How Top Film Directors Got There Start

Last month I wrote that Akira Kurosawa was the best film-maker/director the movie industry has ever had.  When researching for that post I came across an article by Christy Khosahaba of the LA Times that spoke to the 'best living' film directors and which of their movies "propelled them to prominence".
I felt it might be of interest for you as well.

Steven Spielberg - although 'The Sugarland Express' (1974) did get Hollywood's attention, it was 'Jaws', a year later, that put Spielberg into the real limelight. 'Jaws' was the first film to break the $100 million box office and grossed over $470 million globally - a huge sum in 1976.  Plagued by production problems and delays the film was dubbed 'Flaws' by crew members - but the final cut was an unmatched suspense thriller.

James Cameron - his third film was the charm - 'The Terminator' (1984). Once an assistant to B-movie King, Roger Corman, 'The Terminator' catapulted Cameron into becoming the maker of two of the highest grossing film ever, 'Titanic' (1997) with a $2.1 billion global gross, and 'Avatar' (2004) with a total gate of $2.6 billion.

Martin Scorsese - was always a great movie lover.  After attending film school in NYC he, like Cameron, worked for Roger Corman where he directed the Corman produced "Boxcar Bertha' - now a cult-classic.  Scorsese was to develop the gritty, character strong style of movie-making that we have come to love and which has been copied by many in the film industry.  His breakout film was 'Mean Streets' (1973), followed by 'Raging Bull' (1980), 'Good Fellas' (1990), and 'Gangs of New York' (2002).

Quentin Tarantino - when asked if he attend film school, Tarantino's response was "I went to films instead".  Tarantino prefers to write and direct his films.  His fame came with the Sundance Festival winner 'Reservior Dogs' (1992).  Two years later he came back with 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) which cemented his reputation and won him Best Picture and Best Screenplay Oscars.

Kathryn Bigelow - artist turned film-maker. Bigelow (noted for her high-impact films like 'Blue Steel' (1990) and 'Point Break' (1991) she made her real mark with the award-winning 'Hurt Locker' (2009) followed by Oscar winner 'Zero Dark Thirity' (2012).

Peter Jackson - his first film, 'Bad Taste' (1987) a comedy about flesh-eating aliens, took over four years to make. On a whim, it was entered into the Cannes Festival, and surprise - it won several awards. His breakout film however came seven years later. 'Heavenly Creatures' (1994) was a semi-docu based upon a famous New Zealand matricide case. This film grabbed Hollywood's attention and gave Jackson a green light to direct the mega-trilogy 'Lord of the Rings'.

Christopher Nolan - credited with turning the art house flick to the multiplex blockbuster, Nolan's first feature, 'Following' (1998) was a small budget noir thriller but it was enough to elevate his status as an up and coming director. His next film was the breakout feature for Nolan, the 2001 film 'Momento' which gave him two Oscar nominations.

Eastwood in 'Unforgiven'

Clint Eastwood - from spaghetti western cowboy to Oscar winner, Eastwood has had a long and very successful film career.  His first film, as director, was the 1988 biopic on jazz musician Charlie 'The Bird' Parker, who was played in the film by a young Forest Whitaker.  This film gained Eastwood respect as a director. He followed up with the great western 'Unforgiven' (1992) which won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. Other, highly regarded Eastwood films include 'Bridges of Madison County' (1995) and 'Million Dollar Baby' (2004) to name several.

Francis Ford Coppola - after winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay for 'Patton' (1970), Coppola got the nod to helm the making of the Mario Puzo novel 'The Godfather' - the rest is cinematic history. Considered by many as the best film of all time, the Godfather trilogy of  films simply has no equivalent.

Woody Allen - starting out in stand-up and television joke writing, Allen's breakout came with the romantic comedy 'Annie Hall' (1977) which he wrote, directed, and starred in.  This film won four Oscars which Allen never showed up to receive.

To my mind, a couple of other directors that should be on the list are: George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Mel Gibson, and Oliver Stone.

Best
Jim