THE 100 MOST POWERFUL DIRECTORS

What makes a filmmaker powerful in Hollywood? Is it strictly box-office or does critical acclaim and awards factor more heavily into it? Nate Jones with Vulture consulted with various agents, executives, producers, and publicists to help decide what it takes to achieve success and influence as a film director working today.

This was considered by using their body of work, bankability, creative control and reputation to help determine not only which directors would make the cut but also where they would happen to fall in this ranking. Streaming has certainly changed the game for directors working at this time and not a completely accurate way to help assess their power in the industry. So their achievements theatrically played a more important determination in making the list while not discounting any streaming projects entirely.

Please click below to read the selections:

Vulture: The 100 Most Powerful Directors in Hollywood

TERENCE STAMP (1938 - 2025)

Terence Stamp, the handsome British actor who broke through with his first film, "Billy Budd" and went on to have significant career including appearances in "Superman" and "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", has died on August 17th at the age of eight-seven.

Born and raised in East London, Stamp became enamored with acting when he was a child after seeing Hollywood movies. Growing up during World War II, he enduring the constant blitz in London which did leave a traumatizing effect upon him. Stamp won a scholarship to study acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and performed in many theatrical productions. During this time, he became friendly with fellow aspiring actors, Peter O'Toole and Michael Caine, who Stamp would later share a flat.

Stamp got his first major break in 1962 with actor, Peter Ustinov's fifth feature as a director, "Billy Budd" which he also wrote the screenplay and co-starred. This British historical adventure, based on the novella by Herman Melville, has Stamp playing Budd, a young sailor who is falsely accused of attempting a mutiny by the cruel master-at-arms and accidently kills him, leading to his court-martial. The film was not a big hit but did earn Stamp a Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and winning him a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer (Male).

He would go on to work with several notable filmmakers throughout the rest of the '60's: William Wyler with "The Collector"; John Schlesinger's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd"; Ken Loach in "Poor Cow"; Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Teorema" and co-starred in the spy comedy, "Modesty Blaise" with Monica Vitti. Stamp was even considered for replacing Sean Connery as James Bond after his departure from the role but apparently his ideas for the dashing spy character made the producers uncomfortable.

During this time, Stamp became a popular fixture of the swinging London party scene and renowned for his high-profile romances with two of the celebrated women of that era; supermodel, Jean Shrimpton and actress, Julie Christie who co-starred with Stamp in "Far from the Madding Crowd".

Stamp would make his mark again by appearing in the 1978 big-screen version of "Superman" playing the Kryptonian villain, General Zod and would play the character again in the sequel. He would also been seen in a variety of films throughout the '80's like "The Hit", "The Sicilian", "Legal Eagles", "Young Guns", and "Wall Street".

Stamp would surprise viewers with his sensitive yet hilarious turn as a transgender woman in the 1994 Aussie indie, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" by director, Stephan Elliott. This road-trip comedy on a tour bus across the Australian Outback along with their two drag-queen friends (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) would win the Oscar for the outrageous costumes and this campy farce has gone on to become a popular cult classic. Three years later, Steven Soderbergh (a fan of the actor) gave Stamp a lead role in his crime drama, "The Limey". This critically acclaimed film did poorly at the box-office upon it's initial release but has since been found by more appreciative modern audiences. Stamp's last screen appearance was in Edgar Wright's (another big fan of the actor) psychological horror drama, "Last Night in Soho" in 2021.

Stamp also found some success as a writer, having written three memoirs, a novel and co-writing a cookbook that featured alternative recipes for those who are lactose-intolerant.

COMING SOON

Since his breakthrough with the indie drama, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" way back in 1989, Steven Soderbergh has always had some of the best and intriguing actors appearing in his films. For his thirty-sixth feature film, Soderbergh has impressively teamed-up Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in "Black Bag", a thrilling spy drama. They play married British intelligence agents, George and Kathryn Woodhouse. When Kathryn is under investigation for betraying their country, George must struggle between loyalty to his marriage or to the commonwealth. There are elements here that bring to mind the dark action-comedy, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" that also featured two physically stunning actors, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie but "Black Bag" appears to be far less humorous and intensely violent. Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris and Pierce Brosnan also star.

"Black Bag" is due in US theaters on March 14, 2025

MAGIC MIKE (2012)

Written by Reid Carolin


Directed by Steven Soderbergh


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA.  June 29, 2012  5:45PM



Channing Tatum is the current prince of Hollywood, thanks to his previous few roles in some moderately successful movies, appealing to women with the romantic tearjerkers, "The Vow", "Dear John" and attracting men with the action-thriller, "G.I. Joe" and the comedy spoof, "21 Jump Street" which all have helped to raise his profile.

