Main actor vs. Director (1 Viewer)

[KarmaPolice]

Just curious where the FBGs fall on this question. If you have to choose going to a movie based on just one piece of information, would you rather know who the main actor is or who the director is?

Was talking to a buddy today and we were discussing how we fall on opposite sides of the spectrum on this one. He doesn't care too much about the direction, and usually gravitates to favorite actors. I think that a good director can get a good movie out of anybody so would rather know who is behind the camera.

Bonus question: Who are your top 5-10 living directors and/or who are your top 5-10 living actors? I guess you can use any context, but I was mostly thinking about who's work would you want to watch going forward based on the last decade or so of work. Ie - going forward, if you could only watch those people's work in the theaters who would it be?

 

[BobbyLayne]

Actor. Though to be honest I'm more interested in who wrote or adapted the script.

 

[dutch]

director

Bonus question: Who are your top 5-10 living directors and/or who are your top 5-10 living actors?

Guillermo del Toro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Quinton Tarintino, Darren Aronofsky, Ang Lee, Christopher Nolan, Pedro Almodovar, PT Anderson and the Coens. Spike Lee just misses and I left off Clint Eastwood based on his recent output being less than his best and with his age I wonder what he has left.

Bale, Harrelson, McConaughey, Streep(still interesting after all these years), Theron, Dicaprio, Idris Elba, Jeff Bridges(see Streep), Cruise. I know, I know, Cruise is Mr. Milquetoast and he doesn't often push his range but for me he has "it" and whatever it is it makes me curious whenver I see he's in a movie.

Disclaimer: These lists were made spur of the moment with very little thought so take that into account when the bashing begins. Thank you.

 

[Sarnoff]

Actor, I guess. I mean, actor unless it's tarantino. There are a few actors who's decisions I'd trust more than some "really good" directors who end up being occasionally inconsistent.

 

[Abraham]

director

Bonus question: Who are your top 5-10 living directors and/or who are your top 5-10 living actors?

Guillermo del Toro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Quinton Tarintino, Darren Aronofsky, Ang Lee, Christopher Nolan, Pedro Almodovar, PT Anderson and the Coens. Spike Lee just misses and I left off Clint Eastwood based on his recent output being less than his best and with his age I wonder what he has left.

Bale, Harrelson, McConaughey, Streep(still interesting after all these years), Theron, Dicaprio, Idris Elba, Jeff Bridges(see Streep), Cruise. I know, I know, Cruise is Mr. Milquetoast and he doesn't often push his range but for me he has "it" and whatever it is it makes me curious whenver I see he's in a movie.

Disclaimer: These lists were made spur of the moment with very little thought so take that into account when the bashing begins. Thank you.

I agree with most of what you have here although leaving off Ridley Scott and Ben affleck as directors and DDL and Ryan gosling (and maybe Denzel and Matt Damon) as actors is a mistake.

 

[AAABatteries]

I don't even need that information. Just tell me if that whore ##### Julia Roberts is in the movie and that's all I need to know. I want to punch her in her whore horse mouth.

 

[Apple Jack]

Hoffman, bill Murray and DDL are the only ones I can think of who I give the movie the same consideration I would if it was done by a director I like. The psh loss blows.

 

[avoiding injuries]

I don't even need that information. Just tell me if that whore ##### Julia Roberts is in the movie and that's all I need to know. I want to punch her in her whore horse mouth.

She is so smug and annoying.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Director and it's not even close. The Director on many films is working with the actors very closely to ensure they get the most out of them. Most Hollywood actors must have a strong director for them to have their best performances. Directors push actors to bring the best out in them.

 

[Pots]

Both are irrelevant to me.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Both are irrelevant to me.

Just need to know if you can catch a peek of some frontal male nudity?

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think director is the safest bet too. Most work with the same core group of people, so you know what you are going to get for the most part. It's not like many do drama movie and on a whim decide to dip into rom-coms or horror movies.

