8 'Next Big Thing' Movie Directors Who Didn't Live Up To The Hype

2. Richard Kelly

Donnie Darko was responsible not only for giving pretentious dudes in high school a reason to think they were edgy, but for launching the careers of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Unfortunately, it didn't have the same knock-on effect for its director, Richard Kelly, who was expected to reap the rewards of the film's cult success.

Though initially touted as the next big thing, the more the director talked about the film, the more apparent it became that it was only as good as it was by pure luck. The director's cut of the film is far more complex and less ambiguous, taking away most of the mystery that defined the original yet making the narrative somehow even more incoherent.

Kelly has only directed two features since, and both are a far cry away from the level of Donnie Darko. Southland Tales was an abstract, biblical tale that takes two hours and a stint on Wikipedia to properly grasp, while The Box squandered an interesting sci-fi thriller set up with the filmmaker's usual trappings.