5 famous directors that no one believed in at the beginning of their careers

Federico Fellini joked that the director was Columbus, who wanted to discover America, and the whole crew wanted to return home. The success of a film doesn’t always depend solely on who is holding the camera; it also depends on other non-creative factors such as publicity. And filmmaking is a way of compromise. After all, not all sponsors are ready to give carte blanche. The director is also forced to step back, approving actors for non-cast roles and even changing the concept of the film. However, there are also individualistic dreamers who change the rules of the game; They succeeded even though no one believed them at first. We will tell you these.

Ridley Scott

The other day, Gladiator 2 director Ridley Scott recalled on The Director’s Cut podcast the strange advice he was given at one of the film studios at the beginning of his career. He had already directed Alien and Blade Runner, which were not yet considered classics at the time. It turned out that during the presentation of one of the films, Ridley Scott was seriously advised to “make a movie about normal people” for the sake of success. Then the director seriously thought about who a “normal person” is, if this is not a synonym for the word “boring”. On this occasion, we decided to remember the unfair accusations that directors faced at the beginning of their careers.

peter jackson

Peter Jackson has already made history, winning some 17 Oscar statuettes and becoming the fourth director on the record holders for the highest-grossing films of all time. He is the second director (after James Cameron) to direct films that grossed over $2 billion at the box office. The self-taught New Zealander directed amateur indie films such as “In Poor Taste” and “The Living Dead” before making a global splash with his adaptation of the fantasy trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” and the prequel “The Hobbit.” and the Muppet show “Meet the Underdogs.” At first, no studio wanted to entrust him with adapting the book; Even Harvey Weinstein, who invested money in the project, considered changing the director. But Peter Jackson was one of the few people who was not afraid to experiment with special effects. Moreover, he was a fan of the book. He promised full payment to the producer in case of failure. As a result, the trilogy exceeded all expectations and glorified the director.

Steven Spielberg

The unprecedented box office success of Jaws opened up unprecedented prospects for Steven Spielberg, but the film about a man-eating shark could very well turn out to be a disaster. I can’t count how many times the same predator’s head full of electronic gadgets has been broken off. The shooting was constantly accompanied by unforeseen circumstances, so the budget of the film had already exceeded the stated budget by $ 5 million. A failure at the box office could have ended the aspiring director’s career-making efforts, but unexpectedly the film became a springboard and grossed more than $476 million. This takes into account the absence of stars in the cast.

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino has been criticized repeatedly, not only for the amount of on-camera violence, but also for his racist statements. Contrary to expectations, Pulp Fiction did not immediately achieve cult film status. Producers at TriStar Studios felt the film’s narrative was “disorganized” and the script fanciful: “This is the worst thing ever written. It makes no sense. Someone dies and then suddenly comes to life. It’s too long, brutal and incomprehensible.” The film was saved by Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob, who risked investing their money in the film and gave Tarantino complete freedom. Although the film had a limited release, it quickly attracted the attention of critics throughout his career, with Tarantino exploiting cruelty and racist remarks that secured his reputation as a rebel. He will be repeatedly blamed for his actions, but no one can doubt his ability.

george lucas

George Lucas, the father of Star Wars, had to go through a literal Jedi journey to gain recognition. Due to an injury, he had to give up his career as a racing driver and revive his passion for filmmaking. The first work was the dystopia “THX 1138”, which failed at the box office and was not understood by critics. He then decided to make a simple but commercial film, American Graffiti, which became a huge success – five Oscar nominations and two Golden Globes. And perhaps that’s why the producers finally decided to give the young director a chance to make Star Wars. Production has been threatened many times as it requires more and more financial investment. In addition, Lucas nearly crashed on the first day of shooting, which took place in the Tunisian desert – an unexpected downpour came down and disabled almost all equipment. It must be said that the director did not immediately manage to gain respect from the team. Harrison Ford argued with him about the script: “George, of course you can print this, it’s not your place to say that nonsense.” Studio bosses were so disbelieving in Lucas’ success that they gave him the gift rights, and the film was initially released in only 40 theaters. If only they knew how wrong they were about him.