Line #26 Main/PigeonholedDirector


1	->''"I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach."''
2	-->-- '''Creator/AlfredHitchcock'''
3
4	Essentially the director's equivalent of TypeCasting, where certain directors are linked to a certain genre they work in, or are best remembered for one or more certain films.
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6	Most likely to happen because directors work in genre they know best, mostly if they also write. But they might as well be stuck in a genre they do not favor because an out of their genre product was their only success.
7	To be considered as an artist, a director is expected to have a unique feel to their works, which leads to this. Ostensibly the one time directors try and step out of the genre, they can be accused by fans of OscarBait, subscribing to TomHanksSyndrome and selling out, even if said project might be something they care about. This also makes it harder for them to start DoingItForTheArt because the kind of movies the director wants to make are not what the market and society expects from them. It's not that people don't like those kinds of movies, its just that they don't want those kind of movies from them.
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9	In some cases, the directors burst OutOfTheGhetto and fully reach the level where they can shift between multiple genres or find success in works entirely different from what they first became known for.
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11	----
12	!!Examples:
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14	* Creator/StanleyKubrick outsmarted genre pigeonholing by making a classic in every genre, sometimes more. He ended up being pigeonholed for his SignatureStyle instead, as he's best known for filming with a cold, controlled eye and slow, steady pacing.
15	* All [[Film/TrueLies but]] [[Film/Titanic1997 two]] of Creator/JamesCameron's films are science fiction.
16	* Creator/DavidFincher: Expect it to be gritty, stylish, morally murky, and concerning criminal goings-on (''Film/TheCuriousCaseOfBenjaminButton'' is the only outright exception so far, ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'' fits the bill aside from the grittiness and ''direct'' criminality - the FramingDevice are two lawsuits against Mark, and he does some nasty stuff in his path)
17	* Creator/StevenSpielberg is remembered for tales of childlike innocents or intrepid adventurers (or both) triumphing against an unforgiving world, usually in a sci-fi setting. May include ParentalNeglect and/or ParentalAbandonment. He finally broke out of pigeonholing when he made ''Film/SchindlersList'' which became commercially successful. His earlier attempts to break out of the genre (''Film/TheColorPurple1985'' and ''Film/EmpireOfTheSun'', as well as his first film, ''Film/TheSugarlandExpress'') were commercial disappointments and critically divisive though they did attract some support later on. Since then, Spielberg has been able to shift between genre science-fiction and serious period films, to the extent that ''Film/{{Lincoln}}'' and ''Film/BridgeOfSpies'' were far better received than more Spielbergian fare such as ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' and ''Film/TheBFG''.
18	* Creator/DavidCronenberg will always be a pioneer of BodyHorror even though he was dabbling in other genres as early as 1979's ''Fast Company'', an auto racing drama that brought together much of his ProductionPosse for the first time. Later on, he'd tackle literary and stage adaptations, crime dramas, a historical drama about Sigmund Freud, and even a satire of Hollywood. However, there's still a common SignatureStyle threaded through the bulk of these movies, as noted at that trope: "Basically, if it causes passions to flare in otherwise intelligent people, he’s there to analyze it."
19	* How many non-{{Thriller}} films has Creator/AlfredHitchcock done again?
20	** ''Film/MrAndMrsSmith1941'' -- A ScrewballComedy.
21	** ''Film/TheTroubleWithHarry'' is also a comedy, albeit a BlackComedy.
22	* Creator/EdgarWright is similar to Creator/StanleyKubrick in that he was more known for his meticulous SignatureStyle and animated fast pacing.
23	** In recent years, this has garnered a BrokenBase: some fans loved Wright's expansion into other genres. Others felt that he was best when sticking to comedies.
