Photos from new movie Transformers 4 Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction has released a new still and it's of one of our favorite characters from the Michael Bay films, and of course, the toy line that the film series is based upon.

Things will be much different this time out for the fourth Transformers film from Michael Bay.
Shia LaBeouf, he's out of here! And as you can tell from the Transformers: Age of Extinction trailer, Mark Wahlberg is now the star and that is one serious improvement.
Wahlberg is quite the action star and as this is one of the biggest action franchises on the planet, it's only fitting that the two meet!

1. Optimus Prime is Back!

One of our favorite Transformers, Optimus Prime, is back in Transformers: Age of Extinction.

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2. Mark Wahlberg & Nicola Peltz Run For It!

Running away seems to be a requirement for being able to be in a Transformers movie.

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3. Mark Wahlberg Strikes the Michael Bay Pose

Another requirement for a Transformers movie? To be able to capture that Michael Bay pose!

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4. Mark Finds a Transformer!

He doesn't know it yet, but Wahlberg has found a Transformer. And that, is not going to end well.

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5. Nicola Peltz Gets Patriotic

Another feature of a Michael Bay movie, striking that "I'm worried" pose while an American flag waves behind you!

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6. Jack Raynor Makes His Transformers Debut

Jack Raynor joins the Transformers world.

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7. Mark Wahlberg is Armed

... but is he dangerous?

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8. Transformers: Age of Extinction's Human Cast

Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz and Jack Raynor in Transformers: Age of Extinction.

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Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar do a ‘Fugly’

Mumbai: The lethal duo of Salman Khan-Akshay Kumar is back with a foot-tapping number - ‘Fugly’- which also happens to be the title track of the namesake film starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Vijendra Singh, Mohit Marwah and Kiara Advani.

Penned, composed and sung by Yo Yo Honey Singh, the song has thought provoking lyrics and its contemporary beats, connects instantly with the youth.

The song features a bearded Akshay Kumar, as handsome as ever and Salman, the 48-year-old eligible bachelor, grooving to the son.

Sallu and Akki make a deadly combo onscreen. They were earlier seen in films like ‘Mujhse Shaadi Kerogi’ and ‘Jaan-E-Mann’. Salman had also appeared in an item number in Akshay’s ‘Tees Maar Khan’.

You cannot miss this song for it has two of the most handsome men in the industry shaking a leg with the new kids on the block.

`Fugly` is slated to release on June 13, 2014.

'Wolf of Wall Street' Producer Attacks Racketeering Claim

Red Granite, the producer of Wolf of Wall Street and the forthcoming sequel to Dumb and Dumber, has reacted strongly to allegations that its financing is sourced to embezzled foreign money.

On Tuesday, the production house of Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland demanded that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge reject a racketeering claim made by Brad Krevoy and Steve Stabler, producers of the 1994 hit Dumb and Dumber. According to Red Granite's demurrer motion, its legal adversaries have 21 days to withdraw the RICO claim -- which it says was brought "solely to harass Defendants, smear their reputations, and pressure Red Granite into settling the contractual dispute with them on favorable terms" -- and if that doesn't happen, Red Granite will be filing a motion for sanctions.
The development is the latest in the heated battle over whether Krevoy and Stabler have a right to be part of the Dumb and Dumber sequel.

Last July, both sides rushed to the courthouse to file dueling lawsuits. Red Granite says it has no contract with the two and has the right to sideline them. Krevoy and Stabler claim that their original deal with New Line included a "right of first negotiation for sequels and remakes on terms at least as favorable as their terms for producing the Original."
The dispute turned nuclear in March, when Krevoy and Stabler filed an amended complaint that attacked Aziz -- the stepson of Malaysian prime minister Najib Abdul Razak -- and his partner over investments from the Middle East and Asia.
According to the amended complaint, "Red Granite is funded with monies that include proceeds from offenses against a foreign nation that involve bribery of public officials, or misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds by a public official... [Aziz and McFarland have] engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity, in that they have engaged in multiple financial transactions within the United States -- including financing of The Wolf of Wall Street and then separately financing Dumb and Dumber To ... with knowledge that the transactions were designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of the proceeds of the illegal activity."
Red Granite and its new attorney Patty Glaser have now responded in court by saying such allegations are "relying only on gossip and speculation."
The production company says the RICO claim is deficient in that it lacks details like predicate activity as well as support for the proposition that Red Granite knew the funds were the product of illegal activity and how it was financing motion pictures to conceal the illegal proceeds.
"Conclusory allegations, devoid of facts, stating that Defendants used illicit funds to finance two movies do not come close to alleging a pattern of racketeering activity upon which a RICO claim could be based," says Red Granite's motion.


