Entertainment Weekly says Affleck is smart because he "learned from his mistakes." The actor/director/producer took a break after acting in several big screen flops and came back with a bang - writing and directing the critically acclaimed "Gone Baby Gone."
49. Sarah Polley / 45. Cate Blanchett
EW says Polley, 28, the Canadian actor/writer/director made the list because she is has proven that "a young actress can also be a formidable filmmaker." Meanwhile, Oscar-winning actress Blanchett, 28, made the list because "No one else could play Queen Elizabeth I and Bob Dylan in the same year and succeed at both."
44. Roderick Jaynes
If this name of this movie editor doesn't sound familar, maybe these names will: brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. The famously funny directors of such hits as "Fargo" and "Raising Arizona" use this alias to edit most of their own movies, including "No Country For Old Men." EW says Jaynes made the list because "No film editor is more completely in sync with his director's vision."
38. Diablo Cody
The 29-year-old stripper turned screenwriter is gaining acclaim for her soon-to-be released teen comedy "Juno," which has already been named Best Original Screenplay by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. EW says, "Not since John Hughes has anyone mined the adolescent soul with such clarity and compassion."
34. Sasha Baron Cohen
The British actor/writer/producer who brought us "Borat" ranks No. 34 on Entertainment Weekly's list. EW says Cohen "shattered the film-comedy landscape... {with} guerrilla improv social commentary." Following a bidding war won by Universal Pictures, Cohen will bring his character Bruno, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, to the big screen and currently appears in "Sweeney Todd."