Successful directors often become known for a particular genre, visual style, or even their frequent collaborators. In the case of writer-directors, it could be their knack for writing snappy, realistic dialogue. Fans can immediately spot the creative vision of a director like Wes Anderson, who uses symmetry when framing shots while his writing is often delightfully surreal.
Directors have the difficult task of tying together all the elements of filmmaking to produce a cohesive story that paying customers are willing to fork out their hard-earned cash to enjoy in theatres. Poor timing, intense competition from other films in theatres, and a lack of public interest in a film’s subject matter mean that even big names can craft movies that don’t pack theater seats.
8 Kevin Smith Shares All The Ups & Downs Of His Experiences In The Industry
New Jersey native Kevin Smith has built a career around public appearances, guest speaking, and being kind to fans with his time. Smith is famous for frequent appearances by his friends and family in his movies. Among these is career-long collaborator Jason Mewes who plays Jay alongside Smith’s Silent Bob.
However, what makes Smith iconic is not the occasional appearance of Ben Affleck or Matt Damon but rather his openness about how he came to be a director. With no formal training, he was inspired by like-minded people and chose to pursue directing. By sharing his experiences about entering the field, his dealings in Hollywood, and how he writes and directs his films, he has inspired numerous fans to follow their passion for filmmaking even if he’s never had a movie light the box office on fire.
7 Ava DuVernay Blazes A Trail For Women & People Of Color
The breadth of Ava DuVernay’s work cannot be understated. Her list of directorial credits spans feature films, documentaries, television series, and even a Beyonce & Jay-Z music video. DuVernay’s steady rise to success was built on her belief in the importance of telling diverse stories, particularly those of women.
As the first African-American woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, her work has been instrumental in highlighting the stories of black women. Despite numerous awards and being hailed as a visionary, DuVernay’s films rarely reach the box office highs of some of her contemporaries.
6 Wes Craven Wrote The Book On What Scares Us
Wes Craven began terrifying audiences with his films in 1972. Inspired by the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, the renowned director reinvented the horror genre not once but twice. With a handful of hit and miss films to his name, he began writing A Nightmare on Elm Street, creating Freddy Krueger, the villain who would go on to haunt the dreams of generations.
While the directors who influenced him made severe films, Craven’s particular style combined horror with comedy. After decades of crafting spooky movies, Craven would return to helm Scream, the film that created the self-aware horror subgenre. It continues to be analyzed and dissected by students of the genre. Unfortunately, most of his movies barely managed to make back their budget, and some were even total bombs.
5 Paul Verhoeven Uses Excessive Sex & Violence To Satirize His Subjects
Dutch director Paul Verhoeven is best known for his darkly funny satirical films that combine heavy doses of sex and violence. Films like RoboCop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct rounded out his success in the ’90s. Few of his other films have made much impact in theatres. However, Verhoeven’s films are notable for finding major success after their theatrical runs, reaching genre fans.
After the monumental failure of Showgirls, moviegoers were unconvinced by the marketing for Starship Troopers which became a cult classic once it reached the home video market. Upon its theatrical release, the film was deemed trashy, gory, and oversexualized, but recent analyses describe the film as a hilarious and cutting indictment of the military-industrial complex.
4 Lana & Lilly Wachowski Bring The Impossible To The Silver Screen
The Wachowski Sisters burst onto the scene in 1999 with anime-inspired The Matrix. Their previous films, Assassins and Bound, were not hits upon theatrical release. Sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were reasonably successful but critical and fan reception was poor.
Their follow-up films have had increasing budgets but diminishing returns. Still, the sisters have carved out a niche with their visual style, adapting complex source material for the big screen with groundbreaking effects that have often been emulated and parodied. The critical and box office failure of Jupiter Ascending led to a six-year hiatus from feature films. Still, fans remain hopeful that the upcoming Matrix 4 will reignite interest in the franchise.
3 James Gunn Questions What It Means To Be A Hero
Best known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Guardians of The Galaxy franchise, James Gunn’s other films have rarely seen box office success. Outside of the confines of Disney and PG ratings, his films lean toward spookier fare. Gunn has a particular fascination with challenging the typical tropes of superheroes, painting them in stark contrast to their heroic endeavors on the pages of comic books.
The 2010 box office bomb Super portrays a man inspired by comics who goes on a very real, very bloody, and very unhinged killing spree. Gunn continues to explore these themes in the recently released The Suicide Squad, using humor to endear us to villains before inevitably killing them off. As of this writing it is performing well below expectations at the box office, but it’s definitely too soon to declare it a flop just yet.
2 Judd Apatow Trusts His Cast To Improvise & Builds Movies In The Edit
Apatow’s directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, remains a fan favorite comedy classic. As a prolific writer, producer, and director in the genre, his style emphasizes improvisation, relying on his cast’s charm and comedy chops to create laughs on the spot. Though his films rarely tell complex stories, clever editing uses jokes to build character and keep the proceedings moving.
Just one of his films since 2009, Trainwreck, can be considered a box office success. However, the director has continued to evolve away from early criticisms of sexism and homophobia toward more profound subject matter and fewer crude jokes. His work still relies heavily on the skill of his cast, Pete Davidson receiving high praise for his nuanced portrayal in The King Of Staten Island.
1 Denis Villeneuve Uses Scale To Establish The Setting & Draw Viewers In
Denis Villeneuve has become the go-to director for sci-fi epics. With a combination of jaw-dropping visuals that emphasize scale and quiet, thoughtful, character development all of his feature films have received some degree of critical and audience acclaim. Despite this, his box office track record is somewhat lackluster.
Arrival, his 2016 drama, made four times its budget while the much-anticipated sequel, Blade Runner 2049, failed to make back double despite high critical praise. The director’s use of scale will feature once again in the upcoming Dune. Hype is mounting based on the visually stunning trailers that have been released so far, but time will tell given the troubled history of adapting that story to the big screen.
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