10 Directors Who Completely Ruined Their Careers With One Movie
9. Richard Kelly
The Killer Movie: Southland Tales When Donnie Darko was released, the world had a new young, hip darling to celebrate and over-hype (even if he subsequently went on to undermine himself with a bloated, silly director's cut) - Richard Kelly was the next big thing, and he had the world at his feet. So naturally, instead of keeping to his known limits, Kelly consciously left his comfort zone to make "LA epic" Southland Tales, a plotless dump of a film with Lynchian aspirations and the most arrogant of self-indulgent foundations. As if he wanted to consciously make life even more difficult for himself, Kelly also consciously sought actors he felt had been "pigeon-holed" for one reason or another, and who deserved to let their talent sing. In English, he hired a troupe of sub-par actors who he then failed to direct properly, and promptly made one of the worst films ever to have been screened in Cannes. And that is some achievement, given that festival's provocative championing of pompous cinematic sludge. Unfortunately, we all believed the hype built on the back of Donnie Darko (which now suffers in hindsight) and Kelly was given way too much opportunity to prove how little he deserved that acclaim. Since Southland, he has made The Box, which was a step-up, but 3 films in 12 years is no record for such a formerly highly-rated talent.
The Killer Movie: Southland Tales When Donnie Darko was released, the world had a new young, hip darling to celebrate and over-hype (even if he subsequently went on to undermine himself with a bloated, silly director's cut) - Richard Kelly was the next big thing, and he had the world at his feet. So naturally, instead of keeping to his known limits, Kelly consciously left his comfort zone to make "LA epic" Southland Tales, a plotless dump of a film with Lynchian aspirations and the most arrogant of self-indulgent foundations. As if he wanted to consciously make life even more difficult for himself, Kelly also consciously sought actors he felt had been "pigeon-holed" for one reason or another, and who deserved to let their talent sing. In English, he hired a troupe of sub-par actors who he then failed to direct properly, and promptly made one of the worst films ever to have been screened in Cannes. And that is some achievement, given that festival's provocative championing of pompous cinematic sludge. Unfortunately, we all believed the hype built on the back of Donnie Darko (which now suffers in hindsight) and Kelly was given way too much opportunity to prove how little he deserved that acclaim. Since Southland, he has made The Box, which was a step-up, but 3 films in 12 years is no record for such a formerly highly-rated talent.