Within the realms of popular culture, human beings love nothing more than to call out the great artists upon the split second that they "sell out." To sell out is, apparently, the worst thing that an actor, director, musician or novelist can possibly do - the point at which they give way to their morals and dignity because, hey... money! The point at which an artist sells out is the point at which their fans begin to backlash; the beginning of the end for all established integrity. Of course, the notion of "selling out" could be argued as a ridiculous one: how do you define such an act, anyway? Still, for the purposes of this article, we'll be defining it the same way that Wikipedia does: "the compromising of integrity, morality, authenticity or principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money." Which is to say, the times when Hollywood's famous directors decided to go mainstream, adjusting their tastes in order to appeal to the masses. Sometimes, this isn't necessarily a bad thing - good things have emerged from a director's supposed "selling out" period (some of which are mentioned within). But for the most part, the directors listed here lowered their standards for the sake of a quick buck, because they decided that it was easier to be lazy, or for reasons of unknown origin (i.e. mental breakdown): Here are 10 famous directors who totally sold out - either briefly, permanently, or intermittently...
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
