10. Independence Day Resurgence 

Of course that's not exactly how it turned out. So let's look at the official results for The Highest Grossing Domestic Summer Films of 2016 (according to Box Office Mojo). 

Instead, we actually got...

1. Finding Dory - $482m  (2 points off)

2. Captain America Civil War - $408m  (1 point off)

3. The Secret Life of Pets - $359m  (1 point off)

4. Suicide Squad - $300m  (a perfect prediction!)

5. Jason Bourne - $156m  (not even on my list! oooops!)

6. X-Men Apocalypse - $155.4m  (1 point off)

7. Star Trek Beyond - $155m  (not on my list either! oooops!)

8. Central Intelligence - $127m  (not on my list again! oooops AGAIN!!)

9. Ghostbusters - $126.5m  (two perfect predictions so far!)

10. The Legend of Tarzan - $126.3m  (not on my list AT ALL AGAIN! Whoooops! LOL)

That's right. Finding Dory was the biggest movie of summer 2016! And we have only two different genres that reach above the $300m domestic line. Superhero films and Animated Family. Apparently, that's it!

And I feel like I didn't do too well this year. Lots of films not on my list at all!

So, whats my score? This leaves me with a total score of 

5+7+7+10+0+7+0+0+10+0 = 46 points!

It's not that great but at least it is better than 2 of the 5 people on the Slashfilm podcast who also do wagers every year! 

My Points Progression

2014=66

2015=33

2016=46

So I’d say its pretty acceptable! Maybe I should not just do a Summer Movie Wager every year, but also do a Spring Movie Wager, A Fall Movie Wager, and an Awards Season Movie Wager to see who wins more awards!! Could be fun! :D

Jon's 2016 Summer Movie Wager

Hey everyone! Here's my 2016 Summer Movie Wager- which applies to DBO numbers for all films released between May 1st and Aug 31st.

I am going to bet that these films make the best Domestic Box Office numbers in this order!

1. Captain America Civil War

2. The Secret Life of Pets

3. Finding Dory

4. Suicide Squad

5. X-Men Apocalypse

6. Angry Birds

7. TMNT 2

8. Conjuring 2 

9. Ghostbusters

10. Independence Day Resurgence

Dark Horses:

1. Warcraft

2. The BFG

3. Ben-Hur

Here’s how they score the wager:

• Getting number 1 or number 10 dead-on gets you 13 points (each).

The rest of the scoring goes like this:

• 10 points for numbers 2-9 dead-on
• 7 points if your pick was only one spot away from where it ended up
• 5 points if it was two spots away
• 3 points if your pick is anywhere in the Top 10
• 1 point for each dark horse that makes it into the Top 10

The scoring is tabulated so that you get the SINGLE HIGHEST point value for each pick- that is, if you get number ten right, you don’t get 13+3, you only get 13.

Last year, I got this terrible score… 33 points.

I got…

7 points each for Avengers Age of Ultron and for Mission Impossible (1 place away)=14 points.

5 points each for Jurassic World and for Minions (2 places away)=10 points.

3 points each for Inside Out, Ant-Man, and Mad Max: Fury Road (on the list)=9 points.

14+10+9=33 points. This is HALF the score I made last year. Ha ha ha! ;)

Hopefully I’ll do much better this year, even though the season is PACKED with blockbuster fare. Every week has a new different 4-corner spectacle film or genre film. A decade ago we couldn’t do that. We have so much content that instead of wagering on a top 10 we’re gonna have to start wagering on a top 20! LOL.

What films are on YOUR list?

The 2015 Summer Movie Wager: Results

The 2015 Summer Movie Wager was quite a surprise. So many films surprised us. So many films bombed, unexpectedly. We can hope these results will give Hollywood the proper direction to improve, but this hardly ever happens. The fact is, money in Hollywood speaks the loudest. That is the purpose in itself, not to make films... much less good ones. 

