# Worst Hollywood director **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402 "2005-12-28T03:48:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/41 "2005-12-28T20:20:20Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think we need to hate on Michael Bay. Sure his movies have been mostly junk, but that’s what he’s all about. He unashamedly treats movies as disposable, shallow, popcorn-popping fare. His movies make money, are a spectacle and acomplish exaclty what he intends. The problem I have with him is not that he makes popcorn movies. It’s that he fails on that level. There are good ways and poor ways to do even that. For one, they’re completely over-edited. Take **The Rock**. IIRC, you had a Hummer chasing a ferrari in San Francisco. Can’t miss, right? Wrong. The chase is so chopped up, you can’t tell the two cars are in the same city, much less on the same street. Close up of Ferrari going around corner. Cut. Close up of Hummer ramming car. Cut. Close up of person jumping out of way of Ferarri. Cut. Go watch the chase in **Ronin** , then watch **The Rock**. But, you know what. . .the people who see his movies don’t pay attention. They come out going, “Ferrari! Hummer! San Fran! Awesome!” Sorry, not awesome. I got nothing against a car chase. I got something against his. His fight scenes are worse. And, he ALWAYS throws in this little non-sense heart-tugging sidelines. The father/son thing in Rock. The girl in **Con-Air**. You always see it coming a mile away. And even if I did like that style, it’s something that seems to take absolutely no art or craft. They look like anyone could make the exact same movie if given the same screenplay. That’s not true of most of the people on this list. Bay is completely bland and forgettable. That said, I still might see _The Island_. I’ve heard better things about it. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/42 "2005-12-28T20:23:36Z")
Sorry, he didn’t do Con-Air. I always clumped Conair and the rock together. I think cause of Nick Cage. Anyway, change that example to the girl in “Armageddon”. Same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/43 "2005-12-28T20:39:20Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Sorry, he didn’t do Con-Air. I always clumped Conair and the rock together. I think cause of Nick Cage. > > Anyway, change that example to the girl in “Armageddon”. Same thing. I was gonna say, Simon West did Con Air. But basically, both of those directors came out of Propaganda Films, where they “came up” shooting commercials and music videos, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer pretty much rubber-stamps every action movie they make, so they all have that similar look and feel. Bay gets a bad rap, and perhaps deservedly so, but he’s just doing what Bruckheimer wants. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/44 "2005-12-28T20:42:57Z")
Easier still: **Ken Russell**. From _Tommy_ to _Lisztomania_ to _The Devils_ , this guy gave new meaning to the word “Hack”. (Dis)Honorable mention: **Douglas Sirk** , the king of the '50s weepies. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/45 "2005-12-28T21:56:50Z")
Sigh, once again I’m shocked by some of the names that come up in best/worst of threads. I disagree with the nominations of Lynch and Verhoeven and am completely flabbergasted that someone would call Hitchcock overrated. He definitely deserves his place in the pantheon of director-gods. Heck, his name has even been adjectivized: Hitchcockian. Not many directors can claim that kind of influence. On the other hand, I completely agree that Bay and Schumacher deserve to be on this list and I’d like to add one more: Jan De Bont. He’s actually had a long and distinguished career as a cinematographer but his output as director has uniformly sucked. From _Speed_ to _Twister_ to the execrable remake of the _Haunting_ he’s yet to direct anything that isn’t downright risible. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/46 "2005-12-28T22:28:12Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > Easier still: **Ken Russell**. From _Tommy_ to _Lisztomania_ to _The Devils_ , this guy gave new meaning to the word “Hack”. OTOH, I found _Lair of the White Worm_ and _Gothic_ incredibly fun and _Salome’s Last Dance_ one of my favorite movies ever. No accounting for taste. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/47 "2005-12-28T22:33:26Z")
Didn’t Ken Russell direct “Women in Love”? I think that is a wonderful film. So he made at least one really good one, while most were indeed over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/48 "2005-12-28T22:47:24Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > Why is it sad? I was impressed with Ebert’s willingness to reevaluate the edited version of a film he’d so thoroughly excoriated the first time. To me there was a kind of bought-offness to the conversion. I really haven’t taken Ebert seriously since the latter years of his partnership with Siskel, when the two would call crappy movies “instant classics” and seemed to lose their critical edge. > [@](#): > > As for Gallo being the worst director: Well, I haven’t seen _Brown Bunny_ and probably won’t, but I enjoyed _Buffalo 66_. It wasn’t good enough to qualify him as a “great” director by any means, but it was definitely strong enough to get him out of the running for Worst. Never seen his stuff, no interest. I didn’t nominate him in this thread, either, but I think any director that would feature himself in a hardcore porn scene has some exceptional issues. ---
