they didn’t need no education welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten Hollywood
directors that never went to film school
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
looking at film directors who works
primarily in Hollywood after the 1960s
boom that saw film schools cropping up
everywhere that means you won’t be
hearing names like Hitchcock or Kubrick
since they came up before film schools
became more commonplace
[Music]
we’re also excluding film school
dropouts like Paul Thomas Anderson
number 10 Guy Ritchie catch fire in me
sometimes it helps to know the right
people
this english director started his career
after leaving high school with bottom
rung jobs in the film industry
eventually working his way up to
directing TV commercials in 1995 he
directed a 20 minute short film that he
later used to entice investors for what
he hoped would be his first
feature-length picture Lock Stock and
Two Smoking Barrels when you dance with
the devil you labor this homeless tub by
1998 Ritchie had the kind of luck any
young artist could only dream of
long story short a family friend called
his nephew you producer / director
Matthew Vaughn who not only agreed to
produce but also lined up investors and
bam Lock Stock and one smoking career as
a Metro professor integrity number nine
Wes Craven please stop this
is God considering he was forbidden from
watching most films growing up he’s sure
left a mark on cinema this grandfather
of the modern slasher pecks started off
in academia studying English and
psychology and later mastering in
philosophy and writing it wasn’t until
he snuck out of graduate school for a
day to see To Kill a Mockingbird that he
was hooked
Anika’s I met one day to school anymore
after a brief teaching stint Kraven
entered the film industry first as a
sound editor then a film editor and
later writing for adult films finally in
1972 in collaboration with his friend
Sean s Cunningham Craven made it to the
director’s chair with his shocking debut
The Last House on the Left
number 8 Nora Ephron you gotta learn
alas the ways of true love she was a
blogger producer writer and journalist
but it’s her work as a director that
lands are here
born to playwrights and screenwriters
the new arc City born Nora Ephron went
on to be nominated for an Oscar three
times in her career now known for her
romantic comedies she graduated from
Wellesley College in the early 60s and
initially made a name for herself as an
essayist and journalist until she tried
her hand at screenwriting she finally
gave directing a try after several
decades as a screenwriter don’t I ever
get a turn there’s a net camera made for
me to have a wife though 1992 this is my
life didn’t exactly make ways audiences
would soon warm up to Efron thanks to
the classic rom-com Sleepless in Seattle
the next year I survived it
number seven terry gilliam catalyst it’s
only a model this american-born British
actor director and animator has quite a
repertoire from artistry to acting to
writing to producing and of course
directing one of the founding members of
the hugely successful and influential
Monty Python comedy troupe his
off-kilter style and wit shine through
in his own films starting off as a strip
animator Gilliam has always had a vision
that all his own and the sort of
imagination that certainly could never
be taught in any school including his
preference for extremely wide-angle
lenses his visual aesthetic and comedic
timing are perhaps all the more
surprising when you realize that Gilliam
grew up without a TV and little access
to film my whole visual sense came from
having to invent the faces the costumes
the locations of sets number six Spike
Jonze what is it about people that you
like because some people don’t like
people
I guess I’m just curious
this versatile director really likes to
get into his audiences and sometimes his
subjects heads rather than hit the books
Joan has learned his way around a camera
by getting behind the lens as a
photographer working for freestylin
magazine in the 1980s when several bands
noticed his photos he was prompted to
start directing music videos
in 1999 he made his major motion picture
debut with a surreal comedy Being John
Malkovich can I be anybody they don’t
want to be well you actually it can be
John Malkovich Jones has cited an
interest in people and personal stories
as the drive that allows him to so
seamlessly move from one project to the
next with multiple Oscar nods it’s clear
he’s got a good head for his business
the past is just a story we tell
ourselves number 5 Ridley Scott
[Music]
most famous for his striking visuals and
larger-than-life characters this
hard-working English director started
life in a small UK town while studying
photography and graphic design at the
Royal College of Art in London Scott
made his first short film that helped
the RCA develop its own film department
after graduation he landed himself a job
at the BBC as a trainee set designer
gradually working his way up he began
directing for TV in 1965 while his
featured AP was the 1997 historical
drama the dualist it was his terrifying
and groundbreaking sci-fi horror flick
alien that rocketed him into
international fame he has earned three
director Oscar nomination sins and
several for Best Picture why are you not
a detain are you not today then why you
here number four
Quentin Tarantino there’s nothing that
you’re going to say that’s going to make
me forget that I love my wife is there
it makes sense that his stories are
often categorized by their nonlinear
plot because his lead up to success was
certainly a typical after dropping out
of high school at 15 years old he lied
about his age and started working at a
porno theater later enrolling in acting
classes Tarantino’s slowly but surely
climbed in the industry even appearing
as an Elvis impersonator on an episode
of The Golden Girls but he was seeking
to make a name for himself as a
screenwriter a goal he eventually
realized with films like Reservoir Dogs
Jodie shouldn’t mean you’ve done it
since sitting in the director’s chair
he’s earned several Oscar nods for
directing and screenwriting while
building a reputation as the mastermind
behind some of Hollywood’s most
gloriously brutal and violent films
sorry I couldn’t resist
number three Christopher Nolan I’m a