For example, I found Jurassic World to be a less than stellar film. Not much there of any real value to chew on. Just nostalgic flim flam. Much of the world was intoduced to two new stars... Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. And some new CG creations. Not much else to see here. 

However, because this film blew away box office records, nothing any of us predicted, Hollywood may assume that we want to see big CGI dinosaurs and ever more reboots, rehashes, sequels, etc. At least the 'rebootitis' that Hollywood has acquired (transforming into 'franchisitis') seems to be working for them. But the belief that we want to see more dinosaurs may be misguided.

So, every year I participate in the Summer Movie Wager to see if my predictions can get close to the reality. I think I did much better last year. But, first lets look at my predictions.

My 2015 Summer Movie Wager

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron

2. Minions

3. Jurassic World

4. Ant-Man

5. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

6. Mad Max: Fury Road

7. Ted 2

8. Magic Mike XXL

9. Inside Out

10. Tomorrowland

Dark horses:

Terminator Genisys

Fantastic Four

Man from UNCLE

Dark Horses are for the purpose of hedging your bets. Hoping at least that one of these films may make it if your predictions didnt quite pan out. None of my Dark Horses made ANY progress. Surprisingly, All Dark Horses did badly in the USA, but at least Terminator did well internationally. But the Fantastic Four is one of the biggest upsets this year. And I have been surprised at how poorly Man from UNCLE has performed. It was a really fun film!

So, lets look at the REAL results of what occurred this summer. Here are the top ten films by domestic box office for May-Early Sept (Labor day weekend) 2015:

Domestic Box Office May-Early Sept 2015:

1. Jurassic World 

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron 

3. Inside Out 

4. Minions 

5. Pitch Perfect 2 

6. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 

7. Ant-Man 

8. San Andreas 

9. Mad Max: Fury Road 

10. Straight Outta Compton 

--------------------

Other films of note (in order of DBO performance):

11. Spy

12. Trainwreck

13. Tomorrowland

14. Terminator Genisys 

15. Ted 2 

16. Pixels

17. Magic Mike XXL  

18. Vacation

19. Fantastic Four

20. Man From U.N.C.L.E.

I was, of course, surprised by Jurassic World's performance, as well as Inside Out, Pitch Perfect 2, San Andreas, Straight Outta Compton. Movies I was dissapointed by include: Tomorrowland, Terminator Genisys, Ted 2, Fantastic Four, Man From U.N.C.L.E..

Here's how they score the wager:

• Getting number 1 or number 10 dead-on gets you 13 points (each).

The rest of the scoring goes like this:

• 10 points for numbers 2-9 dead-on
• 7 points if your pick was only one spot away from where it ended up
• 5 points if it was two spots away
• 3 points if your pick is anywhere in the Top 10
• 1 point for each dark horse that makes it into the Top 10

The scoring is tabulated so that you get the SINGLE HIGHEST point value for each pick- that is, if you get number ten right, you don’t get 13+3, you only get 13.

So, dissappointingly, this gave me these points... 

7 points each for Avengers and for Mission Impossible (1 place away)=14
5 points each for Jurassic World and for Minions (2 places away)=10 
3 points each for Inside Out, Ant-Man, and Mad Max: Fury Road (on the list)=9

14+10+9=33 points. This is HALF the score I made last year. Ooooops! ;)

I guess the results this year were NOT as easily predicted as I thought. There were so many wildcards like Pitch Perfect and Ted 2 and Magic Mike. Not to mention, no one expected "Straight Outta Compton" or films like "Spy" to do so well!

Did you participate? What were YOUR results??

Jon's Top Fourteen of 2014

First of all- you may notice that my list does not exclude any sort of genre entirely except ones that are pornographic, including sexuality, body horror, torture porn and incredibly violent films. These are far out of the mainstream in any case, but I do not include films like Nymphomaniac and many horror films for this reason. I never see these kinds of films because I am not interested in them at all.

