Directors who are household names

[moviflicilm]

What directors do you think have consider such enough fame and recognition that they would be well-known to the layman? Most filmmakers tend to be visible in the public eye, taking a backseat to the stars. Considerably, most audience members don't pay attention to who directed unless it under special occasions. I asked this question on a sub-thread, what does the wider crowd that participates over here think would be the most famous, whenever global or locally.

Directors that have great name-recognition:


Steven Spielberg
George Lucas
Martin Scorsese
Quinten Tarantino
Christopher Nolan
Michael Bay
Tyler Perry

[Chaotic]

M Night Shymalan

[dallywhitty]

Spielberg, Hitchcock, Tarantino, Scorsese.

Possibly Lucas, possibly Cameron.

Fin.

[Poya]

I think people know Zack Snyder enough to know what to expect from him.

[Roonan]

Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Mann, Ridley Scott, David Fincher...

[qb2333]

You can probably add Coppola, Fincher, Scott, Ron Howard, Tim Burton, Brooks, Stone, Gibson to that list

[shinobipopcorn]

I would add:

Francis Ford Coppola (and family)
Stanley Kubrick
Ridley Scott
Tim Burton
Jim Henson and Frank Oz (more known for Muppet work, but also directors of some good films)
Robert Zemeckis (maybe not his name, but they know his films)
Ron Howard
Peter Jackson

[Poya]

Sam Raimi as well.

[dommie]

Agree with many that have been posted as it relates to the present, but also, let me take another approach and name a few from the past whose last name alone has been known to get a response even after they have been gone for some time.

DeMille
Ford
Hawks
Wyler
Griffith
Lean
Huston
Leone
Bergman
Wilder
Kazan
Capra
Peckinpah

[Poya]

Who the hell knows who Hawks is anymore? If people mention Scarface, they think you're talking about the Pacino film,

[spiderfan1985]

Spielberg
Lucas
Kubrick (Even if I don't particularly care for his films he is well known in most circles.)
Nolan
Abrams

Yeah, we don't have very many household name directors anymore. Spielberg is truly one of the last of those alive and Abrams is still working his way up.

[Chaotic]

When it comes to horror, James Wan is.

[P-Rock]

Household names for what country?

Asia has famous directors that doesn't ring any bells with people in America. Europe has directors that doesn't ring any bells with Asians etc etc.

[sawdustandtinsel]

Even though he has fallen off a bit recently, Spike Lee. He has the New York media/sports scene to thank for all the free publicity over the years.

[Moviefan2k4]

I'd personally add Joe Johnston to the list. He started out with the original Star Wars trilogy's art department, but moved to directing with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Over almost 30 years, he's done several well-known movies, including The Rocketeer, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, The Pagemaster, Jumanji, Hidalgo, and Captain America: The First Avenger. He directed a remake of The Wolfman in 2010, and his next project is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.

[Jennifer Lawrence Fan]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

When it comes to horror, James Wan is.

Wes Craven would be there too, Or back then anyway.

[Poya]

Don't forget Carpenter and Romero (RIP).

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by P-Rock

Household names for what country?

Asia has famous directors that doesn't ring any bells with people in America. Europe has directors that doesn't ring any bells with Asians etc etc.

The closest that I can think of are Ang Lee and Takashi Miike.

They're not "household names", but definitely a tier under "household name".

[P-Rock]

Household names outside of America:

Asian
Akira Kurosawa (Ran, Yojimbo, Seven Samurai)
Wong Kar-Wai (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, Happy Together)
Takeshi Kitano (Hana-bi, Sonatine, Zatoichi)
Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins)
Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker, The Handmaiden)
Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life, The Last Stand)
Kim Ki-duk (Spring Summer Fall Winter... and Spring, 3-Iron, Samaritan Girl)
Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers, The Great Wall)
Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi)
John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer, Face/Off)

Anime
Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Steamboy, Memories)
Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Innocence, Avalon)
Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika)
Makoto Shinkai (5 Cm Per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, Your Name)
Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away)
Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy)
Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children)
Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Wicked City)

Dutch
Paul Verhoeven (Turkish Delight, Robocop, Total Recall)
Dick Maas (Amsterdamned, Flodder, The Lift)
Alex van Warmerdam (De Noorderlingen, Ober, Borgman)
Anton Corbijn (Control, The American, A Most Wanted Man)

Danish
Lars Von Trier (The Idiots, Breaking the Waves, Melancholia)
Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher, Drive, The Neon Demon)
Thomas Vinterberg (Festen, Submarino, Jagten)

France
Jean-Luc Godard (Pierrot Le Fou, À Bout de Souffle, Le Mépris)
Francios Truffaut (The 400 Blows, Day for Night, The Last Metro)
Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element)

German
Werner Herzog (Nosferatu the Vampyre, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans)
Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla)
Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Cloud Atlas)
Wim Wenders (The End of Violence, Wings of Desire, Paris Texas)

Mexican
Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, Birdman, The Revenant)
Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mamá También, Children of Men, Gravity)
Guillermo Del Toro (Blade 2, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth)

[Pounder]

Ben Affleck