self-taught filmmaker I never went to
film school I never studied film Anki in
any way from a very early age
Christopher Nolan you she wanted to be a
filmmaker
using his father’s super 8 camera he
would film dramas with his action
figures at university he chose to study
English literature rather than film but
he did select his college based on the
campuses superior filmmaking equipment
and facilities there he taught himself
to make short films in 1998
he debuted his first feature following
shot over the course of a year and paid
for out of pocket since then with hits
like The Prestige inception interstellar
and the Dark Knight trilogy Nolan has
become one of the most successful
directors of the new millennium and
highest-grossing directors of all time
oh no what could be Scott
number two David Fincher I want you to
hit me as hard as you can making films
with an 8 millimeter camera at the age
of 8 David Fincher directed plays at
high school and worked at a movie
theater in his youth in his 20s he was a
production assistant at Corey films and
then worked different jobs even serving
as an assistant camera operator at
Industrial Light and Magic around the
same time he founded propaganda films a
video and commercial company that gave
many directors including Spike Jonze a
start ventures filmed abused saw him
helm the sequel to a franchise kicked
off by Ridley Scott and James Cameron
aliens 3 he since become known for his
extreme close-ups and tense
psychological fillers but it’s his work
in drama that’s earned him two Oscar
nods for Best Director
[Music]
before we lift the curtain on our top
choice here are a few honorable mentions
excuse me where’s everybody going to
gobblers knob it’s Groundhog Day but for
me what was really engrossing in
television or the movies that were
recycled on TV let me tell you why
you’re here you’re here because you know
something what you know you can’t
explain what you feel it in general were
children of the 20th century and that
means that we’re drawn to originality
yeah
think I’m kind of fun in love with you
Oh
[Music]
first times me you know I was so touched
by it
I quite a few time during the the
reading of the script number one James
Cameron get away from her you bitch in
college this Canadian director studied
physics switched to English then dropped
out he then began driving a truck and
teaching himself about special effects
and projection with books from his local
library after seeing the original Star
Wars however Cameron quit cue jamming
and got into showbiz the future Titanic
director wore many hats in his early
days including production designer model
maker writer and eventually special
effects director but Cameron’s big break
came as the result of food poisoning
during the making of piranhas – he had a
fever dream about a robot assassin from
the future a premise that would become
the plot of his first film The
Terminator I’ll be back and since then
he’s directed some of the most beloved
blockbusting epic and highest-grossing
films in recent history do you agree
with our picks check out these other
great clips from WatchMojo and subscribe
for new videos every day
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten Hollywood
directors that never went to film school
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
looking at film directors who works
primarily in Hollywood after the 1960s
boom that saw film schools cropping up
everywhere that means you won’t be
hearing names like Hitchcock or Kubrick
since they came up before film schools
became more commonplace
[Music]
we’re also excluding film school
dropouts like Paul Thomas Anderson
number 10 Guy Ritchie catch fire in me
sometimes it helps to know the right
people
this english director started his career
after leaving high school with bottom
rung jobs in the film industry
eventually working his way up to
directing TV commercials in 1995 he
directed a 20 minute short film that he
later used to entice investors for what
he hoped would be his first
feature-length picture Lock Stock and
Two Smoking Barrels when you dance with
the devil you labor this homeless tub by
1998 Ritchie had the kind of luck any
young artist could only dream of
long story short a family friend called
his nephew you producer / director
Matthew Vaughn who not only agreed to
produce but also lined up investors and
bam Lock Stock and one smoking career as
a Metro professor integrity number nine
Wes Craven please stop this
is God considering he was forbidden from
watching most films growing up he’s sure
left a mark on cinema this grandfather
of the modern slasher pecks started off
in academia studying English and
psychology and later mastering in
philosophy and writing it wasn’t until
he snuck out of graduate school for a
day to see To Kill a Mockingbird that he
was hooked
Anika’s I met one day to school anymore
after a brief teaching stint Kraven
entered the film industry first as a
sound editor then a film editor and
later writing for adult films finally in
1972 in collaboration with his friend
Sean s Cunningham Craven made it to the
director’s chair with his shocking debut
The Last House on the Left
number 8 Nora Ephron you gotta learn
alas the ways of true love she was a
blogger producer writer and journalist
but it’s her work as a director that
lands are here
born to playwrights and screenwriters
the new arc City born Nora Ephron went
on to be nominated for an Oscar three
times in her career now known for her
romantic comedies she graduated from
Wellesley College in the early 60s and
initially made a name for herself as an
essayist and journalist until she tried
her hand at screenwriting she finally
gave directing a try after several
decades as a screenwriter don’t I ever
get a turn there’s a net camera made for
me to have a wife though 1992 this is my
life didn’t exactly make ways audiences
would soon warm up to Efron thanks to
the classic rom-com Sleepless in Seattle
the next year I survived it
number seven terry gilliam catalyst it’s
only a model this american-born British
actor director and animator has quite a
repertoire from artistry to acting to
writing to producing and of course
directing one of the founding members of
the hugely successful and influential
Monty Python comedy troupe his
off-kilter style and wit shine through
