There have been a whole host of maverick filmmakers working in the movie industry over the years - and they have been directors who have delivered some of the cinema's greatest movies.
To celebrate the return of Quentin Tarantino to the director's chair this week with new movie Django Unchained we take a look at some of the best maverick filmmakers.
Quentin Tarantino
We may as well kick of with Quentin Tarantino as he is a filmmaker who isn't afraid to take risks and try something new.
With the release of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction the director gave audiences a first look at the nonlinear storylines and stylistically excessive violence that he is now so famous.
The huge success of Pulp Fiction - which saw it bag some Oscar nominations - changed the way independent filmmaking was seen by Hollywood forever as it became part of the mainstream.
Tarantino may have not gone down the film school route but he has gone on to become of the of most popular and controversial directors.
Tim Burton
What's so good about Tim Burton is he makes movies he wants to make telling stories from his perspective and now bowing to studio pressure.
He is famous for his dark and gothic atmosphere and using misfit or outsiders as the main characters in his movies. He shot to fame with his feature debut Pee Wee's Big Adventure he went on to direct gothic horror Beetlejuice.
He went on to direct Batman and Edward Scissorhands - which kicked of his long standing working relationship with Johnny Depp.
While he may have been behind films such as Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd and The Corpse Bride in recent years you still get the feeling that Hollywood is still uncomfortable with this director and don't really understand him.
Burton however makes moves like no one else and he has stayed true to his gothic roots throughout his entire career.
Werner Herzog
Along with the likes of Reiner Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Hans-Jürgen Syberberg German filmmaker Herzog is often linked with the German New Wave movement and is a popular director on the art house circuit.
Herzog did not go down the film school path and he went on to kick off his feature film career with Signs of Life and Even Dwarfs Started Small.
Herzog gained a reputation for being unafraid to show filth, disease and controversial subjects as he moved between feature films and documentaries.
Over the years he has been behind movies such as Rescue Dawn and The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in recent years.
Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo Del Toro is one of my favourite director's producing movies at the moment as you never know what you are going to get with his films.
He is such a versatile filmmaker as he moves between dark fantasy pieces such as Pan's Labyrinth and more mainstream projects such as the Hellboy movies.
But it is movies like Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone that makes him one of the standout and most exciting directors.
He allows his imagination so spill out onto the big screen and he takes audiences to worlds that are not created by any other filmmakers.
Pan's Labyrinth is his greatest movie achievement and is one of the most powerful not to mention darkest escapism films.
Lars von Trier
There is not director around at the moment that pushes boundaries than Lars von Trier - if you have seen antichrist then you know exactly what I am talking about.
Von Trier has never shied away from using sexually explicit images and that kicked off a trend in arthouse cinema after the release of The Idiots in 1998.
He has gone on to whip up a storm with the likes of Antichrist in recent years where he continued to push those boundaries.
Other filmmakers that are not afraid to try new things include Michael Haneke, William Friedkin and Danny Boyle.
Django Unchained is released 18th January.