For me there is a current core group that I will watch anything of theirs:

P.T. Anderson

C.Nolan

D. Aronofsky

D. Fincher

T. Malick

David O. Russell

There are a few that we only have a limited sample from, but still really like what I have seen:

S. McQueen

A. Cuaron

Spike Jonze

B. Affleck

There are some heavy hitters that don't make my personal list currently mostly b/c they are hit and miss lately with me:

Spielberg - not sure I will recover from Indy 4 or Warhorse

Coen brothers - don't love their comedy movies, but really dig their dramas

Tarantino - didn't love Django and don't want anymore love fests with him and Rodriguez

Scorsese - a great director, but I am not his biggest fan. Usually like about 50% of his movies.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

It's like horse racing with the director being the trainer & the actor being the horse.

 

[KarmaPolice]

actors were a little harder for me. here are the names I thought of when I think of just acting:

DDL

M. Fassbender

R. Gosling

J. Phoenix

S. Penn

L. DiCaprio

C. Bale

C. Waltz

S. Rockwell

C. Affleck

P. Dano

actors I gravitate to maybe not 100% b/c of skill, but they tend to be in a lot of movies I enjoy:

J. Gordon-Levitt

T. Cruise

B. Pitt

D. Washington

T. Hanks

P. Giamatti

J. Gyllenhaal

 

[Apple Jack]

It's like horse racing with the director being the trainer & the actor being the horse.

Writer/director/editor - horse

Actors - jockey

Director - trainer

 

[Apple Jack]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

Hopefully in the process of signing on for the Sorkin Steve Jobs pic.

 

[Chaka]

actors were a little harder for me. here are the names I thought of when I think of just acting:

DDL

M. Fassbender

R. Gosling

J. Phoenix

S. Penn

L. DiCaprio

C. Bale

C. Waltz

S. Rockwell

C. Affleck

P. Dano

actors I gravitate to maybe not 100% b/c of skill, but they tend to be in a lot of movies I enjoy:

J. Gordon-Levitt

T. Cruise

B. Pitt

D. Washington

T. Hanks

P. Giamatti

J. Gyllenhaal

While I like your lists I find it interesting that there isn't one actress that makes the cut.

 

[KarmaPolice]

actors were a little harder for me. here are the names I thought of when I think of just acting:

DDL

M. Fassbender

R. Gosling

J. Phoenix

S. Penn

L. DiCaprio

C. Bale

C. Waltz

S. Rockwell

C. Affleck

P. Dano

actors I gravitate to maybe not 100% b/c of skill, but they tend to be in a lot of movies I enjoy:

J. Gordon-Levitt

T. Cruise

B. Pitt

D. Washington

T. Hanks

P. Giamatti

J. Gyllenhaal

While I like your lists I find it interesting that there isn't one actress that makes the cut.

working on that one.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Actresses:

A. Adams

J. Chastain

C. Mulligan

C. Blanchett

M. Williams

M. Leo

M.Streep

N. watts

limited sample, or more like movies they are in:

B. Marling

R. Mara

E. Stone

A. Kendrick

R. Witherspoon

 

[KarmaPolice]

Also, I forgot Michael Shannon on my list above (I am sure there are others I forgot too)

 

[Don Quixote]

Director for me, by far.

If I had to list a top 5:

Coen Brothers

Wes Anderson

David O. Russell

Alexander Payne

Christopher Nolan

 

[Keith R]

Voted director.

For the bonus question - off the top of my head, my favorite still-active 5 in each category are;

Actor

Denzel Washington

William H. Macy

Michael Fassbender

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Brad Pitt

Director

Coen Bros

Christopher Nolan

David Fincher

Quentin Tarantino

I'll put Martin Scorsese here though I honestly don't expect too many high-quality additions to his portfolio from 2014 onward.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

Hopefully in the process of signing on for the Sorkin Steve Jobs pic.

I hope not. I f'ing hate biopics.

 

[encaitar]

Director, only if he's also the producer. Otherwise it's a tie for me.

The main producer is the most important cog in a good movie IMO.

 

[Sarnoff]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

Hopefully in the process of signing on for the Sorkin Steve Jobs pic.