in his own films starting off as a strip
animator Gilliam has always had a vision
that all his own and the sort of
imagination that certainly could never
be taught in any school including his
preference for extremely wide-angle
lenses his visual aesthetic and comedic
timing are perhaps all the more
surprising when you realize that Gilliam
grew up without a TV and little access
to film my whole visual sense came from
having to invent the faces the costumes
the locations of sets number six Spike
Jonze what is it about people that you
like because some people don’t like
people
I guess I’m just curious
this versatile director really likes to
get into his audiences and sometimes his
subjects heads rather than hit the books
Joan has learned his way around a camera
by getting behind the lens as a
photographer working for freestylin
magazine in the 1980s when several bands
noticed his photos he was prompted to
start directing music videos
in 1999 he made his major motion picture
debut with a surreal comedy Being John
Malkovich can I be anybody they don’t
want to be well you actually it can be
John Malkovich Jones has cited an
interest in people and personal stories
as the drive that allows him to so
seamlessly move from one project to the
next with multiple Oscar nods it’s clear
he’s got a good head for his business
the past is just a story we tell
ourselves number 5 Ridley Scott
[Music]
most famous for his striking visuals and
larger-than-life characters this
hard-working English director started
life in a small UK town while studying
photography and graphic design at the
Royal College of Art in London Scott
made his first short film that helped
the RCA develop its own film department
after graduation he landed himself a job
at the BBC as a trainee set designer
gradually working his way up he began
directing for TV in 1965 while his
featured AP was the 1997 historical
drama the dualist it was his terrifying
and groundbreaking sci-fi horror flick
alien that rocketed him into
international fame he has earned three
director Oscar nomination sins and
several for Best Picture why are you not
a detain are you not today then why you
here number four
Quentin Tarantino there’s nothing that
you’re going to say that’s going to make
me forget that I love my wife is there
it makes sense that his stories are
often categorized by their nonlinear
plot because his lead up to success was
certainly a typical after dropping out
of high school at 15 years old he lied
about his age and started working at a
porno theater later enrolling in acting
classes Tarantino’s slowly but surely
climbed in the industry even appearing
as an Elvis impersonator on an episode
of The Golden Girls but he was seeking
to make a name for himself as a
screenwriter a goal he eventually
realized with films like Reservoir Dogs
Jodie shouldn’t mean you’ve done it
since sitting in the director’s chair
he’s earned several Oscar nods for
directing and screenwriting while
building a reputation as the mastermind
behind some of Hollywood’s most
gloriously brutal and violent films
sorry I couldn’t resist
number three Christopher Nolan I’m a
self-taught filmmaker I never went to
film school I never studied film Anki in
any way from a very early age
Christopher Nolan you she wanted to be a
filmmaker
using his father’s super 8 camera he
would film dramas with his action
figures at university he chose to study
English literature rather than film but
he did select his college based on the
campuses superior filmmaking equipment
and facilities there he taught himself
to make short films in 1998
he debuted his first feature following
shot over the course of a year and paid
for out of pocket since then with hits
like The Prestige inception interstellar
and the Dark Knight trilogy Nolan has
become one of the most successful
directors of the new millennium and
highest-grossing directors of all time
oh no what could be Scott
number two David Fincher I want you to
hit me as hard as you can making films
with an 8 millimeter camera at the age
of 8 David Fincher directed plays at
high school and worked at a movie
theater in his youth in his 20s he was a
production assistant at Corey films and
then worked different jobs even serving
as an assistant camera operator at
Industrial Light and Magic around the
same time he founded propaganda films a
video and commercial company that gave
many directors including Spike Jonze a
start ventures filmed abused saw him
helm the sequel to a franchise kicked
off by Ridley Scott and James Cameron
aliens 3 he since become known for his
extreme close-ups and tense
psychological fillers but it’s his work
in drama that’s earned him two Oscar
nods for Best Director
[Music]
before we lift the curtain on our top
choice here are a few honorable mentions
excuse me where’s everybody going to
gobblers knob it’s Groundhog Day but for
me what was really engrossing in
television or the movies that were
recycled on TV let me tell you why
you’re here you’re here because you know
something what you know you can’t
explain what you feel it in general were
children of the 20th century and that
means that we’re drawn to originality
yeah
think I’m kind of fun in love with you
Oh
[Music]
first times me you know I was so touched
by it
I quite a few time during the the
reading of the script number one James
Cameron get away from her you bitch in
college this Canadian director studied
physics switched to English then dropped
out he then began driving a truck and
teaching himself about special effects
and projection with books from his local
library after seeing the original Star
Wars however Cameron quit cue jamming
and got into showbiz the future Titanic
director wore many hats in his early
days including production designer model
maker writer and eventually special
effects director but Cameron’s big break
came as the result of food poisoning
during the making of piranhas – he had a
fever dream about a robot assassin from
the future a premise that would become
the plot of his first film The
Terminator I’ll be back and since then
he’s directed some of the most beloved
blockbusting epic and highest-grossing
films in recent history do you agree
with our picks check out these other
great clips from WatchMojo and subscribe
for new videos every day
Please follow and like us: