Polls are always very subjective, especially when you can't list all of the choices that need to be listed!
I'm a huge Speilberg fan, but I voted for Frank Capra as he was one of the pioneers. Plus, if it wasn't for his MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN back in the 30s, Adam Sandler would have had to star in something else!
I did a little research (with our friend,
www.imdb.com ), and found these interesting facts about directors, their Oscar nominations and wins.
Capra - 11 nominations, 3 wins
Speilberg - 10 noms, 2 wins
Scorcese - 7 noms, 0 wins
Coppola - 14 noms, 1 win (as director, 3 wins for writing)
Mann - 3 noms, 0 wins
Other directors of note (that weren't listed):
Howard Hawks - 1 nom, 0 wins
Ron Howard - 1 nom, 1 win (Beautiful Mind)
John Ford - 7 noms, 4 wins (good percentage)
John Huston - 15 noms, 1 win
And one of my all-time favorite directors -
Alfred Hitchcock, 7 noms and an astounding ZERO wins, which goes to show that Oscar nominations and wins have nothing to do with being a good director!!!
Nice topic. Thanks!