I hope not. I f'ing hate biopics.

Plus we just had one come out. Don't need another one so soon. And Jobs is just not that interesting, except for dying like a moron.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

Hopefully in the process of signing on for the Sorkin Steve Jobs pic.

I hope not. I f'ing hate biopics.

Plus we just had one come out. Don't need another one so soon. And Jobs is just not that interesting, except for dying like a moron.

Huh?

 

[Kenny Powers]

Id lean director simply because if its a director I like Id expect it to still be a quality film regardless of topic. However, if I know the plot summary and its a lead actor I like, that would likely take priority over going into a film with a director I like blind.

I agree with most of the above lists on actors and directors, although would of course shuffle them up a little.

 

[Dentist]

Both are irrelevant to me.

completely agree.

Either I like the idea of the story, or most likely I don't.

Rotten Tomatoes probably has more of an influence of what I choose to watch that either the actor or director.

But really at the end of the day, I just see commercial dreck like comic book movies, a few comedies, and an occasional other scifi movie.

99% of movies aren't going to entertain me at all.

 

[bostonfred]

Is ryan gosling really that high on peoples lists? He sucks.

 

[msommer]

Combination, and does the idea sound interesting?

I watched Gravity not because if Clooney, Bullock or Cuaron but because of the idea. Maybe I'll take a look at Visualisation in the future as well

 

[Sarnoff]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

Hopefully in the process of signing on for the Sorkin Steve Jobs pic.

I hope not. I f'ing hate biopics.

Plus we just had one come out. Don't need another one so soon. And Jobs is just not that interesting, except for dying like a moron.

Huh?

Jobs died because he was stupid. Being a dumb liberal hippie flowerchild dreamer with his head in the sky cost him his life. He was lucky enough to get the ultra-rare survivable form of pancreatic cancer, the kind that only 4% of pancreatic cancer victims get but 99% of them live with treatment. Jobs declined the standard medical treatment, though, opting for a holistic, faith-based, eastern medicine approach. Meditation and green tea instead of surgery and chemo. He wanted to prove that western medicine wasn't the only answer. And now he's a corpse. Well played, Steve. I don't want to see yet another movie about him.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Both are irrelevant to me.

completely agree.

Either I like the idea of the story, or most likely I don't.

Rotten Tomatoes probably has more of an influence of what I choose to watch that either the actor or director.

But really at the end of the day, I just see commercial dreck like comic book movies, a few comedies, and an occasional other scifi movie.

99% of movies aren't going to entertain me at all.

Sounds like youre picking the wrong movies to watch. I can picture you dumping on a hot patient's D cups after you did a line off them while you were watching Wolf of Wall Street.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Just tell me what David Fincher is doing and take my money.

Hopefully in the process of signing on for the Sorkin Steve Jobs pic.

I hope not. I f'ing hate biopics.

Plus we just had one come out. Don't need another one so soon. And Jobs is just not that interesting, except for dying like a moron.

Huh?

Jobs died because he was stupid. Being a dumb liberal hippie flowerchild dreamer with his head in the sky cost him his life. He was lucky enough to get the ultra-rare survivable form of pancreatic cancer, the kind that only 4% of pancreatic cancer victims get but 99% of them live with treatment. Jobs declined the standard medical treatment, though, opting for a holistic, faith-based, eastern medicine approach. Meditation and green tea instead of surgery and chemo. He wanted to prove that western medicine wasn't the only answer. And now he's a corpse. Well played, Steve. I don't want to see yet another movie about him.

Figured it was something like that based on your post. I knew he had cancer, didnt recall it was pancreatic which is pretty much the worst and his treatment plan also sounds ridiculous.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Is ryan gosling really that high on peoples lists? He sucks.

couple of his movies are polarizing and a couple not good movies this year with only god forgives and gangster squad, but his resume is impressive with the believer, United states of leland, place beyond the pines, half nelson, etc. still a lot of years left in him too.

plus he is super dreamy.

why do you say he sucks?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Rotten Tomatoes probably has more of an influence of what I choose to watch that either the actor or director.

yikes