The Planet's Most Famous Film Directors

If every living individual on the planet were to tell you all the directors they know - from film, what name would be mentioned most frequently?

In an attempt to find the answer, I've conducted research involving thousands of people from all over the world. The response has formed a list based on a multitude of different cultures and their perspectives.

Note that only very recent directors were considered during the research. That leaves out the likes of - Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick. The following were the results:

1. Steven Spielberg
2. Martin Scorsese
3. Quentin Tarantino
4. James Cameron
5. Woody Allen

[citation needed]

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Hard to argue with this as well. The only difference on my list would be maybe Nolan instead of Allen.

Agree with phoenix, I think my most hated director Nolan is one of the most famous, other than that it's a solid list and I also see Quentin climbing gradually to be The most famous

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"Beliefs don't change facts. Facts, if you're rational, should change your beliefs" Ricky Gervais

Don't see it happening, but I hope Denis Villeneuve becomes more famous. He is a class apart.

Damien Chazelle is another good bet to get into that list in say 10years of time.

Ben Affleck is another name. When you look at Gone Baby gone, Argo, or even the poor man's Heat that was The Town, Affleck the director is quite talented. It helps that he is known as an actor.

My guess is that Woody makes the list for reasons other than directing.

I feel as if David Fincher, David Lynch and Ridley Scott are all more well-known film directors than Woody Allen, but I guess that just has to do with my taste in them.

Yeah, you've got to take into account the idea that directors' fame can be bolstered for other reasons, whether it's because they're also actors (Affleck/Eastwood) or because they're wrapped up in controversy (Allen) or for any other reason.

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The list is based solely on feedback I've received from almost 17 000 people. It’s really the product of my own work, which is why you don’t see any external sources. I can PM you links to the surveys and their corresponding results if you’re interested.

Looking over the numbers, I can verify that Christopher Nolan ended up right behind Woody Allen at number six.

Both David Fincher and Ridley Scott ended up in the top ten, but Woody Allen had a lot more inclusions, in particular among people from outside the US.

Why not post them in the thread if that were the case?

I'm not about to insist on it either way.

Lynch might be stretching it, but I would've thought at least Fincher and Scott were more well-known. Anyways, the explanation from Mr. Lister makes sense.