At the ripe old age of 93, Clint Eastwood returned to a film set last year to direct a new film, the 40th of his long and productive career. The legendary Hollywood cowboy is far from the only director of his generation to push back the retirement age. Here are 15 filmmakers who keep making films after they turn 80.
Martin Scorsese (81 years old)
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At 81, the famous American filmmaker still has projects on his mind. The director of “Taxi Driver and Goodfellas” is currently working on a promotional campaign aimed at boosting his latest film's “The American Note” Oscar candidacy and is preparing a new feature film about Jesus.
Clint Eastwood (93)
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The legendary actor and filmmaker was a key figure in American cinema for nearly 70 years and last year made the legal drama Juror #2, his 40th feature as a director, which was announced as his final film. Juror #2, starring Toni Collette, Nicholas Hoult and Kiefer Sutherland, is expected to hit theaters later in 2024.
Ridley Scott (86 years old)
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Despite celebrating his 86th birthday last November, the veteran British filmmaker doesn't seem ready to slow down. The “Blade Runner” and “Alien” director not only recently released the historical drama “Napoleon,” but is also currently filming the sequel to his film “Gladiator,” which is scheduled to hit theaters next November.
Denys Arcand (82 years old)
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The first Quebec filmmaker to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (2004 for “Les Invasions Barbares”), the director of “The Fall of the American Empire” released a new satirical comedy called “Testament” last October, which achieved great box office success. In the interviews he gave last fall, Denys Arcand didn't close the door on the idea of possibly making another film.
Paul Verhoeven (85 years old)
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After the sultry Benedetta, which hit theaters in 2021, the director of Basic Instinct and Total Recall recently announced that he is preparing a new erotic thriller, Young Sinner, with his former RoboCop accomplice, screenwriter Ed Neumeier. This would be his first film shot in the United States since Hollow Man in 2000.
Alanis Obomsawin (91 years old)
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In more than 50 years of her career, the Abenaki filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist has made 65 films documenting the hopes and historical struggles of indigenous peoples. Last fall she released a 12-disc DVD box set containing 28 of her most notable films. The fact that she's the only woman on our list proves how male-dominated the industry used to be.
David Cronenberg (80 years old)
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Two years after releasing his sci-fi thriller “Crimes of the Future,” the famed Canadian filmmaker last year made a new film starring actors Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger. According to the latter, it would be a very personal work for Cronenberg, as the director was inspired by his life alongside his wife, who died of cancer seven years ago.
Woody Allen (88 years old)
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Despite controversy and allegations of sexual assault from his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, Woody Allen continues to make films. The 88-year-old filmmaker presented his 50th career film at the Venice Film Festival last September: Coup de chance, a romantic comedy starring Lou de Laagence, Melvil Poupaud and Niels Schneider.
Francis Ford Coppola (84 years old)
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The director of the “Apocalypse Now” and “The Godfather” trilogy recently completed filming on his next feature, “Megalopolis,” an ambitious sci-fi film he has been working on since the late 1980s. Coppola hadn't made a film since Twixt in 2012.
Michael Mann (80 years old)
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After a break of several years, Michael Mann returned to the film sets last year to direct the biographical drama “Ferrari”, his first film since “Black Hat” in 2015. The director of “Collateral and Ali” is also preparing a sequel to his famous film “Action Heat”.
Roman Polanski (90 years old)
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The sexual assault allegations he has faced for more than 40 years have never stopped Roman Polanski from continuing to make films. Persona non grata in Hollywood: The director of “The Pianist” and “Rosemary's Baby” shot his latest feature film in Switzerland with an international cast (Mickey Rourke, John Cleese, Fanny Ardant). The film, titled “The Palace,” was shown out of competition in Venice last September.
Stephen Frears (82 years old)
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Less than a year after the release of his dramatic comedy “The Lost King,” the British filmmaker who created “The Queen” and “Dangerous Liaisons” has returned to direct a new HBO series called “The Regime.” , which is worn by actress Kate Winslet.
Hayao Miyazaki (83 years old)
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After announcing his retirement about a decade ago, the master of Japanese animation gave moviegoers a gift by releasing a new film, “The Boy and the Heron,” last month. According to his producer, Miyazaki is already working on other film projects.
Fernand Dansereau (95 years old)
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After making a trilogy of documentaries about aging, Fernand Dansereau is completing a film “that feels like a testament,” he recently told Le Devoir. The director of the film La Brunante and screenwriter of the series Les Filles de Caleb is also working on a new novel and an exhibition of his paintings.
Claude Lelouch (86 years old)
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This holy monster of French cinema made his 51st feature last summer, “At Last… or the Madness of Feelings,” which he announces as his last film. For this new feature film, the director of “A Man and a Woman” and “L'aventure, c'est l'aventure” surrounded himself with several stars, including Kad Merad, Michel Boujenah and Sandrine Bonnaire.