In advance of a hearing on May 21, Red Granite also is looking to get the judge to dismiss two other claims -- one for tortious interference and one for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The first is deficient, says Red Granite, because if the other side is arguing that it picked up contractual obligations after being assigned New Line's rights, that "Red Granite cannot interfere with its own contract" and also, there hasn't been any allegation that it "engaged in any acts to induce a breach."
In response to the demurrer, Bryan Freedman, the attorney for Krevoy and Stabler, tells The Hollywood Reporter that he has "full confidence that we will prevail on our claims and put this matter in front of jury."

The Expendables 3 Photos

1. Jason Statham & Wesley Snipes

An unlikely pair, Wesley Snipes and Jason Statham, star in The Expendables 3.

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2. Sly's Ready for Battle

Sylvester Stallone is ready for action in a new still from The Expendables 3.

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3. The Expendables 3 Cast Takes a Break

The cast of The Expendables 3 strikes a pose. Looks like they're ready for action.

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4. Arnold & Harrison!

Two action legends, one photo! Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger: You think you'd ever see them in the same movie?!

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5. Mel Gibson Takes Aim

Mel Gibson joins the action franchise and we're guessing... he's our main villain.

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6. The Expendables 3 Cast

The cast pauses for a group photo. We can't even add up the combined box office of all these guys! It's mind-blowing.

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7. The Expendables in Action

The guys are serious in this shot from The Expendables 3 that we suspect is about to get action packed any minute.

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8. The Expendables 3 Takes Flight

The troupe readies for battle. Is it us, or does it seem like Sly's asking them why they packed so much!

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The Expendables 3 has released a pair of new photos from the highly anticipated third film in the franchise that started with those memorable The Expendables quotes.

Of course, one of the new pics has to have the man who started the entire series, Sylvester Stallone. And it appears that Sly is back and ready for action.
The other photo is the one that truly caught our eye.
It features new-to-the-series Wesley Snipes ready to have a knife battle with franchise regular Jason Statham. Wonder who will win that fight? 

2014 American Comedy Award Nominees

 













For the first time since 2001, The American Comedy Awards will be held this year to recognize the best in comedy film, television and stand-up.
The American Comedy Awards haven't been held since 2001; in their absence, the Comedy Awards sprang up in 2011.
The American Comedy Awards will air on NBC on May 15.


Comedy Film

• Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
• The Heat
• Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
• Nebraska
• This Is the End

Comedy Actor — Film

• Bruce Dern, Nebraska
• Will Ferrell, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
• Jonny Knoxville, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
• Simon Pegg, The World’s End
• Seth Rogen, This Is the End

Comedy Actress — Film

• Lake Bell, In a World…
• Sandra Bullock, The Heat
• Julia Louise-Dreyfus, Enough Said
• Melissa McCarthy, The Heat
• Kristen Wiig, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Comedy Supporting Actor — Film

• Louis C.K., American Hustle
• Steve Carell, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
• Will Forte, Nebraska
• Jonah Hill, This Is the End
• Danny McBride, This Is the End

Comedy Supporting Actress — Film

• Scarlett Johansson, Her
• Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
• June Squibb, Nebraska
• Emma Watson, This Is the End
• Kristen Wiig, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Comedy Director — Film

• Paul Feig, The Heat
• Spike Jonze, Her
• Alexander Payne, Nebraska
• Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, This Is the End
• Edgar Wright, The World’s End

Comedy Screenplay

• The Heat, written by Katie Dippold
• Her, written by Spike Jonze
• Nebraska, written by Bob Nelson
• This Is the End, written by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
• The World’s End, written by Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright

Comedy Series

• Brooklyn Nine Nine
• Modern Family
• Parks and Recreation
• Saturday Night Live
• Veep

Alternative Comedy Series

• Archer
• Drunk History
• Key & Peele
• Kroll Show
• Portlandia

Late Night Talk Show

• The Colbert Report
• Conan
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Comedy Actor — TV

• Fred Armisen, Portlandia
• Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
• Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
• Jordan Peele, Key & Peele
• Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Comedy Actress — TV

• Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
• Lena Dunham, Girls
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
• Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer

