Curated playlist
American television directors
- Alfred HitchcockAt age five, Alfred Hitchcock was sent to a police station with a note and locked in a cell.
- Simon KinbergSimon Kinberg plays a banker in his own script for Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He began that screenplay as a film school thesis.
- Martin ScorseseMartin Scorsese's love of movies began because asthma kept him out of games.
- Woody AllenWoody Allen failed a film production course at New York University, then went on to direct Annie Hall.
- Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg walked into Universal Studios without a pass, and the guard waved him in.
- David LynchDavid Lynch began as a painter who just wanted his canvases to move. That wish led him to film.
- Ben StillerBen Stiller's films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, an average of $79 million per film. Behind that figure stands Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller, an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known…
- Clint EastwoodPresident Reagan quoted Clint Eastwood's line "Go ahead, make my day" to Congress.
- Ralph BakshiRalph Bakshi sold CBS a show it already owned. CBS had acquired the Terrytoons library in 1955 and forgotten it.
- David FincherDirector David Fincher demanded 99 takes from Rooney Mara for a single scene in The Social Network.
- Snoop DoggSnoop Dogg bought Death Row Records, the label that launched his career, in February 2022. It took nearly three decades.
- Sammy Davis Jr.Sammy Davis Jr. once answered a simple golf question with a line that became his signature. Playing a round with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. Davis replied, "Handicap?" and then went on: "Talk about handicap. I'm a…
- Ron HowardRon Howard, age five, had to cry while holding a toy turtle. Andy Griffith coached him through it in 1960.
- Rian JohnsonRian Johnson shot his debut film, Brick, at his old high school. It cost roughly $450,000 and grossed nearly $4 million.
- J. J. AbramsJ. J. Abrams wrote his first film score at age 16 for a horror movie. The 1982 low-budget film was called Nightbeast.
- Bryan CranstonIn 1968, a 12-year-old Bryan Cranston was riding horses with his cousin at Spahn Ranch when he met Charles Manson. About a year later, Manson ordered the Tate-LaBianca murders. Cranston grew up to become an American actor and filmmaker…
- Jon HammJon Hamm was once judged too handsome for the role that made him famous. Alan Taylor and Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, first thought exactly that when they considered the American actor from St. Louis, Missouri. The part was Don…
- Russo brothersThe Russo brothers made their first film with student loans and credit cards. They later directed Avengers: Endgame.
- Dean DevlinStargate, co-written by Dean Devlin in 1994, was the first movie to have a dedicated website.
- Howard KazanjianHoward Kazanjian proposed filming Return of the Jedi as a fake horror movie called Blue Harvest.
- Charlie KaufmanEvery company rejected Charlie Kaufman's script for Being John Malkovich. Spike Jonze later agreed to direct it.
- Donald GloverDonald Glover was voted most likely to write for The Simpsons. At 23 he landed a writing job on 30 Rock instead.
- Dave FiloniDave Filoni thought George Lucas's job offer was a prank. He later became president of Lucasfilm.
- Patty JenkinsPatty Jenkins was seven when her father, a fighter pilot, died. Soon after, a Superman movie caught her.
- John KrasinskiJohn Krasinski hosted a livestreamed prom on the 17th of April 2020. It was meant for high schoolers whose real proms had been cancelled, and 210,000 viewers tuned in. Live performances came from Billie Eilish, Finneas, the Jonas Brothers…
- Nick CannonNick Cannon is an American comedian, actor and rapper who once hosted a stunt in which a human cannonball was fired into slime. It happened at Nickelodeon's 2005 Kids' Choice Awards, and the ceremony called it the slime stunt. The moment…
- D. B. WeissA petition with over 1.5 million signatures demanded a remake of Game of Thrones season eight.
- David BenioffDavid Benioff was a club bouncer and a high school wrestling coach before Game of Thrones. He later co-ran the show.
- Joss WhedonJoss Whedon earned more from a web musical than from directing The Avengers.
- Kelsey GrammerKelsey Grammer was meant to play Frasier Crane for only six episodes. He kept the role for 20 years across two shows.
- The Duffer BrothersThe Duffer Brothers turned down Florida State's film school because it would not let the twins study together.
- Irvin KershnerIrvin Kershner once asked George Lucas a direct question: "Of all the younger guys around, all the hot-shots, why me?" Kershner told the story himself, and Lucas had an answer ready: "Well, because you know everything a Hollywood director…
- James MangoldJames Mangold studied acting because his CalArts teacher urged him to. It gave him a feel for performance.
- John KortyJohn Korty turned a barn in Marin County into a film studio. Lucas and Coppola visited, inspired to build their own.
- Jonathan TropperJonathan Tropper built the series Warrior from an original idea left behind by Bruce Lee.
- Jodie FosterJodie Foster was a teenager when she acted as a French interpreter at a press conference during the Cannes Film Festival. The film was Taxi Driver, which won the Palme d'Or that year, and the journalists in the room came away impressed. By…
- Jon FavreauJon Favreau named his company after the golem of Jewish folklore. It can protect or destroy, like technology.
- William DearA musical short for the song "Rio" won William Dear his first big film job. Michael Nesmith hired him for Timerider.
- Chris TerrioChris Terrio spent months checking whether Gatorade existed in December 1979. He needed it for one joke in Argo.
- Michael Lindsay-HoggAt 16, Michael Lindsay-Hogg heard his mother deny in great detail that Orson Welles was his father.