Secondly- I will provide a list of warnings for those of you who are still squeamish about seeing certain things in films, like horror, violence, sexuality and drug use. 

And thirdly- I really enjoyed a lot of films this year so I included films that didn't quite make my top 14. I even list them from worst to best- so you can make a complete list from "OK" to "GOOD" to my 14 best films and I order them down from "OK" to #1.

So, I categorized my films in three sections: "OK", "GOOD" and "AMAZING" (films that made my top 14). "OK" films are acceptable. They were enjoyable to watch in places and didn't have huge, glaring mistakes. If they did have mistakes- the good outweighed the bad for me and made it watchable. "GOOD" films might have been good enough to be in my top 14 but they just weren't good enough to be AMAZING. I REALLY enjoyed these films. Some of them had superior structure, tone, characters, themes and sequences. But the "AMAZING" section is my 14 BEST films of 2014.

How I Judge Films

You may read a past article I wrote about "How I Judge Films" to fully understand this- but to sum it up- I recognize that judging films is entirely subjective. It is up to the viewer to determine what a great film is for THEM. You can't say what a good film would be for ME and I can't REALLY say what makes a good film for YOU. We simply learn, as we watch more films, what MOST makes us happy and enlightened in films. 

There are certainly the generally common things 99.9% of people will agree on- like good audio or good acting. It can be debated I'm sure (as most anything can be) that this isn't true but MOST people don't enjoy films that are just made badly. I am not going to include any films like that in this post. I am really interested in professional work that is not just acceptable but is amazing.

What IS notably different about my top films list of 2014 compared to most every other list out there is that I don't exclude any other genres from my favorite films- because I don't judge films by making 'value judgments' for what a worthy film is. Hollywood and the media machine in the film world however, would NEVER include a blockbuster film or a Young Adult property at the Academy Awards.

I, however, only think about what films I enjoy more than other films. So, it isn't about the Hollywood machine here or me imposing my value system on you! And it isn't about educating you about great films or about telling you how to watch films. How pretentious is that? NO, no. I just enjoy films and want to share the films I enjoyed the most with people.

So, here are the "GOOD" and "OK" films (counting down from LEAST favorite to MOST favorite).

OK:

Need For Speed

Divergent

The Double

Locke

Robocop

GOOD:

The One I Love

Enemy

The Maze Runner

John Wick

St. Vincent

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Joe

Godzilla

Maleficent

The Amazing Spider Man 2

The Lego Movie

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Fury

The Skeleton Twins

The Interview

The Fault in Our Stars

Happy Christmas

Gimme Shelter

X-Men: Days of Future Past

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Noah

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Unbroken

Remember, these films go DOWN from least favorite to best at the bottom.

...And now we have Jon's Top 14 Films of 2014. The "AMAZING" list. From 14 down to #1- my favorite film of the year. 

14. Snowpiercer

13. Palo Alto

12. The Babadook

11. Blue Ruin

10. Edge of Tomorrow

9. Cheap Thrills

8. Nightcrawler

  

7. Under the Skin

  

6. The Grand Budapest Hotel

5. Gone Girl

4. The Raid 2

3. Birdman

2. Interstellar

and the best- my #1 film of the year...

1. The Guardians of the Galaxy!!!!!

-------------------------------
Ooops! I didn't know how this thing works!!

I know. To all those film reviewers that would NEVER include a Marvel Film- I can only ask "Why not?" If you ENJOY a film- If it was stimulating and you wanted to watch it again, and the work was obviously stellar work with great skill involved in making it... Why not include these kinds of films? Why? 

Probably because we believe that if we don't tell people what to watch they will ONLY want to watch these kinds of films- and all those boring, dumb films that don't really relate to their audience would get left out in the cold. That's just hogwash. 

