5. Give A Director Chance To Breathe
What do Marc Webb, James Cameron and Francis Lawrence have in common? Theyre all tied down to direct the next three entries in a major franchise (The Amazing Spider-Man, Avatar and The Hunger Games respectively) within a short time frame. Constrictive much? Obviously having a director contractually obliged to stick around is good for a series (you only need to mention X-Men: The Last Stand to prove this point), but it can lead to repetitive, slowly deteriorating results. Instead many directors working within the studio system like to balance out making the typical blockbuster by taking a break and directing an incredibly personal film; a one for me, one for them mentality. This allows them to work without any of the normal constraints a franchise movie would put them under and explore their own style. Of course, to a studio will want their big names to continue to bring in the green, but not only does this cleanse a filmmakers pallet, it can actually be refreshing for the bank balance. Chris Nolan doesn't only operate in this way, making The Prestige and long gestating pet project Inception in between the Batman movies, but what he produces is brilliant in both a monetary and quality sense. That Nolans one for me ends up being as marketable as the one for them is testament to his ability to create spectacle, but really should be taken as a wake up for studios to let other big directors do this (*cough* del-Toro-and-At-The-Mountains-Of-Madness *cough*).