HEATING UP IN HOLLYWOOD

WHO IS PETER JACKSON’S

PROTEGE?

WHICH UNKNOWN ACTRESS IS ABOUT

TO ASCEND TO ‘IT-GIRL’ STATUS?

WHICH DIRECTOR HAS REINVENTED THE MODERN MONSTER MOVIE?

WHO IS THE NEW GO-TO WRITER FOR JAMES CAMERON AND MARTIN SCORSESE?

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They could walk down almost any street without being recognized. But in the movie business, they are turning heads.

Even if these standout talents aren’t yet among the town’s most familiar faces, they represent the creative vanguard: distinctive voices from around the globe, all poised to become central players in the film culture. In many cases, the summer and fall movie seasons will help cement their reputations.

To qualify, you needn’t be local (not one person on the list is from Los Angeles) or even alive (a certain author on our list died more than 70 years ago, but his work lives on). There’s no premium on youth, either: For every person in their 20s, there are just as many late bloomers nearly twice as old.

What you must have is a supreme ability to rule the screen -- as a director, a performer, a writer -- even when playing opposite the town’s most notable names. The shared characteristic, in other words: heat.