His latest, "Magic Mike" is poised to possibly take him to the next level as the film, directed by the respected Steven Soderbergh, takes us in to the salacious world of male strippers. Tatum dazzles as the title character and lights up the screen, even when his clothes are on.

Women have been seductively removing their clothing on a stage for quite some time. But the question remains if there is the same level of interest in viewing nearly naked, hard muscled men bumping and grinding down to their G-strings. "Magic Mike", loosely based on the early days of Tatum when he was a kid needing a job, seems designed to capture the attention of the ladies (as well as a certain segment of the male population) and it does this very well yet it doesn't have too much to offer outside of the titillation.

Mike (Tatum) spends his days breaking a sweat working hard on a Tampa construction site. But by the time the sun has set, he takes to the stage, sweating throughout the evening as a hip-hop styled stripper calling himself, "Magic Mike". He has enjoyed all of the perks that comes with being an exotic dancer yet after six years, he's ready to move on. Mike dreams of becoming a furniture designer but because of bad credit, he is unable to secure a loan to start his business despite offering the bank a down payment of his career-savings of dollar bills. On his day job, Mike meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a young, aimless slacker who sleeps on the couch of his sister, Brooke (Cody Horn). After Adam quits this job, through a series of circumstances, Mike introduces him to Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), the eccentric owner of the club, Xquisite and Adam becomes, "The Kid", the newest dancer.

The life of a male stripper appeals to Adam as the job offers him new-found attention from beautiful women, a sense of place and family with the other performers and a lot of cash. However, Adam soon gets swept up by the darker, sleazier side of this world where are there are plenty of wild parties and unscrupulous characters lurking around. Adam begins dealing drugs (and heavily using) and gets in over his head which concerns Brooke but Mike promises to watch out for her brother. Dallas is going to open a bigger club in Miami with an offer for Mike to be a partner. Will Mike continue on as a dancer in a different location or will he stay in Tampa to try and start a new life?

It doesn't seem probable that a lot of straight men will to want to rush out to the theater to see "Magic Mike". But there isn't anything here that's particularly engaging or insightful that would encourage them to want to sit through this dancing parade of half-naked men either. "Magic Mike" is light-weight, predictable and drifts much closer to the high-camp of the female stripper flick, "Showgirls" than Soderbergh realizes. But the film still manages to deliver a few moments that entertain. There is an overall sense of fun and good humor that comes through that makes all of this silliness watchable. Sexual politics is touched upon as the film displays a male fantasy of being an object of desire with lustful women completely losing control in their presence and quite happily giving them as much money as possible in gratitude. Seems like nice work, if you can get it however most guys actually couldn't or probably shouldn't.

The focus of the film is supposed to be on the budding romance between Mike and the sweet, down-to-Earth, Brooke who offers him a possible alternative. Yet since there isn't much chemistry between these actors and with Horn not exactly the most expressive of actresses, their scenes together fail to ignite or generate much heat. The friendship between Mike and Adam is actually far more interesting although Pettyfer isn't able to leave much of a memorable impression as an actor either.

"Magic Mike" is the perfect showcase for Tatum, effortlessly oozing plenty of natural charm and sensuality. Like Mark Wahlberg before him, Tatum doesn't really register great intellect on screen yet he does comes across as a sweet, fun-loving lunkhead with some killer dance moves. He plays Mike as a stripper with a big heart, only wanting to help the down on their luck and more than willing to make great personal sacrifices on their behalf. I don't know how believable this character would actually be but he still does a fine job. McConaughey has finally decided to break out of romantic-comedy rut and return to displaying some of the early promise he had at the beginning of his film career as a character actor. Playing up his laid back, party boy image, McConaughey adds the right amount of a quirky, dark edge as an aging former stripper with an ego-driven quest for power in this small scale business of flesh peddling. 

The actors who fill out as the rest of the dancers at the club are familiar faces, mostly from television, which includes Matt Bomer ("White Collar") and Adam Rodriguez ("CSI: Miami") but they are given nothing to offer but their gyrating flesh while performing plenty of cheesy choreography. And if you ever wondered what "True Blood" 's Joe Manganiello (known in the film as "Big Dick" Ritchie) would look like in a fireman's uniform, "Magic Mike" gives you that opportunity although it doesn't stay on for too long.

"Magic Mike" is a perfect tease of a movie where it seduces you with a tantalizing display of glistening, scantily-clad bodies thrusting at you. But once you get past that distraction, there really isn't much else left to see.

HAYWIRE (2012)

Written by Lem Dobbs


Directed by Steven Soderbergh


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. January 23, 2012  6:00PM


There's not a film genre that Steven Soderbergh isn't willing to try to tackle and with his latest, "Haywire", he takes on the action-thriller. If you have seen any of his previous works, then you know that Mr. Soderbergh doesn't do anything conventionally and like the 2009 film, "The Girlfriend Experience", he has cast the lead with a relatively unknown and unconventional performer, Gina Carano. Her claim to fame is that she's a former mixed-martial arts fighter and appeared on the television show, "American Gladiators" as "Crush". She shows great promise as the world is in need of the first female action star.

