8. Steven Spielberg
Goodwill Built On: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third KindGoodwill Squandered On: 1941 Steven Spielberg invented the modern blockbuster when he unleashed his classic killer shark picture Jaws onto unsuspecting audiences. In short order, Spielberg became Hollywood's hottest director and earned enormous audience goodwill when he followed Jaws up with another titanic hit, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Emboldened by his cinematic success, Spielberg decided to test himself and try his hand at a new genre: comedy. Oddly enough Spielberg believed that the aftermath of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had the makings of a great laugh riot. Despite a warning from John Wayne, who Spielberg approached for a role in the picture, that World War II should not be trivialized in such a manner, Spielberg enlisted a plethora of comedy stars, including Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and John Candy, to bring the whimsical tale of a Japanese submarine firing torpedoes at the coastline of the United States to the big screen. While not an outright flop, many viewed 1941 as a disappointment after the mega-success of Jaws and Close Encounters. Spielberg regained much of the audience he lost with his next feature, 1981's classic adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark.