Anderson. Wes Anderson.

After him I would have to say Doug Liman.

But I don't know if I would exactly consider them young directors anymore, they both have made few films.

I've never liked his writing. Maybe it's because only one actor (Jason Lee) can come close to delivering his dialogue naturally.

I definitely think the Andersons (Wes & P.T.) are the most promising.

aah . . . 96 years young . . .

And I'm also more interested in Samira Mahkmalbaf's younger sister as a director. I'm pissed I missed the documentary she had in the Chicago film festival last year. Samira's movie was just so-so.

But I voted other and since the list is limited to American directors I'll echo a few other posters in my optimism for David Gordon Green. And I'm more interested in seeing what Roman Coppola (CQ) does next than his sister.

I'd like to see Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) do more feature films. And then there's Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Mysterious Object at Noon), or just call him Joe, whose Blissfully Yours still hasn't made it to Chicago.

Edited to add: Doug Liman is a good call too.

Just clarify, I said Kevin Smith is a promising director. I don't think that he has necessarily had any masterpieces, but I think that there has been a lot of creativity and promise in his work (particularly Chasing Amy and Dogma) and I think that his recent switch into a more mainstream format (Jersey Girl) showed that he's got some versatility, too.

I'm not saying that he's a sure thing, but he is still young (only 34) and, I think, has a lot of promise.



And, besides, David Gordon Green is still my top pick.

M. Night Shyamalan

about "Chasing Amy"... oh nevermind

I am very eager to see David Gordon Green's next film "Undertow" since it features an incredible cast of male actors as the film's fictional Munn brothers: Jamie Bell, Devon Alan,
Josh Lucas and Dermot Mulroney

another director I would like to see if and when he will do his next film is Tom Gilroy, whose "Spring Forward' was one of the best (little seen) films of 2001.

I can't believe Alexander Payne isn't also on this list? and Tarantino? please!!

Nolan

I will say Lukas Moodysson (so i picked Other)

But, if I was going with someone on the list I would say Aronofsky.

Promising Young Director qualifications should be:

1. Under 30 years old
2. Having only ONE film under his/her belt (or at least only one film that was theatrically released).
3. The one film should've cost less than 10 million dollars to make.

I think Aronofsky would've qualified right after he did Pi, but not after Requiem I don't think. That's the way I look at all this anyway... not that I'm right or anything.

I'm extremely excited about Undertow, but am, actually, more excited to see what comes of A Confederacy Of Dunces for a couple of reasons:

1) It uses more mainstream cast (Drew Barrymore, Mos Def, Olympia Dukakis, Will Ferrell, and Lily Tomlin). I'm curious to see what he is able to do with them. I think they will be a huge contrast to the raw acting style of the talent that he has used before.

. . . and . . .

2) He did not write the script or story. I think it will be a real test for him to see how he can handle somebody elses material. I particularly want to see if he can maintain the look and feel that I associate with him from his other movies.

David Gordan Green

James Fotopoulos

Richard Kelly

Joe Carnahan

I looked them up. The youngest listed in the poll is Sofia Coppola. She turns 33 in a month. The oldest is Tarantino, who just turned 41. So, yeah, I don't think any of these people could be considered young. Also, all of them have at least two feature films under their belt.

You might as well add M Night Shymalan to this list if you have QT on it. I picked Paul Thomas Anderson, though he's not young and has definately "made it" And finally Alejandro González Iñárritu is a GREAT director.

Give me a break! This guy's work is nothing new or original. What limits of avant garde is he really pushing? How is making your actor count to twenty before speaking experimental? If he's so intellectual, how come he doesn't deal with characters like him? This guy came to our school, and I wish I asked him that. Maybe he should drop back into college.... (sorry James)

I voted for P.T. Anderson.

Yup, the concensus on "Joy of Madness", Hana Makhmalbaf's film, is that it is by far the better film when compared to the uneven "At Five in the Afternoon". I will be catching it at the Hong Kong Film Festival. Having seen "The Apple" and "Blackboards", I also think her mom is a better director (Marsieh Meshkini, for "The Day I Became a Woman").

And yes, I included de Oliveira to see who's awake

As for Weerasethakul, I'll be seeing his new film "The Adventures of Iron P****" very soon. I'll have a review of these on my website.

Sure...

Let me know what you thought of Adventures of Iron P****.

Cheers

DVD Smurf

Jesus, relax. I was joking.

Wes Anderson- my personal favorite, three great movies, two masterpieces (IMO).
P.T. Anderson- Boogie Nights is in my top ten, I hated Magnolia. Mixed for me.
Darren Aronofsky PI and Requiem were both technically excellent but a little pretentious. Lone Wolf and Cub is going to absolutely kick ass. he's the right director for live action manga. I rank him up there.
Sofia Coppola- I loved LiT, but there's no way a young newlywed wrote it. I detect the hand of a ghost writer. There were some beautiful shots in LiT (particularly the closing montage and Mt. Fuji golf) but most of the rest of the movie isn't very interesting visually. Still, a terrific movie. I rank her somewhere in the middle.
David Fincher- mainstream, mainline director. No way is he a "promising young" director. He's a technical master, but I thought Seven was very overrated. I liked 'The Game" a good deal, though.
Chris Nolan- who?
Quentin Tarantino- broke in 1994 (as other people have noted). Does not belong on the list.


In terms of newish mainstream directors who are able to assemble a good movie, I'd put Gary Ross up there as very promising. Both Pleasantville and Seabiscuit looked astonishingly great and are a cut above most mainstream movies.

bah-ha-ha "Seabiscuit" a cut above mainstream movie - sorry, but I beg to differ. The enitre movie felt like a throwback to standard 50's style Hollywood filmmaking. The cinematography was admirable, but the story and characters seemed cookie cutter predictable and bland.

Pleasantville on the other hand, was a fun non-pretentious film.