The Office star B. J. Novak recently made his directorial debut with Vengeance and everything has turned out as he would have hoped. The black comedy has been met with positive reviews as well as decent box office returns when measured against its budget. Fans will be hoping he maintains the form, which is something some filmmakers do so easily while others struggle, despite their best efforts.
Over the years, there have been a couple of directors who made one incredible move but couldn't churn out more brilliant projects. For some, it was simply a lack of creativity while for others, it was all down to factors beyond their control. So, who are the one-hit wonders? Redditors have named a number of them.
Michael Cimino - The Deer Hunter (1978)
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Nova_Jake notes that the director "hasn't done anything close to The Deer Hunter." The war drama won a whopping 5 Oscars, including Best Picture.
True to the Redditor's words, Cimino's magic died almost immediately. Every movie that the director made after the Best Picture winner has been certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. Storytelling struggles aside, Cimino could be described as an architect of his downfall due to his controversial nature. Colleagues accused him of being an egomaniac while the media accused him of feeding falsehoods to reporters to get good publicity (via Vanity Fair).
Charles Laughton - Night Of The Hunter (1955)
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Redditor airburshedvan thinks it's "such a shame Laughton never directed again." The film noir was his only directorial effort.
Laughton's decision to never direct again is linked to the fact that the movie was initially critically panned by critics. It was a commercial failure too and in addition to that, the production process had been marred with challenges (via Guardian). Since he already had a great career, it made sense for him to abandon movie-making and continue doing what he did best. However, the movie has since been reassessed and is now considered one of the best movies of the 1950s.
Irvin Keshner - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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HugoSticklitz admits that Keshner never missed out on opportunities but "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was definitely the best movie he ever did." The director would go on to direct a couple of TV episodes before retiring.
Keshner's inclusion among the one-hit wonder directors is justified since his other notable blockbuster, RoboCop 2, is nowhere near one of the best movie sequels of all time. Nonetheless, he deserves to be lauded for putting a movie that kept the franchise's popularity alive. Thanks to his emphasis on proper character development, many of the characters that had been introduced earlier became even more formidable in the sequel, key among them, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.
Mathieu Kassovitz - La Haine
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Redditor bonrmagic hates that the French director "made arguably one of the best and most important youth films of all time and then couldn't follow it up with anything truly worthwhile." Thanks to the crime drama, Kassovitz found fame outside his home country.
Some directors follow up brilliant movies with average ones but Kassovitz had a string of bombs after his major hit. Chief among them was Babylon AD, which is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. Despite having a celebrated actor (Vin Diesel) in the lead, and a good concept, the movie failed to convince both fans and critics. In comparison, La Haine has a neat 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. What went wrong? It's a question only the director can answer.
Paul Brickman - Risky Business (1983)
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Brickman made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed tee sex drama which starred Tom Cruise. TopGunningMan thinks he was on the right track "and then just stopped."
The movie was also one of Cruise's fast leading roles and while the actor has gone on to be the definition of longevity, Brickman chose to retreat. It's a decision that stemmed from his frustrations with studio interference. According to him, he was even forced to change the ending, something he had a major issue with (via Variety). It would be understandable for the director's fans to not be too understanding regarding his decision since studio interference is a common occurrence in Hollywood.
Troy Duffy - The Boondock Saints (1999)
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Duffy made the vigilante action thriller that would go on to become a sleeper hit. A deleted user states, "it's like he doesn't even try to make anything else."
The Redditor's claim about Duffy not trying to make anything else isn't particularly true. The director became persona non grata in Hollywood after clashing with Miramax and a couple of other studios over the movie's rights (via The Wrap). Still, it could be argued that Duffy could have kept his career going via the indie or B-movie route. Sadly, he chose not to. On the brighter side, he has had a decent music career.
Tony Kaye - American History X (1998)
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Kaye shot to fame with the first of his only two movies. FokoJaymBay writes, "He only has one other feature under his belt, to no effect critically or financially."
Few movies address the issues of racism better than Kaye's debut effort. Fans would have hoped to serve more projects of the same kind, but that didn't happen. The genesis of the director's disillusionment is also a feud with studio executives. So much were his frustrations that he went on to sue for $200 million (via Guardian). He had outrageous demands too, including the desire for the fictional character Humpty Dumpty to be credited as the director. After all the drama, Kaye figured it was all not worth it.
Kinka Usher - Mystery Men (1999)
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About one-hit wonder directors, FlyBoy89 comments, "whoever directed Mystery Men." They are talking about Usher, who chose not to make anything else.
Before making what is considered one of the best comic book movies of the '90s, Usher's focused on commercials. And it could be presumed that this was his passion since he chose to make a reverse from the big screen to corporate content. It's something he has stuck to ever since, leaving fans wondering how big his career would have grown, given that Hollywood has now fully embraced the superhero genre.
Richard Kelly - Donnie Darko (2001)
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Kelly's had his breakout movie at the age of 26 but has failed to match his debut success. FortifiedJoe declares that "none of his films come close to the brilliance of Donnie Darko."
Little is known as to why the stars haven't aligned for a gifted filmmaker like Kelly. Given how well-received his first film was, the expectation was for the big studios to fight for him but that never happen. Since then, Kelly has only directed 2 other movies. He hasn't done any work in the TV landscape either.
Kerry Conran - Sky Captain (2004)
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Redditor dannyboylee says, "after Sky Captain I was stoked to see what he'd do next. Nothing." The sci-fi movie was Conran's debut too.
Conran deserves credit for revolutionizing filmmaking in Hollywood since he is among the first directors to shoot a movie using a digital backlot (stage acting with digital backgrounds). Sadly, he hasn't been as fortunate as everyone would have expected him to be, Several of Conran's planned project ended up getting shelved, forcing the director to retreat from the limelight.