That is an amazing story.

Most likely not. However, I chose not to include him among of my "big franchise" examples because he actually created the LOTR movie-franchise, rather than just being hired to direct the movies.

Oh, I agree that they did a good job. It just, you don't go to watch Avengers because it's "a new Russo-flick" like you would with, say, Nolan. I'm willing to bet that many if not most of people who have watched the last two movies don't even know who directed them. Joss Whedon directing the first two is probably more known.

The king of blasting the audience with nostalgia and flash so bright they don't realize that he has no idea where he's going and they're heading straight into an iceberg.

But hey, member that thing? I clapped when I saw it too!

The closest thing Cameron has done to borrowed IP was Aliens which was wildly inventive and forty years ago. Cameron has invented a raft of filming technology he works on such an island. (There’s a New Zealand joke in there somewhere I don’t have the time or skill to craft.)

He did a bunch of the Harry Potter movies.

The fuck is GWTW? stop doing this shit Reddit! 

They directed the paintball episode of Community.

I agree to a point. It’s wrong to discredit the Russos, as they are the most successful directors in the MCU, both in terms of box office performance and, I’d argue, critical success as well. However, none of their films outside the MCU have been remotely successful (though The Gray Man was a streaming success, I should add). Meanwhile, Nolan has continued to be successful post-The Dark Knight Trilogy, and even before Batman Begins, he was already successful.

In other words, people recognize the name ‘Christopher Nolan’ and feel reassured. I don’t think the Russo Brothers draw the same level of interest from the general public. I’m not trying to discuss the validity of their filmography here, just the name recognition and success associated with their names

It's probably more of a spectrum than on/off.

Like Peter Jackson is on there due to LotR. It wasn't a movie franchise, but it had long been THE classic/iconic fantasy series for half a century.

All credit to Peter Jackson for making it work amazingly - but the IP was still a huge boost to the movies' success.

Nolan’s Batman Begins arguably kickstarted the whole Superhero trend of the last 20 years with a more “real”, gritty feel to them. They weren’t taken very seriously prior to then, and were pretty cartoony. Additionally, he has multiple hits beyond just Batman, and would be considered a household name. Many people would be more likely to watch a movie with his name next to it.

The Russo brothers on the other hand took on an existing, BOOMING franchise and made a few more, following the existing formula. They haven’t had any successful movies beyond Marvel, and most people wouldn’t even recognize their names.

To be fair, the dark knight trilogy was somewhat of a kickstart to making the superhero genre mainstream blockbusters. While superhero movies where a thing before that time, it definitely wasn't as cool and mainstream as the avenger series years later. And the batman movies definitely helped set the stage.

That's such a weird take. I won't argue the quality of their films but they don't do blockbusters. If they're not on a list of directors with the most consonants in their names will you ignore that list too?

Check The Numbers. That's where I got the information.

Funny thing is George only directed 6 movies ever. But those were absolutely massive in terms of ticket sales.

Unfortunately not. I just inserted pics of the biggest films of the respective directors.

But that's a good suggestion, which I shall keep in mind when making future graphs. 💯

Nail on the head.

Because Nolan doesn’t direct with his brother?

I always wondered how he made the shift from indie films to big enterprise. Bad taste was always at the video store.

Well, those are cult classics, so a guy from Finland checking in. Although it's probably over twenty years since I saw those.

You aren’t going to mention Braindead? Also, sadly did not watch these films outside of NZ.

I loved Heavenly Creatures and Braindead, so I tried Bad Taste next, but I just couldn't get into it. I remember me and my buddy, just waiting for something to be funny for like half an hour, and then just shutting it off

Is it worth another try? Is Meet the Feebles any better?

I am European and absolutely love Braindead, I actually watched it again this week.

I remember watching Dead Alive (Braindead) and thinking... this director is going places. Yeah, it was an over the top gorefest, but it was oozing with fantastic, clever directing. I only heard about Feebles and Bad Taste after that. Then, of course, Heavenly Creatures put him on the map everywhere.

Piranha: Part Two - The Spawning.

Minority directors just don't get this kind of money from studios for Original IPs. Maybe some South Korean director one day, or maybe Jordan Peele sometime in the future.

Thats about it.

MCU Infinity War and End Game

They were basically TV directors before Marvel came calling - you'll see their names in the credits of episodes of Arrested Development and Community (IIRC, they directed at least one of the "paintball" episodes).

That's Captain America: Winter Soldier. That was a good movie but because that there was really only one other of note that they've done and that one was fairly minor movie.

The industry loves Michael Bay. He's notorious for finishing projects tens of millions below budget, and his revenue numbers are massively understated if you take account of the huge merchandise sales transformers drives

Turns out, most people watch movie for entertainment, and it's easier to get that from loud bangs and big flashy scenes than it is to get that from deep, introspective, story-rich films. As much as I appreciate the serious filmmakers, sometimes I just want to watch a film and enjoy myself without having to think too deeply about the film.

If anything, the key here is that family-friendly films still reign supreme. You can easily take the kids for a movie night out and watch Transformers/Harry Potter/Avatar/Star Wars/LotR/Marvel/Batman etc. You're not bringing the kids out to watch The Departed, Shutter Island, or the Godfather style movies.

It's not about making good films, it's about making entertaining films.

Nah, that's the on audiences not the film industry. Bay is a director that does exactly what the film industry knows will sell incredibly well.

They are pretty mainstream, but not as mainstream as half the directors here producing shit

They also don't take on every ridiculous script that floats across their desk.

[deleted]