People pay to see the films they want to see- including the directors and actors that they like. You don't need 20 million dollars in advertising to get your film seen. You can build momentum and put yourself out there on the internet. People WILL see your film. And when they do they will give you feedback on how well you did- or what mistakes you made. Nothing wrong with that. There's just an old model of film curation out there that needs a good update and needs to remember to be open minded to their audience. And I believe the new film curation should simply be about what we and audiences enjoy- regardless of what the Oscar hype says or what reviewers find to be acceptable or educated. These big films take just as much work- if not MORE work to make. Why not give it some filmmaking cred? I certainly do.

-------------------------------

P.S.:

Ok. Here's my list of WARNINGS for these films for concerned viewers out there:

WARNING:

None of these films are G rated (even The Lego Movie is PG) and many of these should not be seen by teenagers either.

Don't see these films if you can't watch sex scenes or drug use:

Gone Girl, Under the Skin, Cheap Thrills, Palo Alto, Happy Christmas, The Skeleton Twins, Joe, The One I Love, The Interview, Birdman

Don't see if you have a weak constitution:

The Raid 2, Gone Girl, Under the Skin, Nightcrawler, Cheap Thrills, Blue Ruin, The Babadook, Fury, John Wick, Robocop

Don't see if you can't enjoy violent action as an art form:

The Raid 2, Need For Speed, John Wick

Don't see if you don't enjoy deep or cryptic themes:

Interstellar, Birdman, Under the Skin, Noah, The One I Love, Enemy, The Double

Don't see if you can't enjoy dumb jokes:

The Lego Movie, The Interview

Don't see if you can't watch teenagers doing bad stuff:

Palo Alto, The Fault in Our Stars

Don't see if you do not watch horror films:

The Babadook

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And that's it! I hope you can get something useful out of some of these films if you were not able to see them yet. Happy movie watching my friends!

Jon's Top 14 Movies of 2014 (So Far) -or- "How I Judge Films"

Since watching Guardians of the Galaxy last week I HAD to make this list...

How I Judge Films:

I judge movies by the enjoyment I get out of a film. Therefore, the re-watch factor must be high, because the continued interest of the film's premise must have enduring value to me. So, the things that interest me, in particular are going to be very prominent here. But, admittedly, a lot of differed factors go into that- things which may not interest others.

So, what interests me and keeps me coming back to the water hole to drink?...

1. A deep moral premise that is powerful or that may continue to elude me. 

2. A plot that either, very effectively, drives me forward (engaging me emotionally) or a plot or story structure that completely puzzles me (engaging me intellectually). 

3. Stunning visuals.

4. Fun and stimulation. This may include jokes, gags, kinetic action or quippy dialogue.

5. Detailed world building- mostly as a result of artistic production design. Spatial awareness is important to me & as a result, I absolutely love effective world building (which can also be affected by everything from quality set building, to decoration, makeup, lighting, atmosphere, the framing of the camera, camera movements, artistic design of props and sets... to things like the acting, writing and directing). It is the visual and aural patchwork that succeed in ushering you further INTO the world of the film, as opposed to taking you OUT of the world of the film.

6. Great soundtrack and music selections. 

7. Characters I can relate to (which can be a VERY subjective thing). 

8. Complicated set pieces or kinetic camera shots. 

9. Great writing.

Why is acting or character development not mentioned here? I will tell you in a second...

But first, my CURRENT top 14 of 2014 as of August 2014.

Here they are...

1. The Guardians of the Galaxy

2. The Raid 2

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel

5. Under the Skin

6. Cheap Thrills

7. Edge of Tomorrow

8. Noah

9. How to Train Your Dragon 2

10. The Amazing Spider Man 2

11. Maleficent

12. Godzilla

13. X-Men: Days of Future Past

14. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Good but not Great Films...

The Lego Movie

Enemy

Robocop

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Acting and Character Development:

One thing you may notice is that I don't seem to include character development here or great acting. This is probably because, to me, these factors are such fundamental principles (like getting acceptable audio quality) that a film won't even place in the standing if it doesn't do this with competence. 

