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I never interacted with Dreww on the old forum but I must have read hundreds of his posts over the years. What a double-whammy. Hope his family and friends are doing ok.

I'd say Jackie Chan could be in the honorable mentions, highly influential on martial arts and Hong Kong action films that came after, and he's also pretty acclaimed for his fight choreography.

I'd also say Spielberg should be two spots higher. Obviously a bit lacking in acclaim compared to those around him on the list, but his body of work is like top 5 all time and he is the director most responsible for popularizing the spectacle heavy blockbuster style that has dominated mainstream filmmaking over the past few decades + highly influential on war films as well with Saving Private Ryan.

Spielberg vs Tarkovsky

Acclaim: Tarkovsky fairly easily
Influence: Spielberg, maybe a bit less easily
Body of Work: Spielberg fairly easily

Spielberg vs Lubitsch
Acclaim: Lubitsch
Influence: Leaning towards Spielberg
Body of Work: Spielberg fairly easily

I could also see Michael Bay in the honorable mentions. Very similar to Roland Emmerich, and, if anything, Bay's taken more seriously as an auteur.

Added Chan and moved up Spielberg. Not to keen on adding Bay. I'd rather remove Emmerich.

Fair enough.