14 Directors Who Desperately Need A Hit Movie

3. Richard Kelly

In the Peaking Too Early Olympics, Richard Kelly has certainly shown Neill Blomkamp a thing or two, shooting Donnie Darko when he was just 24 years of age, which quickly became a cult classic and remains one of the most iconic indie films of the 21st century so far.

Kelly instantly became the next big thing in Hollywood, but the mere two films he's directed since, Southland Tales and The Box, were met with total indifference from audiences and critics.

Will It Happen?: Kelly has had countless projects in the works for the last near-decade, most of which have fallen through due to financial reasons, and though he did talk up the prospect of a Donnie Darko follow-up next year, it's hard to imagine it actually coming to fruition.

Kelly's young and has time on his side, but the fact he hasn't turned in a major success in almost two decades totally works against him.