Acting Quality:

As it comes to acting quality- it becomes glaringly obvious that the casting and directing is bad very quickly for me. I may even be able to tell this in the trailer- right away. There is a distinct disconnect that happens when pairing image with the characters in the room. The tone is off (a product more of bad editing) or the acting fails to impress me (as it comes to it's appropriateness as taken from within story context or genre). Much of this is simply the result of bad casting or bad direction (or as stated, bad editing), so it is not the actor that I blame whatsoever- but the director. Still, it doesn't allow me to be impressed by an actor's acting. It distracts terribly from the story and the world that the film is trying to create. 

The Fault of the Actor:

To get a little off subject- there are those RARE cases that I believe the acting is sub-par. But this is strictly based upon a continuing experience of an actor doing one scene with appropriateness and then flubbing the next scene (as it comes to character interpretation or emotional shift). Since, during casting a director or casting director may cast an actor based on his or her performance in a few scenes- it is only the actor's fault when tonal or emotional shifts occur between scenes. This can only be because the actor has failed to capture the character and fully integrate the truth of that character into their body, or because they have failed to interpret the character's development (based on comprehension of the story and its premise or purpose). 

But, of course, this may actually, still be the fault of the director or casting director, except when the actor continues to do this in multiple roles. The only conclusion is that they are a chameleon when it comes to execution- that is, they fail to consistently use their instrument in a contextually predictable way. They become, simply, a bad actor because they continue to be validated for bad work (so, they never change) or they are losing their grip on their instrument (that is, they forgot how to use their own body to serve the needs of the director or the story). 

Ego or health problems may be the cause. But I find this, actually, extremely rare. Possibly because I don't watch a lot of B-films or student films. I try to watch professional work, exclusively. That said, there are these rare actors who keep being given a pass, because there is something likable about them that makes the industry continue to return to them- validating their bad acting. Sometimes this is the fault of a money-hungry or fame-crazed industry that doesn't care to understand the craft or purpose of film- to enlighten and beautify mankind. Instead, it becomes a monster of self-interest that threatens to consume itself.

A bit off-subject. But there you have it.

As It Comes To Character Development:

I disagree with many story theorists out there that claim that characters MUST have arcs because I disagree with some literary theorists about flat vs round characters. In my view even protagonists can be 'flat characters' because the primary thing about flat characters is that they do not change very much- as opposed to how much we know about them. This has become increasingly rare, as a consequence, but it is still very possible to get away with and still have an engaging, powerful story. Sometimes, the actual "point of the story" is that a person "not changing" can have a powerful effect on the world around us. Usually that is a bad effect- but, sometimes, rarely, there is a net positive effect, when that character represents unchanging moral values.

For example, superheroes don't typically change much, so they are mostly flat characters since they traditionally 'stand' for these moral values or 'represent' a moral concept or idea. Ideals that do not change for a reason. If they change they will no longer be "that" superhero. Other times, the villains may be very 'round' as is increasingly becoming the case- that is they may change throughout the story. This humanizes them and makes them more interesting to an audience with greater demands due to more sophisticated tastes.

So, it is more popular for our heroes to change. These days we want our heroes to grow as a person throughout the story. And it is the antagonists that have generally remained the same- because they have been cemented into a role that simply seeks to conquer and manipulate others in the story. And defeating these villains becomes necessary in order to return continual change to the world they exist within. This is because being open to change is generally seen as a positive thing for everyone.

But the essential thing to know about round characters is that they change throughout the story and flat characters don't change much throughout the story. But this doesn't mean a flat character can't be the hero or that villains cant be round characters. But why have these things changed recently?

Like a Rolling Stone:

"A rolling stone gathers no moss." This phrase can be interpreted as a positive or negative thing- but increasingly it has become more positive. A hero is not hard-headed, but learns from the world around him/her. But, mossy stones (that have not moved) are the ones that get thrown at others to "stone" and condemn them. This is generally the purpose of the villain- to judge and condemn others... to bring conflict into the story instead of peaceful acceptance of ourselves and others. 

