AGE: 53
OCCUPATION: Director
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1
PRO: A magnet for controversial subject matter, the Oscar-winning director decided to follow up 2005's Brokeback Mountain with an even more shocking film — the sexually explicit WWII drama Lust, Caution. Rated NC-17, Lee refused to cut his print, instead choosing to preserve his personal vision for the film.
CON: Though free to do as he chooses in the U.S., Lee still cut nine minutes of material for the China-sanctioned version.