James Cameron UK film's most powerful figure: Poll

Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron is the most influential individual in British film, a power 100 list published by the Guardian newspaper showed on Friday.

A panel of representatives from the film industry selected Cameron as the person who held the most influence over films the British cinema-going public decided to watch.

"At one end of the scale are Hollywood giants like James Cameron and Leonardo DiCaprio, and at the other are bloggers, festival programmers and cinema owners who all play a part in influencing our cinematic cultural map," said Andrew Pulver, the panel's chair and Guardian film editor.

Steven Spielberg, director of movies including Saving Private Ryan and ET the Extra-Terrestrial was second, followed by Inception star Leonardo DiCaprio, animation king and studio boss John Lasseter and actor Brad Pitt.

In 100th place were the newspaper's readers for their participation in recommending and reacting to movies via social networking sites.

The list was published to launch the Guardian's film season, which runs until October 22.

Following is a list of the Guardian's top 20 most influential people in British film:

1. James Cameron (director: Avatar, Titanic)

2. Steven Spielberg (director: Jurassic Park, ET the Extra-Terrestrial; producer: Letters From Iwo Jima)

3. Leonardo DiCaprio (actor: Inception, Shutter Island, Titanic, The Departed)

4. John Lasseter (director: Toy Story, Toy Story 2)

5. Brad Pitt (actor: Inglourious Basterds; producer: Kick-Ass, A Mighty Heart)

6. Christopher Nolan (director: Inception, The Dark Knight)

7. Scott Rudin (producer: No Country for Old Men, The Queen)

8. Quentin Tarantino (director: Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction)

9. George Clooney (actor: Michael Clayton, Ocean's Eleven; director: Good Night, and Good Luck)

10. Ed Vaizey (politician: minister for culture, communications and creative industries)

11. Johnny Depp (actor: Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean; producer: Hugo Cabret, The Rum Diary)

12. Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (producers: Pride & Prejudice, Love Actually; co-chairmen of Working Title)

13. JJ Abrams (creator: Lost; director: Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek; producer: Cloverfield)

14. Alan F. Horn and Jeff Robinov (studio executives: president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros, and president of Warner Bros Pictures)

15. Ridley Scott (director: Gladiator, Blade Runner)

16. Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos (studio executives: co-chairmen of Fox Filmed Entertainment)

17. Tim Burton (director: Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow)

18. Angelina Jolie (actress: Salt, Changeling, A Mighty Heart)

19. Brad Grey (studio executive: chief executive of Paramount Pictures)

20. Martin Scorsese (director: Shutter Island, The Departed, Gangs of New York)