Evil is notoriously uncreative and unintellectual- striving only to subdue everything under it's own control- that is, to reduce everything to terms and values that the villain can understand and limit. They get to pretend they are God and are given more and more power to bring pain to the hero, until the villain is seen for what he is- no better than a limited, powerless wretch. And their greatest weakness is their refusal to change.

A Slave to Story:

So, in my view, character development is a product of the greater, more important, plot or purpose of the story. Some may argue that character IS the purpose of the story. They are not wrong- but only in the sense that character IS PLOT... 

In this case, everything that the story is about revolves around who the character is and has become. Again, an effective plot is essential. Character may serve plot. Plot may serve character, but this plot must be engaging. If this plot is watered down, ineffective and stagnant- it will simply die on the vine. The story will not achieve its intended purpose. 

So, character may remain stagnant- because if the story engages and has meaning and value- it doesn't matter. It becomes PART of the essential meaning of the film that characters do not change. This becomes the story you are trying to tell.

This is why I mention a driving plot or a puzzling story structure. These character arcs and acting nuances don't matter as much because these other things are subject to my greater priorities in my list. This means, I try not to notice character arcs or acting. Because it should be something you DON'T notice in my view. It is supposed to serve the story and your world building and usher you farther into the suspension of disbelief. 

Conclusion (Don't Forget to Enjoy Yourself):

So, remember. If the acting and characters are thin... maybe it is for a reason. It may be the purpose of the story. Like a big, dumb action flick. You can accept that the acting is less than competent because it doesn't need to be. If the kinetic pacing and tone to the film overpowers the subtle nuance of deep thoughts and personal character growth, you may actually have a great film. You shouldn't even notice these factors if you are properly engaged. You are supposed to learn to enjoy it.

All these things serve the greater purpose of the story and film. And sometimes it is an integral part of the film's structure to have bad acting and non-existent character arcs.

Again, this is just my own opinion as a filmmaker and story-teller. There may be things I have neglected and there may be things here that are simply a product of my own style and preferences. I do not wish to be a "mossy stone" after all.

Do you have any opinions or feelings about story, character arcs and acting? Let me know how you feel about it!

Keep It Alien - A Great Interview with Jonathan Glazer - Director of "Under the Skin"

Here is a great interview with Jonathan Glazer, Director of Under the Skin. This film is one of my inspirations for a recent script I am working on, "Mirum Lux."

I really enjoy his balance of style and substance. "Simplicity is something you end with," he says. "You don't start with it- you get to it. If you're lucky you get to it." I couldn't agree more. I refer to it as, "elegant simplicity," which is what I think all good art films strive for. At least the art films I enjoy.

"Under the Skin" is one of my favorite films of this year and if you haven't seen it yet, you definitely ought to- and not to see Scarlett Johansson in the buff. The tone and rhythm of the film is mesmerizing due in no small part to the wonderful soundtrack. The sense of place is somewhat disorienting and "alien," as Glazer would refer to it. Some might find the film uncomfortable, but I think this adds to the plot of the film. This disorientation drives you forward to seek some sort of solid ground- to get your bearings as it comes to the deep meanings of this disturbing tale. And that's a great mental space for this kind of film to fill.

Making a film like this must be difficult if you can't get a producer to help you get the kind of funding that knows what to expect from this sort of art flick. But as you can see, it is possible.

The film truly succeeds at making the viewer wonder what it is about- even after watching it in it's entirety. It is inspiring to see films like this.

So, see the film and tell me what you think it is about.

Vertigo: The Modern Woman vs. the Classical Woman

Introduction:

In 2012, the British Film Institute named Vertigo the greatest film ever made, finally topping Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" which had held its title for nearly 50 years. This prompted me to revisit the film and the discoveries I made about what makes this film stand apart were amazing to me.