Comedy Supporting Actor — TV

• Aziz Ansari, Parks and Recreation
• Will Arnett, Arrested Development
• Ty Burrell, Modern Family
• Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
• Tony Hale, Veep

Comedy Supporting Actress — TV

• Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live
• Julie Bowen, Modern Family
• Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
• Chelsea Peretti, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation

Comedy Writing — TV

• Arrested Development
• The Colbert Report
• Key & Peele
• Modern Family
• Parks and Recreation

Comedy Directing — TV

• Arrested Development
• Eastbound & Down
• Key & Peele
• Modern Family
• Parks and Recreation

Comedy Special of the Year

• Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive
• Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore
• Louis C.K.: Oh My God
• Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend
• Patton Oswalt: Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time
• Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles

Club Comic

• Maria Bamford
• Bill Burr
• Jerrod Carmichael
• Ron Funches
• Kyle Kinane
• Sebastian Masicalco
• Sean Patton
• Brian Regan
• Rory Scoval
• Doug Stanhope

Viral Video

• Bad Lip Reading – The NFL: A Bad Lip Reading
• James Franco & Seth Rogen – Bound 3
• The Gregory Brothers – Dead Giveaway (Charles Ramsey Cleveland Hero Remix)
• MisterEpicMann – How Animals Eat Their Food
• Steve Kardynal – Miley Cyrus: Wrecking Ball (Chatroulette Version)
• ze frank – Sad Cat Diary
• BriTANicK – Sexy Pool Party
• Shivvv96 – Taylor Swift: I Knew You Were Trouble (Goat Edition)
• Ylvis – What Does the Fox Say?”
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! – Worst Twerk Fail EVER – Girl Catches Fire

China Box Office: Local Comedy 'My Old Classmate' Unseats Hollywood Heroes

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens on May 4 in China

Beijing – Local romantic comedy My Old Classmate edged Donnie Yen’s Ice Man 3D to take pole position at the Chinese box office, and consigned Captain America: The Winter Soldier to third place, according to data from the research group Entgroup.

While Hollywood had an underwhelming week in the world’s second largest film market The Amazing Spider-Man 2 due to open on May 4. This is expected to do well here, especially after Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx and Emma Stone came to Beijing to promote the movie last month.
However, the opening date is just after the Mayday holiday – because of the complicated system of public holidays here, Sunday (May 4) is a working day and the schools are open.
Directed by Frant Guo, My Old Classmate stars Zhou Dongyu and Lin Gengxin as two university classmates who fall in love, but then drift apart.

The movie took $17.31 million in its opening weekend, with 96,490 screenings and 3.29 million admissions, according to estimates by the Beijing-based Entgroup for the week to April 27.
In its opening weekend, Ice Man 3D took $11.28 million from only a slightly lower number of screenings, 96,359, but a considerably lower number of admissions at 1.89 million.
Ticket prices at an average of $6 were an average of 70 cents higher for the 3D movie, and show how much a boost the 3D format can give a movie in box office in China.

Iceman 3D is directed by Law Wing-cheong, and stars Yen, Wang Baoqiang and Huang Shengyi.
In third place, Captain America: The Winter Soldier took another $8.94 million for a cume of $107.22 million after 24 days in the country.

In fourth place was Dante Lam’s edgy psychological thriller That Demon Within which took another $7.73 million in its first full week for a cumulative total of $15.67 million.
 The movie, which features Daniel Wu as a dutiful police constable wracked by doubt after he saves the life of a notorious and ruthless killer played by Nick Cheung, had 125,062 screenings and 1.54 million admissions.

Johnny Depp's Transcendence was in fifth place, taking $7.17 million during its first full week for a total of $17.82 million.
The film was co-produced by Beijing and LA-based DMG and got a heavy marketing push in China before its day-and-date local release, including a visit from its star.

Carlos Saldanha's Rio 2 took another $6.78 million for a total of $31.79 million after 17 days, placing it sixth in the table.
The final four movies were local titles --  Best Suspects took $560,000 for a total of $1.34 million, local horror movie Death Is Here 3 took $230,000 for a total of $5.47 million.

This was followed by Hong Kong movie Delete Lover, which had box office of $220,000 for a cume of $3.76 million, and the plastic surgery romp The Truth About Beauty, directed by Aubrey Lam and produced by Peter Chan’s We Pictures, added $220,000 for a cume of $13.38 million.

