2. Quentin Tarantino - Death Proof
Tarantino is a perfect example of someone surrounded by yes men. After getting high plaudits way too early in his career and showing he could justify a three hour run time Quentins ego got more bloated than Kill Bill (either volume). People were happy to overlook this while what we got in return was good, but audiences goodwill left with Death Proof. Pretty poor as a standalone movie, what really hammered home this disappointment (to Americans at least) was how it was released. The Grindhouse project missed the point that many grindhouse films were rubbish and left Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino trying to make films that were schlocky and well made at the same time. Obviously this would never happen and people didn't fancy a three hour plus showcase of films of a type that would be available for a quid in HMV if it weren't for the names attached. In a move of humility, Tarantino has since stated Death Proof is his weakest film. He then went on to state he wants everything else to a sure fire classic. Well, a little progress is always good.
Did he pull it back? Surprisingly yes. Historically altering revenge dramas Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, despite still being incredibly long and episodic, show Tarantino working at his best since the days he was at Miramax.