ALEXANDER PAYNE
AGE 43
MUSTWORTHINESS Whether it's high school politics
(''Election'') or a retired insurance man's spiritual angst (''About
Schmidt''), Payne wades into the backwaters of American life and
dredges up dark, caustic comedy. In ''Sideways,'' a middle-aged
failed novelist (Paul Giamatti) and his soon-to-wed, washed-up
actor buddy (Thomas Haden Church) cling desperately to their
youth on a weeklong booze-soaked road trip.
WHAT'S WITH ALL THE
MIDLIFE CRISES? ''I think any thinking person always feels him-or
herself in some degree of crisis,'' Payne says.
AND HIMSELF? ''I'm
feeling pretty good, actually.''
NEXT ''Sideways'' hits theaters this
fall.
RICHARD LINKLATER
AGE 43
MUSTWORTHINESS Don't be fooled by his aw-shucks demeanor.
The cinematic godfather of Austin is a genuine maverick who, in
films like ''Slacker,'' ''Dazed and Confused,'' and ''Waking Life,'' never
compromises his quirky outsider vision. As a follow-up to his
biggest hit, ''School of Rock,'' he returns to his indie roots with
this summer's unlikeliest and most soulful sequel, the low-budget
romantic talkfest ''Before Sunset,'' with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
reprising their roles from 1995's ''Before Sunrise.''
WHICH WAS,
WHAT, NINE YEARS AGO? ''Hollywood wasn't exactly beating down our
door for a sequel,'' Linklater admits. ''It's your classic
labor-of-love-type thing.''
NEXT An adaptation of Philip K. Dick's
novel ''A Scanner Darkly,'' starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder.
WES ANDERSON
AGE 35
MUSTWORTHINESS He makes his oddballs, like the inept
would-be criminals of ''Bottle Rocket'' and the quixotic prep-school
misfit of ''Rushmore,'' endearing, heroic, and downright cool. His
upcoming comedy, ''The Life Aquatic,'' due in December, stars Bill
Murray as an oceanographer-filmmaker (think Jacques Cousteau
crossed with, well, Bill Murray) who gets swept up in an
adventure with costars Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, and Anjelica
Huston.
ON HIS MUST LIST Brazilian musician-actor Seu Jorge. ''He
was in 'City of God,' and now he's in our movie playing a character
named Pele. We got all these David Bowie songs for the
soundtrack, and he adapted them into Portuguese and sings them
throughout the movie.''
NEXT He may begin work on an animated
adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's story ''Fantastic Mr. Fox.''
