Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott has had his highs and lows as a filmmaker, but there's no question that he has directed some of cinema's modern classics, including Alien (1979, starring Sigourney Weaver and Blade Runner (1982, the granddaddy of movies based on the work of Philip K. Dick). Scott began as a set designer and then director for BBC television in the mid-1960s. He formed his own production company to make TV commercials and quickly became known for his lush visual style and technical virtuosity. His first feature film, The Duellists (1977, with Keith Carradine), was impressive enough that he got the job to direct Alien, which went on to become a box office smash. Although Blade Runner (starring Harrison Ford) was not a hit at the time, it has since become a classic of the sci-fi genre, and Scott's re-edited release (1993) received better critical reviews than the original. His movies during the '80s are generally considered misfires (1985's Legend, 1987's Someone To Watch Over Me and 1989's Black Rain), but Scott bounced back with the 1991 "feminist buddy movie" Thelma and Louise (starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis), for which he earned his first Oscar nomination. Since then he has received two more Oscar nominations, for Gladiator (2000, starring Russell Crowe) and Black Hawk Down (2001, with Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor). As a producer, Scott has won two Emmys for the television movies RKO 281 (1999) and The Gathering Storm (2002). His other feature films include White Squall (1996, with ), G.I. Jane (1997, with Demi Moore and Jim Caviezel), Matchstick Men (2003, with Nicolas Cage) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005, with Orlando Bloom and Eva Green).

Extra credit: Scott directed the much ballyhooed 1984, the television commercial introducing the Macintosh Apple computer... His brother, Tony Scott, is also a film director (1986's Top Gun and 1998's Enemy of the State, among others).