Kim Novak played duel roles, "Madeleine" & "Judy"

The Vertigo We All Know:

See if this sounds like the classic Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece "Vertigo" that you know...

Scottie is a man who has failed to reach the heights that his work demands. He wanders through life now, a ghost of a man. As does Madeleine, since she longs for a time past, obsessed with the trappings of a different life and yet sickened by the results of such a life, dominated by the men who abuse them. They are both, born out of time. A tragic existence, doomed to failure, misery and death.

That's the "Vertigo" that I saw recently, but not the one I saw fifteen years ago as a young man...

What is Vertigo REALLY About?

Vertigo is a film obsessed with death, past lives, and a promise of idyllic romance that can never be. It is Hitchcock's Romeo & Juliet. His tragedy of tragedies. But instead of the "Capulets and Montagues", the plot seems to make this about "the Modern Woman vs. the Modern Man". Two lives, so disenfranchised by their current state that they roam aimlessly around San Francisco, not even knowing why. But, let's go a step further... 

To me, the subtext makes the true story "the Modern Woman vs the Classical Woman". After all, the real mystery to solve is Madeleine and Judy. Who is who? And why is their presence in the movie so disorienting and yet powerfully symbolic? Let me explain. To do this we must explore the effects of the emotional undercurrent of the film "Vertigo" and the iconic symbols that underpin it. But first- some history.

Some History:

The late fifties. This was the time of the beginning of modern man and of modern woman. The beginning of the feminist movement and the youth movement. We were on the precipice culturally of all things past and all things modern. WWII and Korea had changed us all in America. Not to mention the "Red Scare"- making us question everything, and what it was all for? The Beatniks and their counter-culture movement made us question everything about American life. 

The American home and culture were in full swing now, at it's prime. What were our true roles in the American home as men and women? Were we equal? Could a woman be free of man's dominion? Wasn't the failure of modern man something to face and possibly to try and repair? And what of the modern woman?

Creating the Modern Woman:

The story of Carlotta Veracruz explains to us this tale of a long lost woman in the film. So, Vertigo tells us, Carlotta was a girl in the mid-eighteen hundreds who was taken in by a rich man, who gave her a child, took the child and soon after, discarded her. "Men could do that in those days..." the storyteller in the film tells us. She roamed, seemingly... half mad, around the small town south of San Francisco, vacantly asking where her child was, similarly to how Madeleine roamed around, seemingly possessed with the past-life of her matriarchal ancestor. She even throws herself into the San Francisco Bay emulating her great great grand mother's untimely end (the story doesn't tell us how far removed).

Madeleine sees herself in Carlotta.

"But, What About The Switcheroo Near The End?"

But, the question is, is this the result of pain from Madeleine or from the existential role of women at this time? Some people may simply chock it up to a simple switcheroo. That the plot and the actions of the characters are quite conveniently "disregarded" due to the murder plot, revealed after Scottie meets Judy. 

But, I am not convinced by this simple "right off" of the major part of the dramatic action of the first half of the story. I am compelled to believe there is more to this first half of the story than a fraud perpetrated on Scottie alone, but that it is perpetrated on the Modern Man, as well as the unsuspecting "Woman of old", who have fallen into the trap and end up left behind, betrayed and murdered. This story and its universality are in question and it resonates with me on this level.

Seeing the fractured personalities.

The Symbology:

So, let me define the symbols: 

1) Madeleine is a rich lady who represents the "Classical Woman"- the woman that Hitchcock is constantly idealizing in his movies. Graceful, mysterious, powerful. 

2) Scottie is the modern man who has realized his failure and is broken. He cannot reach the heights that his work and that normal life demand of him. 

3) Heights are a symbol as well. It symbolizes the great expectation and demands on the modern man to be great. This perfection can only eventually lead to failure and the disenfranchisement that so many felt at this time in history. 

The dizzying heights that Scottie faced on the job, breaking him.

