# How important is the director to you on whether you see a movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679 "2012-12-20T23:02:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/21 "2012-12-21T01:46:58Z")
There are some directors I like better than others but I will always see a David Cronenberg film while I will always skip Joss Whedon. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/22 "2012-12-21T02:01:08Z")
I will see anything by John Sayles or the Coen Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/23 "2012-12-21T03:07:19Z")
I don’t know that it’s ever crossed my mind. I’ve seen movies for actors but that’s about it. Usually I’m a plot girl. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/24 "2012-12-21T03:16:09Z")
Doesn’t matter to me, with two exceptions. I’ll go out of my way to see a movie where Wheden is involved, and won’t spend a dime to see anything Shamalon or whatever his name is. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/25 "2012-12-21T03:25:01Z")
I second ‘anything by the Coen brothers’. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/26 "2012-12-21T03:49:49Z")
If a director has a good record I might see a movie based on that reputation. But usually something else interests me about a movie and I’ll watch it without considering the director at all. Same with actors really. I’m mainly interested in what kind of movie it is, and what it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/27 "2012-12-21T06:32:17Z")
As a movie, ah, aficionado the director is _ **everything** _. Obviously first-timers or still newish ones are a crap shoot, but there’s a pretty short list of definitely good vs. definitely bad: **ALWAYS GOOD** [ul] [li]Kubrick[/li][li]Spielberg (though he’s come close to bad a few times, when he’s good he’s awesome)[/li][li]James Cameron[/li][li]Coen Bros[/li][li]Scorsese[/li][li]Milos Foreman[/li][li]Sidney Pollack[/li][li]Robert Altman[/li][li]Tarantino[/li][/ul] **ALWAYS BAD** [ul] [li]Michael Bay[/li][li]Renny Harlan[/li][li]Roland Emmerich[/li][li]The Wachowski Bros (sorry, first Matrix was a fluke, everything since, total crap)[/li][/ul] Then there are some that are about **50/50** : [ul] [li]Coppola[/li][li]Bob Zemekis[/li][li]Ron Howard[/li][li]Peter Jackson[/li][li]Ridley Scott[/li][li]Tim Burton[/li][li]Terry Gilliam[/li][li]David Fincher[/li][li]John McTiernan[/li][li]Amy Heckerling[/li][li]Oliver Stone[/li][li]Brian De Palma[/li][/ul] Just my opinion anyway… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/28 "2012-12-21T10:58:08Z")
It’s usually not that important. For one, it’s rare that I know who the director is. And, when I do, it’s almost always someone I don’t like, and I can tell I wouldn’t like the movie even if I didn’t know who the director was (like Michael Bay). The few exceptions are people who are writer-directors, like Kevin Smith or Joss Whedon. But it’s the writing I like, not the directing. I just know that they tend to only direct movies that fit their writing style. Because, honestly, the director just doesn’t have a lot of input to make a movie good, just to make it bad. ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/29 "2012-12-21T11:02:43Z")
There was a time when I’d give my favourite directors the benefit of the doubt, but for me it generally depends on the actors and story. I’d watch William H. Macy in just about anything. Almost every Woody Allen flick has some redeeming quality. I would never watch anything by the Coen Brothers or Brett Ratner. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/30 "2012-12-21T13:02:03Z")
I’m more interested in plot and actors. It’s rare that I even know who the director is, or would be able to name anything else he had done. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/31 "2012-12-21T13:09:09Z")
> [@](#): > > I swing all over the place. If it’s a director that I’m a fan of … I’d probably go see a film of his toe nails growing. If it’s a director that I actively dislike … I probably wouldn’t see one of his movies if a blow-job for me was included. I hear Michael Bay gives lousy head too. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/32 "2012-12-21T14:18:26Z")
There are literally no directors for whom I will undoubtedly go see their next movie. There are a few that I tend to like though. I will never watch a Mel Gibson directed or acted-in movie because of his antisemitism. M Night Shyamalamadingdong is another who I will actively avoid. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/33 "2012-12-21T17:55:57Z")
It depends. Most movies I see, I don’t pay attention to who’s directing it, and many of the cases where I do know who’s directing, it doesn’t make a difference (I would have seen _The Avengers_ even without Joss Whedon directing, for instance). But it does matter sometimes. For instance, that upcoming movie (whose title I cannot remember) with the giant robots fighting Lovecraftian monsters-- If it were Michael Bay, I wouldn’t bother. With del Toro directing it, though, I hold out hope that it might actually turn out to be good. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/34 "2012-12-21T18:02:09Z")
> [@Greekfreak](#): > > I’d watch William H. Macy in just about anything .(…) I would never watch anything by the Coen Brothers (…) And that leaves you not watching **Fargo** , yes? I used to care more about directors, but I’ve been burned too often, and now go pretty much by the collected reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/35 "2012-12-21T18:10:23Z")
I’ll go see most anything by the Coen Brothers, Werner Herzog, and Wes Anderson. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/36 "2012-12-21T18:57:01Z")
Never get to excited about anything by Tim Burton or Oliver Stone,will get around to watching them eventually,maybe. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/37 "2012-12-21T19:07:50Z")
The biggest determiner of what movies I see is the general consensus of critics. For example, if the “Tomato-Meter” at [Rottentomatoes.com](http://Rottentomatoes.com) rates a movie 98%, I will be inclined to go see it. There are exceptions - if it’s clearly a kids’ movie, I will avoid it regardless of rating. The director of a movie usually doesn’t make a bit of difference. Again, there are exceptions - I will avoid Michael Bay movies and be drawn to Coen brothers movies - but the name of the director is very low on the list of things that determine which movies I see. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/38 "2012-12-21T19:11:22Z")
I’ll absolutely see anything by the Coen Bros. or Wes Anderson in the theaters. I’ll absolutely avoid anything by Peter Jackson or Tim Burton. Most everyone else falls into the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/39 "2012-12-21T20:27:21Z")
No, I don’t really care about directors. Oddly, the only director I’ll watch a movie specifically for is Terrence Malick. This is because of a lingering admiration for the movie _Badlands_. I don’t even check out movies for a specific actor. While I like Sissy Spacek, Billy Bob Thornton, and a few others, I don’t go stand in line when a new movie of theirs comes out. Mostly, I go to movies if the subject being depicted is something I’m interested in. The latest example of this is the fine movie _Lincoln_. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679/40 "2012-12-21T20:30:22Z")
Whether the director matters or not depends on the director. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-important-is-the-director-to-you-on-whether-you-see-a-movie/644679.md?page=3)