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I'm not a big Coppola fan. I'm one of only two or three living people who think that the Godfather was just so-so. Scocese I always thought was hit and miss, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Aviator.

In my experience, study and opinion, I've always found movie makers who didn't arrive on the set fresh out of film school always had a creative edge. John Huston comes to mind -- he grew up in a show biz family, but did some living before he stepped behind the camera. James Cameron also did some living and it shows in his movies. And yes, I confess to liking Titanic.

These guys -- and I put Spielberg in with them -- are more academics than artists.

Spielberg didn't go to film school! He was a natural. Roger Corman and Jerry Lewis saw that in him as early as the 60s. The latter showed Spielberg's 1968 short film 'Amblin' at his USC film class and was very impressed. Contrary to all the snide comments about him over the years, Jerry Lewis knows a lot about film making. Coppola and Scorsese were academics both have Master's Degrees and Scorsese has taught at the college level. I love Titanic too. Don't be ashamed! I stand by my assertion that it was an homage to D.W. Griffith and silent melodramas. The Godfather II was better then its predecessor.