When we first see Mallory (Carano), her face cut and bruised, she has entered a quiet diner, seeming like she is trying to avoid someone. That person enters and Aaron (Channing Tatum) tries to calmly talk to her to leave with him. That doesn't work, so he begins to physically assault her and pulls out a gun. A patron in the diner, Scott (Michael Angarano) tries to help Mallory but there's no need as she is more than able to handle Aaron as she breaks his arm and knocks him out.

Mallory demands to use Scott's car to escape, taking him with her. For some implausible reason, Mallory begins to spill her secret past to this stranger which is that she and Aaron are private contractors who work for an agency run by Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) that can be hired for covert assignments. A U.S. agent (Michael Douglas) wants the team to go to Barcelona to rescue a journalist being held captive. The dangerous mission is successful and they hand him over to the contact,  Rodrigo (Antonio Banderas).

After Mallory returns home and anticipating a well-earned vacation, Kenneth talks her in to taking one more quick assignment in Dublin. She is to meet a British agent (Michael Fassbender) and pretend to be his wife for an undercover mission. However, Mallory soon discovers that nothing is what it appears to be, including her mission in Barcelona. In order to stay alive, Mallory must use her wits and training to stay one step ahead in order to get to the truth. Once she paints her face in camouflage and puts her hair in corn-rows, then you know that she means to get down to business.

There is something that feels a bit Tarantinoesque about "Haywire" but it's not in the screenplay as it's main function seems to be to simply guide us through one fight sequence to the next with the dialogue no where near as clever or memorable. The influence has more to do with the way the film was assembled with A-list actors playing against type, a plot that uses vengeance as it's motivating factor, flashbacks to move the story forward, and most especially, the very witty ending. If you gave Carano a samurai sword, she would actually fit quite nicely in the world of "Kill Bill". What is pure Soderbergh is the dynamic cinematography and the fast-paced editing which is all actually done by Soderbergh despite it being credited to Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard respectively (perhaps it's his way of keeping his ego in check).

Soderbergh called in some favors and surrounded his acting novice with some big name actors to occupy some very small roles but it really wasn't all that necessary. Although it's hard to tell if she can actually act, there is no denying that Carano is a formidable presence. She delivers her lines with enough conviction and holds her own on the screen yet her real strength is in her physical energy. In the long tradition of male action performers, Carano impressively performs most of her own stunts which helps in convincing you that she's the real deal, making it clear that she's no one you would want to mess with on screen or in real life.

"Haywire" is action-packed, filled with exciting high-energy sequences but the film isn't really much fun, failing to reach it's full potential due to an incoherent, meandering plot. This wouldn't really be that surprising, in fact expected, for your standard action flick but considering that a film maker of the caliber of Soderbergh was behind the camera, I was expecting something well above an average experience.

CONTAGION (2011)

Written by Scott Z. Burns


Directed by Steven Soderbergh


Where & When: Vista Theater, Los Angeles, CA. September 11, 2011 7:00 PM



Have you ever thought about what you would do if an unknown, deadly, airborne virus was gradually wiping out the entire human population?

I sure hope you haven't but if you tend to dwell on dark subjects, then "Contagion", the latest by Steven Soderbergh, is a thriller that gives you the perfect opportunity to envision this chilling scenario. What makes this even more frightening is that the possibility of this actually occurring seems even more plausible than ever considering the current condition of our planet.

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) is in a Chicago airport, waiting to return home to Minneapolis after a business trip in Hong Kong. She has a raspy cough and doesn't feel well but simply assumes it's jetlag. By the time she arrives home to her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon) and their son, Beth is feeling much worse with a very high fever. Two days later, Beth has a seizure and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors do all they can, but they cannot save her. Unable to explain the cause for her tragic death, Mitch is barely able to cope with this loss when he is called home by the babysitter. By the time he gets there, his son has also died from the same mysterious ailment.

This virus, which appears to be easily spread from a contaminated person either by touching, coughing or breathing, is killing people not only in the areas that Beth had visited but rapidly spreading across the globe. Mitch, however, seems to be immune to this virus. He is quarantined and questioned by Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet), sent by Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) of the C.D.C. to help investigate this growing epidemic.

Over the course of the investigation, doctors struggle to identify the common aspects of the virus while political bureaucracy manages to get in the way of the research. The Department of Homeland Security gets involved, checking to see if this could possibly be a bioweapon. And a paranoid, attention-seeking blogger (Jude Law) takes advantage of this situation, using the power of the Internet to manipulate a terrified public and profit off their fear.

