5 Promising Directors From The 2000s (Who've Sucked Since Their Debut)

The 2000s saw the film industry undergo a number of radical changes. Superhero films rose to prominence through the likes of X-Men, Sam Raimi's take on Spider-Man and the first two entries in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

RottenTomatoes started to become the measuring stick for all releases as knowledge of its aggregated critic and audience scores became more widespread. The likes of Netflix, meanwhile, saw the future and began to develop their DVD-by-post services into online streaming models, signalling the beginning of the end for high street staples like Blockbuster.

Continuous developments in technology and the growth of the Internet as a marketing tool also meant that it became easier than ever for a first-time filmmaker to get their start and a number of directors rose to prominence with well-received independent creations.

This led to many then being handed the keys to the kingdom by major Hollywood studios and the likes of Rian Johnson (who began with Brick in 2005) and the Russo Brothers (whose debut was Welcome To Collinwood in 2002) are now controlling forces behind gargantuan franchises.

Every director strikes out once in a while, however, but whilst established individuals can ride out the occasional flop, it is more difficult for those with less clout. This is exemplified by the five individuals profiled across the next few pages, whose directorial careers have largely petered out since they created substantial buzz around themselves with sensational debuts.

The Debut - Donnie Darko (2001), Subsequent Films - Southland Tales (2006), The Box (2009)

Donnie Darko was one of the first 'cult' films to gain a sizable underground following on the internet following an uneventful cinema run. Rather difficult to follow the first time around, it depicts the troubled titular character (Jake Gyllenhaal) attempt to understand his prophetic visions of the end of the world.

Doubling as a social commentary, with subjects such as conformity, mental health and hypocrisy examined as Donnie spends his final four weeks developing a relationship with Gretchen (Jena Malone), Darko is a dark story, and Gary Jules' chilling and serene rendition of Tears For Fears' Mad World that plays over the end credits is a perfect fit for its themes.

It would be five years before Kelly would release another film, but The Southland Tales, made long before having The Rock as your star became a surefire guarantee of success, sank without trace after a poor reception at Cannes and made back just 2% of its budget.

The Box was the final straw, doing little with an interesting concept (offering somebody financial reward if they allow somebody they do not know to die in return) that had previously been explored on The Twilight Zone.

Kelly has been almost silent in the decade since, though he has expressed interest in doing a follow-up to his one and only hit (ignoring the fact that a godawful one was already made without his involvement in 2009).