EXTREME TEAM

The directors Hollywood most wants to do business with right now are young, extremely adventurous--and almost exclusively male

Paul Thomas Anderson

filmography: “Boogie Nights,” “Hard Eight”

style: Nervy, open-eyed examinations of seedier side of middle-class America; episodic storytelling

upcoming project: “Magnolia”

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Wes Anderson

filmography: “Rushmore,” “Bottle Rocket”

style: Deadpan look at ordinary folk in off-the-wall situations

upcoming project: Co-writing a movie for Touchstone with “Rushmore” collaborator Owen Wilson

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Darren Aronofsky

filmography: “Pi”

style: Intellectually rigorous stories; grainy black-and-white photography

upcoming projects: “Proteus,” “Requiem for a Dream”

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Danny Boyle

filmography: “A Life Less Ordinary,” “Trainspotting,” “Shallow Grave”

style: Clever, profane, ultra-violent look at criminal underworld

upcoming projects: “The Beach,” with Leonardo DiCaprio; “Alien Love Triangle”

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Spike Jonze

filmography: “Being John Malkovich”; music videos for Fat Boy Slim, Weezer, Beastie Boys; commercials for Volkswagen; cinematographer on “Free Tibet” documentary

style: Quirky, philosophical humor; distinctive visual style

upcoming projects: Attached to direct “Adaptation,” by “Being John Malkovich” scribe Charlie Kaufman. Rumored to be developing a series for MTV

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Doug Liman

filmography: “Go,” “Swingers”

style: Turbo-paced, nonlinear, young-adult-oriented urban tales

upcoming project: Producing “See Jane Run”

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Baz Luhrmann

filmography: “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet,” “Strictly Ballroom”

style: Visually striking romances

upcoming project: “Moulin Rouge” with Nicole Kidman

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Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez

filmography: “The Blair Witch Project,” “Curse of the Blair Witch” (for TV)

style: Masters of guerrilla filmmaking and grass-roots marketing

upcoming projects: “Blair Witch” sequel, comedy “Heart of Love”

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Trey Parker and Matt Stone

filmography: “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” (Parker directed); “Orgazmo” (Parker directed); Comedy Central series “South Park” (both direct); “Cannibal!: The Movie” (Parker directed); “Spirit of Christmas” (both directed)

style: Outrageous, caustic, raunchy humor; primitive animation

upcoming projects: Writing prequel to “Dumb and Dumber,” producing 39 animated shorts for Shockwave.com

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Alexander Payne

filmography: “Election,” “Citizen Ruth”

style: Edgy satire of American mores and morality

upcoming project: “Sideways”

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Kimberly Peirce

filmography: “Boys Don’t Cry”

style: Socially conscious, realistic drama

upcoming projects: Developing several projects

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Guy Ritchie

filmography: “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”

style: Cheeky, off-the-cuff, violent

upcoming project: “Diamonds” with Benicio Del Torro, Ewen Bremner and Brad Pitt

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David O. Russell

filmography: “Three Kings,” “Flirting With Disaster,” “Spanking the Monkey”

style: Puts an intelligent and irreverent spin on classic genres; quick camera moves

upcoming project: Undecided

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Bryan Singer

filmography: “Apt Pupil,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Public Access”

style: Fast-paced, ironic thrillers

upcoming project: Comic-book adaptation “X-Men”

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M. Night Shyamalan

filmography: “The Sixth Sense,” “Wide Awake,” “Praying With Anger” (not released in the U.S.)

style: Dramatic fare with spiritual, supernatural overtones

upcoming project: Supernatural thriller “Unbreakable”

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Andy and Larry Wachowski

filmography: “The Matrix,” “Bound”

style: Visually arresting; inventive and unconventional storytelling

upcoming project: “The Matrix 2”