10 Directors Suffering From George Lucas Syndrome

4. Ridley Scott

His Success: Ridley Scott is, of course, known for a number of critically and/or commercially successful films, such as Alien, Blade Runner, Black Rain, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Matchstick Men, American Gangster, Robin Hood and Prometheus. At the top of his game, he is undoubtedly a master of his filmmaking craft. However... His Failures: Scott has admittedly had one of the most maddeningly inconsistent careers of any Hollywood filmmaker, what with the following movies failing commercially (and in some cases critically also): Legend, Someone to Watch Over Me, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, White Squall, Kingdom of Heaven, A Good Year. Since 2007's American Gangster, though, Scott has been in something of a creative funk, with all five of his films since being saddled with glaring issues. Body of Lies was a critical and commercial disappointment, Robin Hood made money but people hated it, Prometheus was also successful but Alien fans largely had huge complaints about it not living up to its promise, The Counselor was widely derided despite turning a profit, and last year's Exodus: Gods and Kings didn't turn the huge profits Fox were expecting, while reviews were scathing. Just like Michael Mann, Scott is pretty much living on his prior esteem these days. Everyone knows he can make a great movie with the right script, so audiences continue to see many of his movies out of respect for his prior work, while studios similarly keep bankrolling him even though a Ridley Scott movie is these days a total gamble for everyone involved. How He Can Save His Career: Scott's upcoming film The Martin has plenty of promise, and he's not a director like many on this list who needs to step away from big budget filmmaking. His skill as a stylist is still there, but he needs to be a little more particular with his scripts before signing up, that's all.