The New Whiz Kids

Coppola. Lucas. Scorsese. Spielberg. These are four names that hold a special place in the hearts of cinephiles across America, even worldwide. These four men revolutionized American cinema in the 1970’s. In the case of Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, they made studio films with sinister undertones that challenged mainstream audiences in ways they hadn’t been before. In the case of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, they put the pop back in popcorn, and made wildly entertaining fare that shattered box office records. As it happens, these four men happen to be very close friends. They are known to visit each other’s sets, give advice in editing rooms etc. Coppola and Scorsese made film together, along with Woody Allen, called “New York Stories,” and Lucas and Spielberg are longtime collaborators on the “Indiana Jones” franchise. Annie Leibovitz once deemed them the whiz kids. As talented as these filmmakers are, it’s not hard to notice that they are all past their prime, however, particularly Coppola and Lucas. A new generation of sensational American filmmakers have taken the reins. As sacrilege as it might be to say, these directors are producing the “Godfathers” and “Star Wars” of their time. But who are the real modern whiz kids? Who are the best American directors of this generations?

There are so many to choose from them, which is far from a bad thing. It’s hard to exclude the likes of David O. Russell, Spike Jonze and whiz kid daughter Sofia Coppola, but honestly, are these filmmakers on the same level as, say, David Fincher or Quentin Tarantino? The answer is simply no. There’s not a lot that can be said about Tarantino’s influence on cinema that hasn’t already been said. His opening one-two punch of “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” remains a nearly unattainable peak. Tarantino was the director that the Kurt Cobain generation was waiting for, one that didn’t learn the ropes of film school, but a geek who studied his craft by watching a slew of alternative films. Many have tried to emulate Tarantino’s style, but these copycats may have the excess of blood, but what they don’t have is his cunning wit and bravado. His equal love of Jean-Luc Godard and Melvin Van Peebles seeps through every film, but it’s a personality all his own.

If Tarantino is the Scorsese of his times, David Fincher is the Coppola. Like Coppola, Fincher certainly has his misses (Looking at you “Panic Room”), but when a Fincher film is good, it’s phenomenal. His technical wizardry mirrors that of a Lucas or Spielberg, but his stories far more intimate and less about the spectacle. His approach is far too unsentimental and gloomy to be those guys. His protagonists are brash men, furious and perplexed by their surroundings, looking to antagonize. His 1999 film “Fight Club” opened to mixed to negative reviews, but is now a counterculture landmark. While his films generally center around violent people (“Seven” and “Zodiac” were both about the hunt for a serial killer), he has a displayed some versatility. His 2010 masterpiece “The Social Network” was in tune to previous themes of his, but was funny and fast-paced in a way he never had been before.

Fincher’s films and Tarantino’s films make money for sure, but they aren’t blockbusters like Lucas and Spielberg have produced. Christopher Nolan’s films sure are though. And like those two whiz kids, he doesn’t dumb down to appeal to a mass audience. Nolan is not American himself, but films like “The Dark Knight” and Inception” have become ingrained in American culture. Nolan’s style is brooding and thematically complex. His heroes are as tortured, if not more so, than his villains. He’s not interested in the whiz bang ethos for the sake of it like a lot of his contemporaries, his films take an emotional toll on the audience.

Darren Aronofsky, Alexander Payne, Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson certainly merit inclusion in such a club, and many could successfully argue their placement. All of these filmmakers are producing the best works of this generation. It’s never a bad thing to have too many whiz kids. Movieroomreviews.com has great info on directors such as Quentin Tarantino and movies such as Pulp Fiction.