It's safe to say that Soderbergh remembers the all-star disaster flicks of the 1970's. But instead of a burning skyscraper or a capsized cruise ship, his modern version of that genre is less of an over-the-top spectacle and something more grounded in reality, backed up with plausible science that makes the stakes feel much higher as time is quickly running out.

While "Contagion" seems like a reasonable outline of the frightening circumstances that could occur if this pandemic actually happened, we are never able to connect to this large, global cast of doomed characters as they are either not properly fleshed out or they are not on screen long enough to leave a lasting impression. All of the big-name actors on board, which includes Marion Cotillard as a doctor from the World Health Organization sent to China to figure out how this virus began but ends up being used as a pawn. And in even smaller roles, Elliott Gould, Bryan Cranston, John Hawkes and Sanaa Lathan are all fully committed but because of time constraints, all of their star-power is wasted in parts that don't add up to much more than cameos. Only Jennifer Ehle, as the doctor who works desperately on trying to create a vaccine, in a quiet but effective performance, leaves any real impact.

Soderbergh has always been one of the more adventurous film makers working today and although not everything he has made has been worthy of overwhelming praise, every film has refreshingly challenged as well as offering thoughtful and unconventional ideas (including his more commercial ventures) while never feeling like a waste of time or energy. "Contagion" presents a relatively, mainstream sci-fi thriller combined with his trademark idiosyncratic film making, accomplished with a sharp screenplay by Scott Z. Burns, who wrote the director's previous film, "The Informant!", although the final resolution feels a bit too tidy and unbelievably fast.

"Contagion" is a fascinating examination on how human beings react and behave during an unimaginable crisis. The film doesn't leave much of a deep or lasting impression, yet it perfectly creates an atmosphere of tension, anxiety and paranoia. If anything, it may probably encourage people to stock up on hand sanitizer and become a little bit more nervous when they hear somebody cough.

THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (2009)

Written by David Levien & Brian Koppelman

Directed by Steven Soderbergh


Where & When: Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood, CA, May 25, 2009 1:10 PM


In "The Girlfriend Experience", Steven Soderbergh's latest drama, Sasha Grey (who actually makes her living as a porn star) plays Christine, a high class prostitute who works under the name, "Chelsea". Chelsea charges top dollar to people for them to spend quality time with her while she earns money by playing the dutiful and understanding "girlfriend" of men who don't have the time or energy to find a real one.

Keeping a journal, Chelsea lists each encounter and details everything down to the designer labels of each piece of clothing she was wearing. This logging of her experiences and all of the luxuries her profession enables her to acquire appears to give a healthy boost to her self-esteem. Still not satisfied with her success, Chelsea decides to bring even more awareness to her "brand". First, she connects with a man who will update her website, then meets with a journalist who wants to interview her for a story before finally meeting a man who is willing to set up a lucrative gig in Dubai and write a positive review of her escort services in exchange for a "sample" of her work.

Chelsea has a very understanding boyfriend, Chris (Chris Santos) who is a personal trainer. He also is selling himself, not physically of course, but trying to get ahead in his field. Wealth, social prestige and luxury goods are very important to both of them which makes them seem to be a perfect match.

Money would become a greater concern for this couple since this story is set shortly before the American economy went into the toilet last fall. We see how this life-altering event seriously impacted this couple's livelihoods. And a serious problem arises in their relationship when Chelsea meets a married client, becoming convinced that he could be the one who could really change her life by offering financial security.

I was hoping "The Girlfriend Experience" might take us in a new direction from just being another film about the world's oldest profession, particularly because Soderbergh was involved with this project. But even with the documentary-style filmmaking and the use of non-professional actors, the film doesn't feel fresh or inventive. It's actually quite dull. I just couldn't make a connection with Chelsea and hardly intrigued by what was happening in her life. The part where she really lost me was when she was telling her boyfriend that she was going off with the married client for the weekend. He is obviously upset since they agreed she would never do overnight jobs but insists its something she has to do and that he's just being selfish.

Grey, who has been making adult films for about four years, plays Chelsea as impassive, manipulative and very self involved, making it unclear how much acting we are actually seeing. I also found the character of Chelsea's boyfriend to be far from unbelievable. I suppose it's certainly possible that a man might be okay that his girlfriend being a sex worker but Chris is really not convincing us that he is content. He appears to be a nice guy (delusional and dim but nice) and just doesn't seem to be the type who would settle for that.

I was disappointed with "the Girlfriend Experience" but I'm aware that Mr. Soderbergh's films can be either a hit ("Out Of Sight" and "The Limey") or miss ("Solaris" and "The Good German"). But I'm just glad that he is around. He is one of the few American directors willing to challenge audiences with unconventional and innovative cinema. I, for one, appreciate that and will always be willing to go along for the ride.