What Happened To All The Great Directors?

Welcome back

Good to see you back, Eric! I’m just a layman, and have no insider knowledge. As an outsider, what I see is a film industry coming apart at the seams, having created an environment where creativity and vision must always, under all circumstances, take a back seat to money. Now I know Hollywood is a business, and money must be made. However, there seems to be absolutely no compromise or leeway given to innovation, over the pursuit of all the money. This in turn, has created an environment in which passionate talent is no longer welcomed. They want Yes Men to direct as they’re told, rather than giving them a free hand. Thus, people of high caliber no longer seek to work in Hollywood.

We get people like Bob Iger who has no appreciation or knowledge of cinema calling the shots, and general audiences are sick of the creative black hole that is Hollywood.

Great to see you back Eric - hope things have been well for you! That was an enlightening video - thank you for clearing up what the responsibilities of the roles are. I think you're right, and it also ties into an over-reliance on "we'll just fix everything in post by blasting it with CGI" which you've touched on before, and also the fact that some of the stories and characters aren't as compelling. I think if everything else is executed well (directing, story, cinematography, acting, writing, etc.), you can somewhat cover for a deficiency in one aspect of a film, but when everything is "meh" at best, it's just easily forgettable.

Tepid ambition and social sycophantism is what happened.

Glad you're back

Delighted to see you back Eric.

You pose a very pertinent question, perhaps we’ll never see their likes again?

Directors are now ‘cast’… for their checkboxes, not their abilities….

Informative and insightful! I've been aware of the deficits in staging and blocking, but I only vaguely knew the concepts existed, and didn't know how they were distinguished from each other, or the actual words for them. Thanks for the succinct explanation and apt demonstration!

I've wondered about that as well.

Not just directors but there are no new movie stars

We read books back in those days. You had to make up images in your head. We had theater in high school.
You forgot Guillermo del Toro.

Losing directors like Peter Weir (still alive but not active) has hurt the movie industry a lot. Peter Weir won't go down as as much of a legend as Nolan, Cameron, Tarantino, Spielberg, etc... but he had an incredible stretch and helped make a handful of masterpieces. Truman Show, Master & Commander, Dead Poet's Society, and beyond.

Disagree

This isn’t really a new thing. Back during the Old Hollywood era, directors were basically guns for hire on a project the producers cooked up, see Casablanca for example. Only “auteurs” like Alfred Hitchcock were able to make movies where they had full control. And even in the New Hollywood era when directors were given more creative freedom, people ultimately weren’t showing up to see the new Scorsese picture, and Spielberg only got as big as he did by appealing to the widest possible audience. Compared to that I’d say we’re faring far better today when people do seem to show up on the strength of a Christopher Nolan or Quentin Tarantino.

Hey. Welcome back, Eric!

A while back I was wondering where all the directors went in general because when I looked at who was to direct various Disney projects none of the directors had a lot of experience. Nia DaCosta had basically one horror movie to her credit but was given the $270 million 'The Marvels' movie. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has only documentary experience but will be directing the next Star Wars movie. It's an odd 'Let's hire the most marginally qualified people we can to direct, and then set them up for failure' type approach where everyone is sure to lose. Disney acts like its an inconsequential job title they can fill with anyone, preferably meeting DEI requirements along the way. One wonders where are the directors with experience levels between the great directors you list and the novie directors Disney hires.

Outstanding!

It seems anything and anyone “great” eventually falls prey to pressures and/or complacency. Excellent video- so glad to see you back.

For them as wants to wield ultimate power...
Would the role of "showrunner" on a television or streaming channel be more the right job than film director?

Cheers

its not entirely true that the director doesnt direct the camera. It's true for some directors, but other directors do take more control over the camera. it really depends on the specific director.

Fantastic video as always Eric, thank you!

The title here gave me another thought. It would be interesting to hear your thinking about Great Directors who seem to lose it over time. The later career mediocity. I am thinking of Ford, Wyler, Spielberg, Capra, etc.

I would love to see a video with examples of how directors do this. I'm trying to think of a scene, but pretty much drawing a blank. Was there something during that cab ride in "The Contender"? That scene of Vito in the midst of the tomatoes as he dies jumps to mind. How about red finding the right stone along that stone fence out of a Robert Frost poem. The first attack scene from "Jaws" has stuck with me all my life. That flower floating in the wind next to Forrest, was a great moment that pretty much summed up the film. "We all have it coming, kid." You need a bigger boat. Get to building it.

Epstein Island might have something to do with it.

They still exist. They're just not the same people appealing to the same kind of target audience. Mike Flanagen, Yorgos Lanthimos, Guillermo Del Toro, Greta Gerwig