1. Michael Cimino
The Director: Anyone researching movie auteurs of the seventies will have heard of Ciminos name; his legacy - both good and bad - are still being felt today. His first movie Thunderbolt And Lightfoot is an underrated thriller with Clint Eastwood, but his next film The Deer Hunter would become one of the best films of the decade. The Crime: Because of the success of The Deer Hunter Cimino was given total control for his next film, a sprawling western called Heavens Gate. His ego and demand for perfection turned it into one of the messiest film shoots in history where hed demand endless retakes, and once stopped production for hours so a cloud he liked could drift into frame. When the film wrapped after nearly a year of shooting it was four times over budget, and Ciminos original version was five and a half hours long. In desperation the studio demanded he cut it down to two and a half hours, and this version was a critical and financial disaster. It made less than a tenth of its budget back, and bankrupt the studio. The Sentence: Studios severely cracked down on giving directors complete control over their movies, which killed the auteur movement of the seventies. Cimino directed a few more movies after that, none of which were successful. Can you think of any other directors who are currently in movie jail? List them in the comments trend below.