'Spanish Affair' Breaks All-Time Box-Office Records in Spain

 MADRID – Emilio Martinez Lazaro’s hit Spanish Affair has broken Spanish box-office records, becoming the top-grossing Spanish title of all time, outranking The Impossible, with more than €44.5 million ($61.5 million) in sales and sitting behind only Avatar as the second-best performer in Spain.

 The romantic comedy has entrenched itself at the No. 1 spot in the weekly box-office rankings for the full seven weeks it’s been in theaters, with more than 7.5 million tickets sold. It is the only Spanish title ever to stay in the top slot for seven consecutive weeks.

In its seventh weekend, the film produced by Telecinco Cinema and LaZona Films, earned €3.4 million, or €9,700 per screen, accounting for some 44 percent of overall box-office revenue.
The film has led Spain to post its best domestic films’ market share ever, with homegrown fare cornering 27 percent of ticket sales as of April 20, according to Rentrak Spain.
Affair depicts the culture clash of a boy from Spain’s folkloric southern region of Andalucia wooing a girl from the northern Basque region.

Box Office: 'Han Gong-Ju' Breaks Record for South Korean Indie Films

SEOUL – Han Gong-ju rewrote box-office history for South Korea's independent film business over the weekend with more than 140,000 admissions, according to its distributor, Movie Collage. Korean film offices use admissions as the primary measure of a movie's box-office performance, and the film amassed what is considered a blockbuster amount for the genre.

 The multiple award-winning teen drama had a strong start, bringing in a record 10,000 viewers on its opening day of April 17 alone -- in spite of a devastating ferry disaster off the southwestern coast of Korea the day before the film opened that has left the entire country in shock, halted the local entertainment industry and driven down theater admissions overall.

 Han Gong-ju has since taken only nine days to cross 100,000 admissions. Top-grossing Korean indie flicks Breathless (2008) and Bedevilled (2010) took 19 days and 10 days, respectively, to reach the landmark. Han Gong-ju has maintained a fifth/sixth ranking in the box office since April 21, and ticket sales are growing stronger as positive film reviews have spread through various web channels.


The first feature by Lee Su-jin won numerous awards at film festivals around the world, from Busan and Rotterdam to Deauville and Fribourg. Martin Scorsese took notice, calling it "a remarkable and powerful film debut. Strong on all levels."

The movie is about a 17-year-old girl, Han Gong-ju, who is forced to transfer schools after being victimized in a scandalous incident. A friend at her new school discovers Gong-ju's singing talent and creates an online fan site for her. This, however, ends up drawing the attention of the very people who bullied Gong-ju at her former school.

Han Gong-ju will be represented by Korean sales company Finecut at the 2014 Cannes Film Market from May 14 to 23.

Warner Bros. Wins Lawsuit Claiming It Stole 'The Matrix'

'The Matrix'

It's official: The Matrix trilogy had nothing to do with Nazis.

On Monday, Warner Bros., Andy and Lana Wachowski and Joel Silver won summary judgment in defense of a lawsuit that contended that the Keanu Reeves starrer was stolen.
The lawsuit came from Thomas Althouse in California federal court in 2013. Why so late? The plaintiff said that it was not until 2010 that he had watched The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions and began investigating the possibility that those films released way back in 2003 had possible similarities to his own script, The Immortals. Althouse said he had submitted his script to Warner Bros in 1993.


What Althouse had tried to get made into a film concerned a CIA agent who gains immortality from a drug and finds himself in the year 2235, where Adolph Hitler and some Nazis have been reanimated from cryopreservation. In the script, the spy protagonist is now fighting with those now immortal Nazis who seek to oppress and destroy all "short-lifers."
"The basic premises of The Matrix Trilogy and The Immortals are so different that it would be unreasonable to find their plots substantially similar," writes Judge R. Gary Klausner in Monday's ruling.
So no similarity in plot, but how about themes? For this, we turn beyond Nazis to examine Jesus Christ.


"Plaintiff alleges that both stories have allusions to Christ," notes the judge. "However, allusions to Christianity in literature date back hundreds of years and are not generally protectible. Looking at the details of the works, the two works express these themes very differently. The Christian allusions in The Immortals concludes with the literal Second Coming of Christ, whereas The Matrix Trilogy concludes with a metaphorical reference to Christ, as Neo sacrifices himself to save others."
Alas, the lawsuit proves mortal, just like the rest of us short-lifers.

7 New photos from GODZILA 2 movie.

DC Comics superheroes in one movie like The Avengers Marvel

In a move that truly should surprise no one, it was announced today by the Warner Bros. president of worldwide production -- Greg Silverman -- that Zack Snyder has officially been tapped to direct the Justice League movie.

What, honestly, is surprising is that there will be a Justice League movie.
It seemed like a pipe dream for DC Comics fans that the idea of a The Avengers- type film for their favorite DC Comics superheroes would ever happen. The idea that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and more would fight together had for years appeared like something that would never come together.
Now that it is announced -- there’s no going back!
The fact that Snyder is directing it -- now that is hardly a shocker given that he helmed Man of Steel, and its sequel (currently called Batman vs. Superman) features Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and the recently announced casting of Ray Fisher as Cyborg. We actually wondered with the latter news if in fact Batman vs. Superman would be a Justice League movie.
It is official that Snyder is directing Justice League, but not necessarily the type of news that one would describe as shocking!
Now, we get it how all these heroes are getting put into the Man of Steel sequel.

We’re guessing many of these heroes will make an appearance in Batman vs. Superman and that this Man of Steel sequel will clearly be a set-up for Justice League.
There is no script. There is no release date, only this quote in the Wall Street Journal from Silverman. "It will be a further expansion of this universe. Superman vs. Batman will lead into Justice League," he said.

List of winners `Bollywood Oscars` The International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA)

New Delhi: The International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) saw a bevy of Bollywood stars present at the big gala night. The 15th IIFA Awards was held at Florida,Tampa Bay from April 23 to 26 honouring the best performances in the field of Indian cinema. Here goes a list of who got what at the prestigious IIFA, also known as the `Bollywood Oscars`.

Best Lyrics: `Aashiqui 2`

Best Entertainer of the Year: Deepika Padukone

Best Debutant Award: Dhanush for `Raanjhanaa`

Best Picture Award: `Bhaag Milka Bhaag`

Best Performance in a leading role (male): Farhan Akhtar for `Bhaag Milka Bhaag`

Best Performance in a leading role (female): Deepika Padukone for `Chennai Express`

Best Performance in a comic Role: Arshad Warsi for `Jolly LLB`

Best Performance in negative role: Rishi Kapoor gets for `D Day`

Best Story Award: Prashoon Joshi for `Bhaag Milkha Bhaag`

Best Lyric writer: Mithoon for Tum Hi Ho from `Aashiqui 2`

Best male playback singer Award: Arijit Singh for `Tum Hi Ho` from `Aashiqui 2`

Best female playback singer Award: Shreya Goshal for ` Sun Raha Hai Na Tu` from `Aashiqui 2`

Best Direction Award: Rakeysh Om Mehra for `Bhaag Milkha Bhaag`

Life Time Achievement Award: Shatrughan Sinha

The highlight of this special award was the fact that daughter Sonakshi Sinha presented shot-gun with his lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to the film industry.

The other wow moment was when Hollywood heartthrob John Travolta graced the IIFA stage. He said that he is a big fan of Hindi films and feels they are “very original and full of life”.

Ridley Scott developing new HBO series about ancient aliens in Egypt

 

 
In case you didn’t get enough ancient Egyptian aliens from Stargate, Ridley Scott is cooking up a new series that should fill the pyramid-shaped void.
 
Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) has signed on with HBO to develop the new series Pharaoh, which will revolve around ancient Egypt and the influence of alien beings as an alternative explanation for the rise of empires in the region. Yeah, that could actually work. David Schulner (Kings, The Event) co-created the project with Giannina Facio and Colet Abedi.
 
The series doesn’t have a full pickup yet, but it’s an intriguing project, and Scott’s involvement should give it a leg up in the pilot process. The concept could be a fun one to dig into, combining historical fiction and some nice sci-fi angles.
 
Obviously, fans of Stargate are pretty familiar with the concept, and it sounds like Scott could be putting a spin on the old premise (minus the ‘gates, apparently). Do you think this could be a good project?
 

Box Office: 'Amazing Spider-Man 2' Earns Another $67.2 Million Overseas

 

Swinging its way into an additional 28 foreign markets this weekend, Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 took in another $67.2 million for an early global total of $132 million from 42 territories.

