#7 - PETER JACKSON

After directing The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), Peter Jackson has easily cemented his reputation as the most ambitious director alive today. The three sprawling films about a hobbit and his ring have done for the new millennium what the Star Wars trilogy did for the 70's and 80's. Jackson managed to create an entirely different world on film--a whole other mythology that differs from our own in magical, whimsical ways, the power of which is difficult to dismiss as mere childish fantasy. While we cannot credit Jackson for defining humanity--for that transcendent feat goes to Shakespeare--we can certainly give him credit for reminding us what it means to be human in a world ruled by scientific materialism, utterly devoid of inspiration.