4) Judy represents the New Woman. The femme fatale who is a fraud, a trickster. And yet naive and foolish. She is "the Modern Woman", who is working together with... 

5) The "Old Man." Judy conspires with him to end his wife, the Old Woman or the "Classical Woman", who cannot live with herself, knowing what has occurred in the past. Why does he do this? Freedom? Is he tired of her obsessions with the injustice of the past? We are never told this, except we do know he is a man who seems very comfortable with the heights Scottie realizes he cannot reach. He may be the one who creates or perpetuates these expectations that "heights" represent in the film.

And...

6) Midge is a second incarnation of the "New Woman" which now has a duel personality. The New Woman cannot contain both parts of the Old Woman, so she has fractured into two. The sexually liberated Judy & the rational Midge, who represents the part of the New Woman who never grows up. She has the trappings of womanhood and the desires, but she has forfeited her sexual knowledge for a rational one, as she completely fails to attract her man of choice, Scottie, and perpetuates the fraud of true womanhood as personified in the pairing of "Midge as the Old Woman".

The second example of the fraud revealed.

The Plot Thickens:

So the "New" must get rid of the "Old". This "out with the old- in with the new" from a social and cultural perspective, may seem simply as nature taking it's course. But, it is not that simple in THIS story. Instead, it is taking place as a fraudulent act. 

This is represented by the New Woman, Judy. For what some might mistake as girlish charm in Judy becomes a foolish and absent-minded naivete. She believes her duty is to please and placate the new man in the interest of maintaining the facade. Instead of claiming her equality, she becomes beguiled by Scottie's seemingly innocent desire for her, and in doing so falls into the same sort of trap she laid for Scottie. 

The Old Man, the Man of the World.

My Interpretation:

This is the revealing of the lie of the woman's sexual power over man. As she believes she is using him, she is really being used. I have, as a man, always known that the woman's sexual power over man was always a lie, just as man's sexual power over women is not a real thing. It is like a class struggle, in this case, a war of the sexes perpetuated by those who would use this struggle, this war, to an advantage for those political powers that propagate it.

Vertigo is a Criticism of the Sexual Revolution? 

And therein lies the crux. Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" is an analysis and criticism of the modern ideas of Women's Liberation. The idea that the New Woman can eliminate the Old through fraud, that the New Man can transcend the Old when he realizes that he cannot fulfill the great expectations and chains placed on him. 

Is she the New Woman, or The Old?

But, are we truly given alternatives to these sexual archetypes in the film? Not exactly. But we are given something equivalent. Scottie, after all, "can" reach the heights of the bell tower. But only when he knows the truth about the New Woman. The Classical Woman doesn't actually show herself in this film, for what is shown is only a representation of it. Does this mean, Hitchcock believed the Old Woman was extinct? Possibly. But it does reveal that the New Woman is a fraud. 

That is, regrettably, something Hitchcock does not reveal to us... maybe this is to his credit. But, he does not reveal how a woman might become the Classical Woman he reveres... because he CANNOT know how the Classical Woman becomes the idyllic creature she is. But, we do know he might believe that she, possibly, cannot exist ever again. Like the unicorns of old and like the romantic tragedies like, Romeo and Juliet. They are two souls trapped by fate. Doomed to live an impossible life in their minds, but never in body.

Realizing the fraud and murder that she perpetuated, Judy crumbles. 

The Conclusion (A Challenge):

I don't know about you, but this is not the Vertigo I was taught about. This is not the Vertigo that I saw when I first saw the film about fifteen years ago. But, it is what results after repeat viewings of great films years later with the benefit of life experience to aid in interpretation. 

And, it is a challenge to you viewers out there who watch movies as strictly entertainment- somewhat absently. Believing what others tell you about films and not thinking about them yourself may allow you to watch the commercially popular films- and to enjoy them as entertainment. But, you will see a whole new world of film open to you if you are open to it. If done with knowledge and experience as your guide it will open you to an even richer understanding of what makes films like these great.

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