The superhero tentpole doesn't debut in North America until May 2, officially kicking off the summer box-office season. It also opens next weekend in its remaining foreign markets, including China, Brazil and France.
Marc Webb returned to direct the sequel, which likewise returns Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in the lead roles.

Among the movie's new foreign markets, South Korea led with $13.4 million, despite the ferry tragedy gripping the country. The movie opened to $8.9 million in Russia, followed by Italy ($6.5 million), Japan ($5.2 million), Taiwan ($4.1 million) and Venezuela ($1.5 million).
Amazing Spider-Man 2 stayed at No. 1 in the U.K., taking in $5.7 million for a total $27.8 million, while Mexico added $4.3 million for a total $19.5 million.
Imax, the favorite of fanboys, is generating big business for Amazing Spider-Man 2, with 146 screens generating $7 million in ticket sales.

17 Directors That Constantly Deliver: Helming at a Higher Level

Making a movie is no easy task for a director. With so many moving parts, there is a lot that can go wrong, even with a great script and a fantastic cast.

But, there is something about this group of directors who manage to continually deliver us brilliance -- time and time again.

1. Christopher Nolan

From Memento to The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan continually pushes the envelope and leaves his audience utterly breathless. With this fall's Interstellar's buzz through the roof, that looks like it won't change.

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2. Steven Spielberg

Even Steven Spielberg's so-so movies are great. It's hard to think he has been delivering fantastic films for so many decades. We can't wait to see what he does next and hopes he never puts down his camera.

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3. Martin Scorsese

Every time you watch a Martin Scorsese film, you know it's him behind the camera. And every time you witness a Scorsese movie, you know it will be cinematic perfection.

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4. Luc Besson

Sure, he doesn't direct as much as we'd like. But there is something extraordinary about him when he does. Whether it The Fifth Element or The Professional, you know you're watching a Besson film. We. Can't. Wait. For. Lucy.

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5. Kathryn Bigelow

After impressing us in the early '90s with Point Break, it's nice to see Kathryn Bigelow get the credit she deserves with her Oscar win for The Hurt Locker and nominations for Zero Dark Thirty. Whatever she does next, count us in.

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6. Quentin Tarantino

Not only does Quentin Tarantino have a way with his camera and giving us the most "Tarantino" of movies, but the man writes like nobody else. He is truly one of a kind.

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7. James Cameron

Say what you will about Avatar (some love it, some loathe it), James Cameron is a director who ALWAYS delivers.

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8. Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson has the most unique of styles and although his subjects change, what doesn't is the brilliance of his work. From Bottle Rocket and Rushmore to The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson is just getting started.

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9. Alfonso Cuaron

Alfonso Cuaron took four years to make Gravity and the proof of his gift was on every frame. Cuaron even made our favorite Harry Potter movie, and no matter what he does next, we will be there.

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10. Peter Jackson

Whether directing in Middle Earth with The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, or his early work with Heavenly Creatures and even King Kong, everything Jackson does rivets.

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11. Ang Lee

Ang Lee is an underappreciated visionary. And the reason we use the word "underappreciated" is that audiences are always so surprised when he delivers us greatness. Life of Pi... no one should have been surprised that was so great.

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12. Alexander Payne

No one takes a sensational screenplay and brings it to life like Alexander Payne. From Election and Sideways to The Descendants and now the Oscar-nominated Nebraska, Payne shows he is beyond gifted as a storyteller.

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13. David O. Russell

Although there are some actors (George Clooney, Lily Tomlin) who may disagree with us, David O. Russell is a master at what he does. We adore his Three Kings. The Fighter is a movie to treasure and Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle are both instant classics.

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14. Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck has gone three-for-three in his short directing career. At this point, if he is attached as helmer, we'll be first in line. His Best Picture win for Argo only proves that he is just getting started on his road to being considered one of Hollywood's best -- of all time.

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15. Woody Allen

Even at his late age, Woody Allen is still delivering the goods. Writing and directing Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine to an Oscar win is just further proof of that fact.

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16. Joel and Ethan Coen

Nobody should be surprised to see the Coen brothers on this list! Whether it's comedies (Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski), crime dramas (No Country for Old Men) or Westerns (True Grit), is there anything these guys can't do?

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17. David Fincher

David Fincher has been one of our favorites since he directed a music video for Aerosmith (Janie's Got a Gun). Zodiac is one of the more underappreciated movies in recent memory and he could not have been a better choice to helm Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. To say we're excited for his Gone Girl, well, that is just underestimating our eagerness!