10 Disastrous Movies That Actors And Directors Still Haven't Recovered From
5. Richard Kelly - Southland Tales
Richard Kelly seemed to have the world at his feet after shooting to prominence with Donnie Darko, which quickly became one of the defining independent movies of the early 21st Century. For all intents and purposes it appeared as though a new unique directorial voice had arrived out of nowhere, until he botched it spectacularly with his follow-up.
Southland Tales is what happens when a filmmaker over-estimates their own brilliance, and it might very well be one of the most pretentious and self-indulgent movies ever made, one that was unanimously rejected by critics and audiences, resulting in an embarrassing box office take of less than $350,000.
His next effort The Box was also a major disappointment when it was released in 2009, and we haven't seen anything from the filmmaker since. Donnie Darko made it seem as though an exciting new auteur had arrived on the scene, but one high-profile setback and his career has never managed to recover.