The Best Creators in Modern Entertainment

When it comes to entertainment, whether it's movies, music, video games, books, or television, there are certain developers, directors, writers, or creators that no matter what they produce, I will always buy their product. It doesn't matter if they created a documentary about the adverse effects of paint drying on wood or if they developed a game called 'My Little Pony's Epic Adventure of Love', I would still be first in line.  It's because the following creators, for lack of better word, have never disappointed me. Perhaps some of their work stands above the rest but everything they touch has been an excellent experience overall. If you haven't heard of the following people, then I highly recommend checking them out but, as always, these are my opinions. While there are only seven brilliant people on this list, there are a ton more and I will be continuing this series to give them their due recognition. 

Christopher Nolan

Talk about an industry defining name that's batting a thousand right now, Christopher Nolan has not made a bad movie, ever.  Even those that perhaps don't reach the glorious heights of The Dark Knight, Inception and Memento, every movie he's directed has been a fascinating tale that has been engrossing from beginning to end.  Kicking off the list with his lesser known but equally engrossing The Following, you could see the signs of a master storyteller at work. He broke into the big time with the stunning Memento, flipping the very idea that a story has to be told from beginning to end on its head. From that point, he has given us one engrossing movie after another, bringing the best out of every actor and script at his disposal: Insomnia, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar.  But his career-defining move came when he revitalized DC Comics with The Dark Knight Trilogy.  Bale's Batman, Ledger's Joker, Cane's Alfred and Hardy's Bane have gone down in the permanent pop-culture lexicon never to be forgotten.  Nolan crafts his movies in an exhilirating manner, demanding the audience's engagement and never forgetting that people want to be intelligently entertained.

Naughty Dog

http://kopfstoff.blogspot.com/2015/05/naughty-dog-fan-art-naughty-tweet.html

First off, check out the awesome art from kopfstoff and immediately check out his blog linked below the image. The reason that this art is so perfect, so iconic is because Naughty Dog's fans can name every single character in the frame because every single one of them is distinctly memorable.  From Nate to Ellie, from Sully to Jak, from Joel to Daxter, you know them all because the games they were a part of were so resonant.  Back in the days of the original Playstation, Naughty Dog created the single most iconic character from the system in the form of the lovable Crash Bandicoot. Since that day, they've been bringing us top-tier entertainment in Uncharted, Jak and Daxter, and The Last of Us (a game widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time), As I said before, if these guys decided to make a game concerning the tough lives of My Little Pony, I wouldn't ask questions, I would just beg them to take my money and give me the game.

Gorillaz

Few musical artists can manage to create album after album, sometimes multiple years apart, and still retain their inherent charm and intrigue.  Gorillaz have been making some of the mediums finest beats for over 15 years and every time, they hit the charts, they are universally praised and a couple of songs linger on in the minds of listeners for years to come.  Clint Eastwood, Feel Good Inc, and Melancholy Hill all made lasting impressions on the public mindset, while underrated classics like Tomorrow Comes Today, Dirty Harry, and Rhinestone Eyes live on in the memories of the fans. Another important difference between Gorillaz and other modern artists is that they haven't forgotten how to make a full, cohesive album, each song playing into the next for a full musical experience from beginning to end.  And now, as I eagerly await their next outing, I will be playing some Melancholy Hill to keep me company as I write.

Joe Abercrombie

Whenever I put down an Abercrombie novel for the last time, I genuinely feel a sense of loss. Not because they're sad or end bitterly but because I literally miss the characters that he creates. They are so richly written in such a grounded, believable way that I grow close to them as people despite them inhabiting worlds steeped in fantasy and mysticism. Never do the characters take a back seat, they are always on the forefront of my mind whether its Logen Ninefingers or Monzacarro Murcatto or Prince Yarvi.  And the tales that he weaves around his cast are always multilayered with believable twists and turns. Check out his First Law trilogy and the following three novels that transpire within the same universe (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country) if you need an introduction. So, if you're a reader of any kind, whether you are into fanstasy or mystery or thrillers, you will fall in love with the characters and worlds that Mr. Abercrombie creates.

Hidetaka Miyazaki

As the brilliant mastermind behind the meticulously crafted worlds of Boletaria, Lordran and Yharnam, Hidetaka Miyazaki truly stands out amongst his contemporaries in game design. Personally handling the level design and lore of each environment, Miyazaki clearly pours his enigmatic heart and soul into every tiny detail. While From Software undoubtedly deserves major praise for surrounding him with talented professionals, it was his out-of-the-box game design and ideas that propelled their company into triple-A developer status. It all began when From Software had a precocious young coder with grand ideas for some underutilized assets that were bouncing around in the back of their archive. With them, he created the first of his industry defining titles, an oppressively difficult but indefinably alluring game called Demon's Souls. After it became a surprising, sleeper hit, From Software gave Miyazaki full control of his next project, a project that would go on to launch two sequels and jettison him into the international gaming spotlight: Dark Souls. Never sitting idle on his laurels Miyazaki created the beautiful, Lovecraftian nightmare of Bloodborne. Today, he's moving on to a brand-new, yet unannounced franchise, something the world's community of gamers is eagerly awaiting. For the love of God, please let it drop soon. 

Simon Pegg

Wow, has this nerd been busy. Since his fledgling days as a star of the incomparable Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg has been busy. In addition to creating two more brilliant films (Hot Fuzz and The World's End) with his hilarious compadre Nick Frost, he has starred in three Mission: Impossible and Star Trek films as the scene-stealing Benji and Scottie respectively and helped write a number of this generations greatest sci-fi films including Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek Beyond. He's even dipped his toes into more relatively more serious rolls in the surprisingly good Man Up and the eagerly anticipated Ready Player One. Honestly, it seems that whenever this guy is involved with a project, that project has just a little more life in it, endearing it to the audience with his trademark affable levity. As an incoming character for the next major Star Wars film, I'm genuinely pumped to see anything that Simon Pegg has been involved with.

Michael Swanwick

For those who have never heard of this man's name, fear not for he is a true hidden gem outside of the science-fiction community. Michael Swanwick writes remarkable, stunning books and short stories so for all those uninterested in such literary concerns you may want to reconsider your position just to experience his work.  Commonly awarded for his brilliant writing, Michael Swanwick's talent lies in his untamed, undeniable creativity not only in creating mind-bending universes but developing a fascinating and empathetic story within them. The mark of truly excellent sci-fi or fantasy writer is their ability to make a fantastical world something that the reader can relate to within their own lives and that's exactly what Swanwick does. Not only does he generate a universe so unimaginably beautiful in it's imagination but he translates it in such a understandable and compassionate way. If you're new to his name, then I recommend reading some of his short stories immediately and if you enjoy them, check out his classic novels such as Stations of the Tide, The Iron Dragon's Daughter, Bones of the Earth or The Dragons of Babel.  Truly, a masterful creator in every sense of the word, Michael Swanwick continues to make an indelible mark on the genre of science fiction.

Recommended Works: 

Stations of the Tide (Michael Swanwick)

Shaun of the Dead (Simon Pegg)

Dark Souls (Hidetaka Miyazaki)

Best Served Cold (Joe Abercrombie)

Dirty Harry (Gorillaz)

The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)

Memento (Christopher Nolan)

There are ton of other creators that I'm excited to write about but they'll have to wait for the next list. As always, thanks for reading and let me know of any ideas you have for the next article.