**Author:** ![Phantom\_Dennis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/49 "2005-12-28T22:55:55Z")
I opened this thread specifically to nominate Schumacher, and it doesn’t surprise me that I’m not the first to mention his name. His films (with the possible exception of _Lost Boys_) are almost entirely built of style with barely a grain of substance. And his style is somewhere between “cheesy” and “flakey”. Or perhaps “corny”. Hmm… I must be getting hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Floyd\_Remora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Floyd\_Remora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floyd_Remora)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/50 "2005-12-28T23:00:02Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Well, this thing is going to get heated really fast… Why’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/51 "2005-12-28T23:05:18Z")
> [@Floyd Remora](#): > > Why’s that? There’s at least one die hard Verhoeven on the board. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/52 "2005-12-28T23:13:20Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I gotta toss Renny Harlin into the mix. Jeez ,you beat me to the punch ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/53 "2005-12-28T23:14:14Z")
> [@well he's back](#): > > Didn’t Ken Russell direct “Women in Love”? I think that is a wonderful film. So he made at least one really good one, while most were indeed over the top. Hey, I liked _Crimes of Passion,_ but not because of Russell. And _Tommy_ was just awfulo. I do have to admit _Women in Love_ is not too bad, in terms of the direction, though. I just watched the trailer for _Crimes of Passion,_ and discovered that Russell also did _Altered States._ Okay he’s out of the running. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/54 "2005-12-28T23:20:22Z")
Victor Salva is a director who molested an underage actor in one of his movies (Clownland,i think).he went on (after prison) to write and direct a Disney movie,Powder.If you know his history,then watch the movie,it is a definitely queasy experience ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/55 "2005-12-29T01:04:33Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > There’s at least one die hard Verhoeven on the board. There are several. Anyway, though I’ll agree on Bay and Schumacher (though Schumacher gets a near pass for writing _Car Wash)_, I think the most consistently bad director in mainstream hollywood has to be **Nora Ephron**. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/56 "2005-12-29T01:08:28Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > Easier still: **Ken Russell**. From _Tommy_ to _Lisztomania_ to _The Devils_ , this guy gave new meaning to the word “Hack”. > > (Dis)Honorable mention: **Douglas Sirk** , the king of the '50s weepies. Even at their worst, both of these directors showed a unique and bizarre vision. They certainly aren’t hacks, by any stretch of the meaning of that word. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/57 "2005-12-29T02:30:31Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Wow, just wow. I mean he’s not the second coming or anything but Ocean’s Eleven alone gets him a free pass in this thread. > [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Let’s not forget **Out Of Sight** , which is not only the best Elmore Leonard adaptation {against some fairly stiff recent competition}, but made me regard George Clooney as more than just Tom Selleck for the 90’s _and_ made Jennifer Lopez look good. And **The Limey** was fucking great. OK let’s review his films: Ocean’s Twelve - sucked Solaris - sucked Full Frontal - sucked Ocean’s Eleven - overrated fluff Traffic - overrated fluff Erin Brockovich - overrated fluff The Limey - sucked _ass_ Out of Sight - The half that I saw sucked. I’ll concede its possible the other half didn’t suck as much. Gray’s Anatomy (1996) - Good - but only because he was filming Spalding Gray’s monologue Sex, Lies, and Videotape - Sucked and overrated I never saw the following, but since I’ve already wasted too much of my life watching Soderbergh movies, I’ll have to assume they also suck or are overrated fluff: The Underneath, King of the Hill, Kafka, Schizopolis, Winston, Yes The OP said “or most overrated,” remember. I wouldn’t call Soderbergh the worst director in Hollywood. But he’s definitely the most overrated I can think of. He consistently gets outrageous accollades for his crap and/or fluff. Including Best Director for Traffic, which, aside from the filters, is a thoroughly pedestrian movie. You can expect about as much insight and creativity from your typical primetime drama. Bay and Schumacher are also pedestrian directors - but nobody’s putting them in for Best Director. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/58 "2005-12-29T02:34:04Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > Even at their worst, both of these directors showed a unique and bizarre vision. They certainly aren’t hacks, by any stretch of the meaning of that word. I totally agree. The movies are incredibly fun to watch too. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/59 "2005-12-29T03:42:47Z")
I actually liked Soderbergh’s “King of the Hill” and it’s not at all like his other films. I think I like it though because I descend from a poor family in St. Louis. ---
**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 29, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402/60 "2005-12-29T04:01:42Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned him yet: **Roland Emmerich** Without a doubt, one of the most talentless hacks working today. Independence Day, Godzilla, Stargate, Day After Tomorrow etc. Ed Wood was more entertaining… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-hollywood-director/337402.md?page=4)