1. George Lucas - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
No director has pushed his luck to such an extent as former geek God George Lucas, who single-handily destroyed the integrity of his beloved
Star Wars franchise when he decided to create a prequel trilogy. You can't blame Lucas for trying, I suppose: the fans wanted it, after all, and although we complain now about the quality of the new trilogy, at the time fans couldn't have been more excited. Maybe Lucas should have known better, though, or at least brought in other people to help work through his naff dialogue cues and lame storylines. To be fair, though, even Lucas couldn't have been prepared for the backlash that came his way when
The Phantom Menace failed to enchant almost everyone who saw it. What presumably failed to register with the formerly great director, though, was that he was pushing his luck on such heightened levels when he decided to go back and tell a story that didn't really need to be told. At least, characters like Darth Vader were better-realised when they were left alone to be mysterious. Sure, Lucas made billions of dollars in the end, but at what true cost?
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