Making stars out of storytellers: The case for A-list directors
By Paul Swartz - Voice Editor on September 19, 2025
Graphic by Audrey Garcia
From Ryan Coogler to Zach Cregger to James Gunn, 2025 has been the year of the writer/director.
But the ones behind the camera rarely get the same recognition as those in front of it.
This summer, James Gunn, writer and director of “Superman,” appeared in a large portion of the promotional material for the film. Many online critics claimed he was upstaging the movie’s stars and inserting himself when it wasn’t his place. But despite the undeniably great performances of David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, no one is more responsible for bringing the movie into being than Gunn.
Not only did he direct the film; he also wrote the script. The same is true for writer/directors Ryan Coogler of “Sinners” and Zach Cregger of “Weapons.” All three were very involved in the promotional material, and honestly?
Good.
Great actors can elevate a movie to the next level, but a great writer or director is the biggest indicator of a film’s quality.
Take a movie like “A Complete Unknown.” Director James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic was a solid examination of the folk artist, but Timothée Chalamet’s performance was the main reason the film was well-received. He stole the show because the rest of the movie was good, not great.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” features one of the best performances of the decade from Cillian Murphy. However, every other aspect of the movie works to improve the central character. The script, the direction, the editing, the cinematography and the score all work in harmony to support Murphy’s performance. He doesn’t steal the show, he is elevated by it.
So if writers and directors are more important to making good films than actors, why don’t we know their names?
Ask the average person to name as many directors as they can. They might list names like Scorsese, Spielberg, Nolan and Gerwig, but that might be where it ends. Ask them to name screenwriters, and the list will be even shorter.
There are definitely actors who will encourage me to watch a movie. I’ll go see pretty much anything Colman Domingo is in. But if you told me nothing about a movie other than that it was written and directed by Jordan Peele, I would buy the ticket where I stood.
It’s time we look past a movie’s actors. They’re crucial pieces, but in the end, they’re just cogs in the machine. More often, it’s the writer or director pulling the levers that make the gears turn.
People like David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve and Bong Joon Ho should be as synonymous with movies as people like Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Denzel Washington.
Next time you see a movie you love, don’t tune out when the credits roll. Find the director or writer responsible, and check out their other work. Chances are, you’ll find more films you’ll love that way.
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Making stars out of storytellers: The case for A-list directors
From Ryan Coogler to Zach Cregger to James Gunn, 2025 has been the year of the writer/director.
But the ones behind the camera rarely get the same recognition as those in front of it.
This summer, James Gunn, writer and director of “Superman,” appeared in a large portion of the promotional material for the film. Many online critics claimed he was upstaging the movie’s stars and inserting himself when it wasn’t his place. But despite the undeniably great performances of David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, no one is more responsible for bringing the movie into being than Gunn.
Not only did he direct the film; he also wrote the script. The same is true for writer/directors Ryan Coogler of “Sinners” and Zach Cregger of “Weapons.” All three were very involved in the promotional material, and honestly?
Good.
Great actors can elevate a movie to the next level, but a great writer or director is the biggest indicator of a film’s quality.
Take a movie like “A Complete Unknown.” Director James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic was a solid examination of the folk artist, but Timothée Chalamet’s performance was the main reason the film was well-received. He stole the show because the rest of the movie was good, not great.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” features one of the best performances of the decade from Cillian Murphy. However, every other aspect of the movie works to improve the central character. The script, the direction, the editing, the cinematography and the score all work in harmony to support Murphy’s performance. He doesn’t steal the show, he is elevated by it.
So if writers and directors are more important to making good films than actors, why don’t we know their names?
Ask the average person to name as many directors as they can. They might list names like Scorsese, Spielberg, Nolan and Gerwig, but that might be where it ends. Ask them to name screenwriters, and the list will be even shorter.
There are definitely actors who will encourage me to watch a movie. I’ll go see pretty much anything Colman Domingo is in. But if you told me nothing about a movie other than that it was written and directed by Jordan Peele, I would buy the ticket where I stood.
It’s time we look past a movie’s actors. They’re crucial pieces, but in the end, they’re just cogs in the machine. More often, it’s the writer or director pulling the levers that make the gears turn.
People like David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve and Bong Joon Ho should be as synonymous with movies as people like Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Denzel Washington.
Next time you see a movie you love, don’t tune out when the credits roll. Find the director or writer responsible, and check out their other work. Chances are, you’ll find more films you’ll love that way.