Throughout the history of making movies, there have been some really tough shot-callers. Some of the greatest “geniuses” from the world of cinema were legendary for more than just their movies–they were egomaniacal jerks. The following lists features several directors who are still living, and regularly making movies, as well as a few masters who have passed on… and then there’s one who is still living, but will likely never direct again. Here you have it: 10 of the toughest directors to work with.
10. David Fincher
We can safely place David Fincher at #10. He runs hot and cold on the difficulty scale, and tends to preserve relationships with individuals after they have worked together — which is more than we can say for some of the people on this list. That stated, those who have been working with Fincher in the digital age are more privy to his idiosyncratic routine, and perfectionism on set. This is due to relatively unlimited space for capturing footage. Back in the day, Fincher was shooting on film. Now, he’s one of the many directors who have gone to digital technology, and because of it, he’s become known to be excessive in shooting footage. This is especially true when working with actors. While working on Zodiac, he notoriously made the actors do take after take after take in order to find his perfect moments.
Masatoshi Okauchi / Rex Features
