8 First Time Directors Who Got Hired For Major Films

People don't just get handed million-dollar blockbusters, nor do studios go door-to-door looking for someone to direct the next Jurassic Park. That's why the following list of first time directors - while seemingly out of nowhere - certainly had backgrounds directing stuff like music videos or commercials.



Still - they were untested in feature filmmaking, and to the un-obsessed public it would appear that studios simply plucked a dude off the street. Like giving a small child a semi truck, the results were mixed.




8. SIMON WEST - CON AIR



Honestly there are way bigger films I could have put in place of Con Air. For example, you won't see J.J. ABRAMS on this list despite him starting his feature career with Mission Impossible 3. The reason why is simple: J.J. Abrams didn't direct "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley.



Yep. SIMON WEST, the director who with an awesome action film starring a handful of actors who were probably way too good to be there is also the person we can thank for Rickrolling. Aside from Rick Astley, that is.



7. MARCUS NISPEL - THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE



I have a theory on horror movie remakes - a good formula in terms of gauging the quality: If the original's sequels were terrible, then remake will be terrible. Evil Dead got a good remake with highly favored sequels, Halloween got a so-so remake because of it's mixed quality sequels, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre got some terrible sequels, and a terrible remake.



The reason? The sequels point out how much you can do with a plot before people are sick of it - in Texas Chainsaw's case, the only shining light was seeing DENNIS HOPPER go berserk with a chainsaw.



Anyway, I think I'm supposed to mention that this is the first feature for MARCUS NISPEL, who has that didn't piss me off. Nispel came to it from directing music video docs and went right back to them.



6. MCG - CHARLIE'S ANGELS



I remember watching, for some ungodly reason, the behind the scenes features for the first Charlie's Angels DVD. From them, I remember thinking that the one thing MCG had going for him was that he seemed at least genuinely excited about making the movie. Unfortunately that was the only thing he had going for him.



Before remaking the old TV show, he was shooting such music videos as "Walking On The Sun" and "Pretty Fly For A White Guy" - which means that surprisingly enough, Terminator Salvation is probably the best thing .



5. RUPERT SANDERS - SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN



By this point you've probably figured out why the title uses the term "major films" and not "good films." Snow White And The Huntsman probably wasn't that bad - just passable and forgettable. I say "probably" because after watching this movie I immediately forgot every plot point.



Before getting picked for a live action Snow White, RUPERT SANDERS did a called Black Hole and nothing else. You can if you feel like wondering why the hell someone thought this guy should direct a major film that didn't involve annoying laughter and HR Giger-inspired tail sex montages.
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