directors whose careers their box office bombs ruined?

[ChrisIII]

Although a lot of the blame is often put down to George Lucas or even Marvel, Willard Huyck didn't direct again after HOWARD THE DUCK, although he did write and produce another infamous Lucasfilm flop, Radioland Murders.

It's kind of a shame because he and his wife, the late Gloria Katz were script doctors on Star Wars-I think a lot of the film's dialogue was streamlined/punched up by them. Especially since there's similar banter in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which was also written by them.

Marcia Lucas says that the idea of Vader being Luke's father might have come from him as well.

[j9ac9k]

Martin Brest:
-- Beverly Hills Cop
-- Midnight Run
-- Scent of a Woman
-- Meet Joe Black
........
-- Gigli (his last film, according to IMDB)

[Zauriel]

5 Movies That Sent Filmmakers' Careers Down in Flames

Freaks (1932) — Tod Browning

Tod Browning, the big shot behind the classic horror movie, Dracula, decided to get creative and bold with his next project, Freaks. He ditched the usual costume and makeup, casting real-life people with physical deformities as circus performers.

This move was groundbreaking, but it shocked audiences back then. The movie got so much flak it was even banned in the UK, causing Browning's star in Hollywood to fade significantly. Still, it's worth checking out.


Rollerball (2002) — John McTiernan

You may know John McTiernan for directing such classics as Predator and Die Hard. He made a bunch of solid popcorn films, but, Rollerball tanked so bad it's often hailed as one of the worst movies of 2002.

It not only killed McTiernan's career momentum but also that of its lead, Chris Klein. The movie ditched the original's thoughtful social commentary for mindless violence and ended up losing a whole lot of money in the process.


Green Lantern (2011) — Martin Campbell

Martin Campbell, the director who made Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig our favorite Bonds, had a real bummer with the Green Lantern movie.

He tried to bring Ryan Reynolds ' take on the superhero to life, but the movie was a big no-no from both audiences and critics. With his brilliant James Bond work behind him, it was a real letdown.

Ghost Of Mars (2001) — John Carpenter

John Carpenter, the legendary horror master, had a steep fall with Ghosts of Mars. It was a far cry from his '80s classics with weak storytelling, poor cinematography, and no suspense. After the movie, Carpenter decided to take a long break from directing, and frankly, it was a wise move.

Howard the Duck (1986) — Willard Huyck

Willard Huyck, a frequent collaborator of George Lucas and the mind behind the scripts for American Graffiti and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, unfortunately, ended up directing one of the most ridiculed movies of all time, Howard the Duck.

Opting for live-action over animation was a disaster, as was the humor that even a five-year-old would groan at. Ever since this catastrophe, Huyck hasn't directed a single thing.

[chicago_bastard]

I think when you see a successful director who loses funding after one of his or her movies fails to make a tidy profit, there's probably more to the story. That director probably has made enemies in the business and the money people were just waiting for a failure so they wouldn't have to do business with that person. With female directors, it's hard enough for them to get one movie, so the patriarchy is just waiting for them to fail and confirm their bias.

Case in point: Kathryn Bigelow, first female to win best director at the Academy Awards, then went on to deliver a box office success with her follow-up Zero Dark Thirty. Her next film Detroit was a box office flop and she didn't direct a feature film for six years now.

On the other hand you have a male director who gave Warner Bros three box office bombs between 2009 and 2011 and was handed the keys to one of their most valuable IPs as a reward.

[ChrisIII]

Campbell is at his best with spy/action thrillers. Beyond that he's a bit out of his depth.

[Zauriel]

There are directors who have not been ruined by their box office bombs. For example, James Cameron started his directorial debut with a box office bomb. That's right, his first movie was a bomb. Anyone would have thought he would have quit the directorial career after the film bomb. But it is a good thing he did not. Two years later, he directed a more successful and more famous film called The Terminator.

[Kirby101]

Why do you say Piranha 2 was a bomb?

[Zauriel]

He has been publicly disowning Piranha 2 to this day. He kept stating that Terminator was his first feature film.,

[Kirby101]

Case in point: Kathryn Bigelow, first female to win best director at the Academy Awards, then went on to deliver a box office success with her follow-up Zero Dark Thirty. Her next film Detroit was a box office flop and she didn't direct a feature film for six years now.

On the other hand you have a male director who gave Warner Bros three box office bombs between 2009 and 2011 and was handed the keys to one of their most valuable IPs as a reward.

Who do you mean? Zack Snyder?

[CaptainEurope]

Does William Shatner count?

[ChrisIII]

Shatner's done some decent Star Trek documentaries after TFF if that counts.

Granted, as he's often compared, I don't think Nimoy didn't have another hit outside of his two Treks and Three Men and a Baby; although he was almost co-director on St VI at times given how much he contributed to it.

I think John Frakes's feature career pretty much ended after Thunderbirds flopped but he's still done great TV work.


I honestly wander how Star Trek V would've been had things been more in his favor, as there were writers strikes going on, ILM (Who did the effects for II-IV) were busy with Indy, Ghostbusters II etc so they had to choose a relatively unproven company, and it was a busy Summer of movies already.

[Mister Mets]

There are directors who have not been ruined by their box office bombs. For example, James Cameron started his directorial debut with a box office bomb. That's right, his first movie was a bomb. Anyone would have thought he would have quit the directorial career after the film bomb. But it is a good thing he did not. Two years later, he directed a more successful and more famous film called The Terminator.

Some directors aren't prolific. It's not necessarily about gender.

[Zauriel]

William A. Fraker directed only two films prior to The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) that completely destroyed the career forever. The film ultimately grossed just $12 million against its $18 million budget. The box office results were so bad, that he never directed a movie again and Klinton Spilsbury never acted again.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Le...he_Lone_Ranger

[Nate Grey]

Dan Aykroyd, but it ruined (or rather stopped) his directing career, not his acting career.

[thwhtGuardian]

Some directors aren't prolific. It's not necessarily about gender.

...gender definitely plays a role. I mean it's pretty impossible to say otherwise. Women make up just shy of 50% of the population and yet only 14% of directors are female. You just can't get that kind of ratio in any natural way.