Unappreciated Actor-Directed Films

Do actors like Affleck suffer from backlash when they get behind the camera? I liked both Gone Baby Gone and The Town, and didn’t allow his poor performances in some movies get in the way.

If Tom Cruise directed a movie, would people just hate on it because it’s Tom Cruise?

Drew Barrymore’s first feature, “Whip It”, had the second highest score on Rotten Tomatoes, but the public stayed away in droves.

Now she’s inked for three more movies.

“If Tom Cruise directed a movie, would people just hate on it because it’s Tom Cruise?”

Would that be a sequel to “Battlefield Earth”?

see

I like Robert Duvall’s The Apostle, Sean Penn’s The Indian Runner, and Bill Duke’s Deep Cover.

I also liked The Apostle, but was not as sold on Assassination Tango.

What about Billy Bob Thornton’s films?

I recon I’m gonna have to kill you. Mmm-hmm.

I haven’t seen “All the Pretty Horses”. Is it worth a watch?

John Wayne’s “the Alamo”, but then again, thinking of all the John Wayne fans and Western fans in general, it might not be that unappreciated. I really like the film.

" not as sold on Assassination Tango."

Same here.

@ Shaun

All the Pretty Horses has some beautiful moments, but as it exists, it pretty uneven, but it’s also one of Harvey Weinstein’s more infamous recutting hatchet jobs. Thornton was contracted to deliver a cut that was under three hours long. Thornton’s cut was 2 hours and 42 minutes. Miramax took it and cut it down to 116 minutes. Thornton had also commissioned an original score from Daniel Lanois, which the studio scrapped and had the film re-scored by Marty Stuart.

Do actors like Affleck suffer from backlash when they get behind the camera?

Of course they do, some people will avoid watching a film just because they think the director is a poor actor.

I remember reading a contemporary review of “Green Berets” that tore apart his politics.
So I would think that in large part that most would be divided between the left and the right regarding that movie and others regarding appreciation.

“… just because they think the director is a poor actor.”

lol.

American Animal directed by and starring Matt D’Elia

Rob Stefaniuk – Suck

Not a great film (but how many rock’n’roll musical vampire comedies are?) and there are some very sly rock jokes.

There are two films, made by two actors who were also great friends, that weren’t necessarily ‘unappreciated’ in their respective years – each was up for the Oscar – but as the years now go on, they seem to be getting forgotten, which is unbelievably wrong. The films are Paul Newman’s Rachel, Rachel and Robert Redford’s Quiz Show.

Seriously, you really can’t get better filmmaking for each of the kinds of films these are.

Quiz Show is too largely forgotten, a great film, but people only talk about Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption. Quiz Show was solid all the way around — performances, cinematography, good direction by Redford.

The Apostle was a good one. Quiz Show is great!!! although Morrow is kind of weak imo.

As for All The Pretty Horses, i saw that recently and i have a hard time believing that Thornton’s director’s cut is anything special.

The book is excellent though, obviously.

Keith Gordon’s Waking the Dead, I think, is another film that is kinda lost in the shuffle and deserves more recognition.

Question: When does a director who use to act stop being an actor who directs?

I think of Gordon as a director, and Ron Howard as well (regardless of what people think of him).

Gordon, yeah. Although my favorite of Gordon’s films is Mother Night.