It's tempting to call Michael Bay the enfant terrible of this list, because, along with Gore Verbinski (who didn't make the cut), he takes a horrifically commercial approach to his career that doesn't sit entirely comfortably alongside the others. But he demands inclusion for bringing his MTV style of video making, for the likes of Meat Loaf and the Divinyls (key metrics: whip-pan camera action and constant cuts), to blockbuster movies such as Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon and, of course, the Transformers franchise. His infamous misfire was Pearl Harbor, weighed down by an overblown budget, poor plot and laughable-at-times acting from Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. Next up is his third installment of Transformers, which, naturally, wholeheartedly embraces 3-D. It'll probably be safer to duck if you see it headed your way.