+1
I concur that P.T has given us some tremendous films. There Will Be Blood and Magnolia are superlative efforts. Magnolia may be the greatest film I've ever watched.
But best living director?
Terrence Malick is still alive. So is John Sayles, Ridley Scott, Eastwood, Fincher, Coppola, Scorsese, Tarantino, Soderbergh (yes, him too), the Coens, Spielberg.
And that's just American. We're leaving out Resnais (think he's still hanging in there), Denis, Kiarostami, Kar-Wai, and Almodovar.
All of those guys have better overall bodies of work than P.T. Out of all of those, I'd say only Sayles and Soderbergh haven't made a defining, singular crowning achievement, comparable to Magnolia or There Will Be Blood.
So, P.T. is an excellent filmmaker and I'll watch everything he ever makes. But best living American filmmaker? Let's get real here.