Directing is one of my favorite part in films.
(Steven Spielberg directing Tom Hanks in Savin Private Ryan) 
As an amateur and self though indie filmmaker , I get so inspired and motivated every time the Academy gives The Best Director trophy to a Director (duh) at the Oscars.
( Martin Scorsese winner of Best Director for the film The Departed)
Directing have a style. Directors have different styles and some of them you can identified them as soon the movie starts.
Like Quentin Tarantino films
and Wes Anderson films , to gives examples of unique styles.
The producers can be looking for a guy who can be the right leader and the one who can execute the story they want to tell with his styles. By the way not every director can fit to the tone the movie is going to be taken.
Some filmmakers just made film about 1 genre in specific.
( Alfred Hitchcock is well known as the master of suspense, he made other genres too, but he was an expert in thrillers) 
I love how Hitchcock show us details and POV to be more immerse in the film.
and other can handle any genre like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese to mention some of them.
Others are Visionaries.
Stanley Kubrick, Director of films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining.
There’s the director who’s also the actor in his films like Clint Eastwood.
With cool visuals styles like Zack Snyder.
Visual poets like Terence Malick.
Others always try to stay the most realistic as possible no matter the film.
Christopher Nolan is probably the most acclaimed and hottest filmmaker in the film industry right now.
Even people who are not cinephiles knows and get excited when his new film is coming.
Some other just simply can make the greatest film of all time, like Orson Welles at age of 25.
Now you go and finished it!
I have mentioned some directors and some of the things they are recognized for. I forgot to mentioned some of them like David Fincher, Alfonso Cuaron, Tim Burton, etc. But I just wanted to tell you that the point ( mostly for those who doesn’t know) is that all are different in some ways and similar in other ways.
Directing have a huge responsibility. If the film is bad people can mostly point out that is the director’s fault, when is probably not. Sometimes they have to improvise because things are not going according to the plan and there you have to be creative. You must be a story teller and no matter what you must complete the film and tell the story the best way as possible. Directors have to know how to threat the film to create a great piece of art and entertainment to the audience
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