Who are America’s favourite Hollywood directors?

PARIS: With the 95th Academy Awards just over a month away, all eyes are on Hollywood to see who will win the Oscar for Best Director. But one filmmaker has already won the hearts of Americans, according to a recent poll.

One of the major picks for the 2023 Oscars, Steven Spielberg, tops the list of America’s favourite directors. According to a recent United States survey of 2,204 adults, 71% chose the director of “The Fabelmans” – which has scooped seven nominations, including for best picture and best director – out of a total of 92 living directors.

Avid movie fans are the biggest Spielberg fans, with 81% making him their top choice. The “E.T.” filmmaker is also preferred by 80% of Baby Boomers and 76% of Gen X.

There are similarities between the general ranking and the list chosen by movie buffs, since Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, and Tim Burton share the top five spots, although not in this order.

The ranking is almost entirely male, except for Sofia Coppola, the only female director to feature in both rankings, near the bottom of the list.

Woody Allen, 38th in the ranking, received by far the worst scores in this survey. Accusations of sexual abuse by his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, were cited as the main reason for this negative rating by 29% of respondents.

Here are America’s top 16 favourite Hollywood directors:

1. Steven Spielberg – 71%
2. Clint Eastwood – 62%
3. Ron Howard – 55%
4. Tim Burton – 51%
5. Martin Scorsese – 50%
6. James Cameron – 46%
7. Quentin Tarantino – 42%
8. Francis Ford Coppola – 41%
9. J J Abrams – 34%
10. Spike Lee – 32%
11. Guillermo del Toro – 31%
12. Jordan Peele – M Night Shyamalan – The Coen Brothers – 30%
13. Ridley Scott – 29%
14. Peter Jackson – Brian De Palma – Christopher Nolan – 28%
15. Sofia Coppola – 26%
16. David Lynch – Michael Bay – 25%

America’s favourite directors, chosen by avid movie fans:

1. Steven Spielberg – 81%
2. Martin Scorsese – 73%
3. Clint Eastwood – 69%
4. Ron Howard – 67%
5. Tim Burton – 66%
6. James Cameron – 62%
7. J J Abrams – 57%
8. Francis Ford Coppola – M Night Shyamalan – 56%
9. Ridley Scott – 55%
10. Quentin Tarantino – Spike Lee – Guillermo del Toro – 54%
11. Christopher Nolan – 51%
12. The Coen Brothers – 50%
13. Peter Jackson – 48%
14. Jordan Peele – Michael Bay – 46%
15. Brian De Palma – 45%
16. Steven Soderbergh – Sofia Coppola – 43%