A number of directors who have recently had a successful film (or films!) are looking to keep the momentum going in 2012. Ten big names — many of them having won the Oscar for Best Director at some point in their career or have at least been nominated — are looking to build off their last successful film and are hoping to eclipse their previous accomplishments with what they have to offer in 2012.
Woody Allen (Nero Fiddled, opening TBA)
Woody Allen’s career has had its creative peaks and valleys, and coming off of the fantastic Midnight in Paris Allen is definitely at one of his peaks. Nero Fiddled, his upcoming film set in Italy, is yet another opportunity for Allen to deliver a great film with a fantastic cast, including Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, and Allen himself in his first on-screen role since 2006’s Scoop.
Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, opening May 25)
Though Wes Anderson’s films rarely make a lot of money, he has a devoted fanbase who enjoy his unique storytelling style. It’s been five years since Anderson’s last live-action film, and in Moonrise Kingdom he’s working with a number of actors outside of his usual circle, including Ed Norton, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand, and Harvey Keitel (of course, Anderson favorites Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman will be along).
Kathryn Bigelow (Untitled Osama bin Laden film, opening December 18)
Kathryn Bigelow seems like the perfect choice to direct a film based on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden after her last film, the 2008 war drama The Hurt Locker, won her Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (and won four others). She’s also reteaming with writer/producer Mark Boal, who won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for The Hurt Locker too.
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, opening November 21)
Cuaron has not directed a film since 2006’s excellent Children of Men, and his equally sci-fi influenced Gravity looks like a proper, if long-awaited, follow-up. The cast includes George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, which will certainly get the attention of even those unfamiliar with Cuaron’s quality output.
John Hillcoat (Wettest County, opening April 20)
Australian director Hillcoat hasn’t made many films that are well known by American audiences, but his last two films — The Proposition and The Road — were both excellent and atmospheric. Wettest County has an impressive cast, including Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, and Guy Pearce — and an always-awesome Prohibition-era setting.
Tom Hooper (Les Miserables, opening December 7)
Hooper certainly isn’t a household name, but his last film not only won the Oscar for Best Picture but also snagged Hooper the Oscar for Best Director for The King’s Speech. You probably didn’t notice Hooper with Harvey Weinstein taking all the credit, of course. Hooper will be able to show what he can do on his own with Les Miserables, featuring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Russell Crowe. Les Miserables has been filmed more than a dozen times, so Hooper will have to set his apart somehow.
David O. Russell (The Silver Linings Playbook, opening November 21)
After a six year hiatus from directing, Russell delivered The Fighter in 2010, one of his best films in his impressive body of work. The Silver Linings Playbook is Russell’s first time working with Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper (playing a father and son), two actors who will likely perform well in Russell’s actor-friendly style (that is, when Russell isn’t yelling at them).
Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, opening March 23)
Ross has been writing and producing films since the late 1980s, but he hasn’t directed a film since 2003’s Seabiscuit, which was nominated for Best Picture. With The Hunger Games, based on the wildly popular novel, Ross is directing his most ambitious project yet. Like most literary adaptations, it’s likely fans will hold Ross’ direction under a microscope, although as we’ve seen from Twilight, your movie doesn’t have to be very good if its popular. Let’s hope Ross doesn’t fall for that!
Steven Soderbergh (Haywire, opening January 20, and Magic Mike, opening June 29)
Soderbergh has promised that he has only one more film left in him before he retires, so Haywire and Magic Mike can be considered Soderbergh’s third and second to last films (as of now, anyway). The action film Haywire stars Channing Tatum and MMA fighter Gina Carano and has gotten a lot of positive advance buzz, and Magic Mike stars Tatum as a male stripper. Though Soderbegh hasn’t enjoyed massive box office success after the end of the Ocean’s Eleven series, his last film, Contagion performed solidly and Soderbergh’s upcoming two were both produced on smaller budgets.
Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained, opening December 25)
There are few filmmakers as iconic as Quentin Tarantino, and his follow-up to Inglourious Basterds, which won an Oscar for Christoph Waltz, also stars Waltz along with a host of other big names. Expectations are always high for a Tarantino film, and a western directed by a man who worships Sergio Leone is something worth paying extra attention to.
So there you have it — ten great directors with films coming out in 2012. Don’t be surprised to see these names pop up during next year’s award season!
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