michael moore
Author, filmmaker, and political activist Michael Moore has developed a trademark style of tackling major issues with a sharp sense of humor while maintaining a regular-guy attitude, an approach that has helped him secure a reputation as both a razor-sharp humorist and one of America's most fearless political commentators. Michael Moore was born in 1954 in Davison, MI, a suburb of Flint. show more

quentin tarantino
Director/screenwriter/actor/producer Quentin Tarantino was perhaps the most distinctive and volatile talent to emerge in American film in the early '90s. Unlike the previous generation of American filmmakers, Tarantino learned his craft from his days as a video clerk, rather than as a film school student. Consequently, he developed an audacious fusion of pop culture and independent art house cinema. show more

peter jackson
Peter Jackson was born in New Zealand on Halloween 1961. He was raised in Pukerua Bay, a little town west of Wellington by his parents Bill and Joan Jackson. Being the only child, Peter was forced to come up with games, ideas and things to keep himself occupied. On Christmas 1969, Peter's parents got an 8mm camera and his life was forever changed. It didn't take long for Peter to get his hands on the camera. show more

tim burton
It should come as no shock to the fans of director Tim Burton that he spent his formative years glued to the tube, watching old cartoons and horror flicks. Such early influences no doubt helped to form the deliciously ghoulish and artfully warped sensibility of a director who was to become known for his forays into the bizarre outer regions of mainstream celluloid. show more

john woo
The bread-and-butter of the film industry is the action movie. Each summer, audiences can expect to see car chases, gunfights and explosions, and studios can expect to see millions and millions of dollars in return. Though most viewers and critics see these movies as "fluff" entertainment (and rightfully so), there is one director that puts as much heart and soul into his "fluff" as any number of talented directors put into their "serious" movies. His name is John Woo. show more

robert zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis began making home movies as a child in Chicago. He eventually attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television where he befriended budding filmmakers like George Lucas and John Milius. Zemeckis directed a pair of well received student films while at USC (The Lift and A Field of Honor). He soon met a man who would change his life, a burgeoning young star director named Steven Spielberg who was then based at Universal Pictures. show more

kevin smith
One of the most unique voices to emerge during the American independent filmmaking renaissance of the 1990s, Kevin Smith was born in New Jersey on August 2, 1970. Smith later attended the New School for Social Research's creative writing program, dropping out after administrators contacted his parents to report that their son had been caught launching water balloons out of his dormitory window. show more

stanley kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was born in New York, and was considered intelligent despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would produce better academic performance, Kubrick's father Jack (a physician) sent him in 1940 to Pasadena, California, to stay with his uncle Martin Perveler. Returning to the Bronx in 1941 for his last year of grammar school, there seemed to be little change in his attitude or his results. show more

spike lee
Spike Lee was born Shelton Lee in 1957, in Atlanta Georgia. At a very young age he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from a proud and intelligent background. His father was a jazz musician, and his mother a school teacher. His mother dubbed him Spike, due to his tough nature. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he developed his film making skills. show more

martin scorcese
The most renowned filmmaker of his era, Martin Scorsese virtually defined the state of modern American cinema during the 1970s and '80s. A consummate storyteller and visual stylist who lived and breathed movies, he won fame translating his passion and energy into a brand of filmmaking that crackled with kinetic excitement. show more