24	* Creator/QuentinTarantino doesn't have a genre stereotype unless "GenreThrowback" fits. Though most of his movies deal with criminals and hitmen, and he has a distinguished SignatureStyle - characters discussing other movies, the plot stopping for a while so people can trade [[SeinfeldianConversation witty banter]], [[ClusterFBomb swearing]] and [[NWordPrivileges slurs]], women's feet and [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank bloody]] [[AnyoneCanDie deaths]], [[BloodyHilarious at times]] [[DeathAsComedy for laughs]].
25	* Creator/DavidLynch: MindScrew. Lots and lots of MindScrew. Weirdly, for a few years in the early 1980s, he was considered a mainstream Oscar-friendly director after the success of ''Film/TheElephantMan'' (although even it is a little on the weird side, and apparently nobody had seen [[Film/{{Eraserhead}} his debut picture]]), which is why they gave him the ''Film/{{Dune\|1984}}'' movie. After that flopped, he dove right back into the MindScrew, and - with the exception of ''Film/TheStraightStory'' - never looked back, and has been getting progressively weirder since the late '90s.
26	* Creator/MartinScorsese has become synonymous with (organized) crime dramas with [[ClusterFBomb lots of swearing]], even though he's tried just about every genre you can imagine: musical, romantic comedy, documentary, Biblical epic, costume drama, even a biopic about the Dalai Lama. But the problem is that the only films of his which are successful commercially are the ones in the particular genre (''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' is about white collar crime rather than organized crime, but it's still crime, with lots of swearing), while films dealing with serious and more introspective themes (like ''Film/{{Silence}}'' and ''Literature/TheAgeOfInnocence'') were commercially unsuccessful.
27	* Creator/AkiraKurosawa is mostly known for his [[JidaiGeki samurai films]] in America but also made a number of films about contemporary post-war Japan.
28	* Creator/MichaelBay: Big, dumb, loud, action-heavy, vaguely misogynistic, even more vaguely racist, with thin characters, shaky plots and terrible dialogue, and things go BOOM a lot.
29	** Don't forget a blatant pro-military or pro-authority theme.
30	* Creator/TheWachowskis: {{Cyberpunk}} (or at least dystopia), in a flashy and stylized manner, with a strong anti-authoritarian streak, and a lot of philosophizing. When they tried to do something LighterAndSofter with ''Film/SpeedRacer'', the audience and critical reception was ugly.
31	* Creator/TerrenceMalick: Slooooooow and pretty and introspective.
32	* Creator/ChristopherNolan: Neo-noir, non-linear, psychological thrillers with obsessed protagonists and sleek modern urban settings and clothing.
33	* Creator/SamMendes: [[SceneryPorn Visually stunning, beautifully composed]] films about [[BlackAndGreyMorality morally flawed characters]], with themes involving [[BigScrewedUpFamily familial units]]. Despite these reoccurring traits, he tackled a wide variety of genres, from small-scale [[Film/{{American Beauty}} suburban]] [[Film/{{Revolutionary Road}} dramas]] to big-budget [[Film/{{Skyfall}} action]] [[Film/{{NineteenSeventeen}} thrillers]]
34	** Yes, ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' and ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' count as those movies. They're basically Mendes films with Film/JamesBond and contain big action set pieces (which are also done in a painterly composition).
35	** ''Film/AwayWeGo'' still has Mendes' quirks as a director (composed style, families, etc.) but the film is tonally optimistic and light-hearted compared to his previous work.
36	* Creator/GeorgeLucas: A GenreThrowback - as noted by both Franchise/StarWars and Franchise/IndianaJones - and period films - ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''. His debut, ''Film/{{THX 1138}}'', is the only exception.
37	* Creator/IshiroHonda, director behind the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' series also was known for being an assistant to Creator/AkiraKurosawa and directing a number of romance films.
38	* Creator/NicolasWindingRefn primarily makes slow-paced, brightly colored thrillers with a subtle BlackComedy streak, synth soundtracks and flashes of [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence.]]
39	* Creator/MNightShyamalan became known as "the guy who does twist endings." When he tried to make a big-budget film that didn't rely on a twist ending, the results were...[[Film/TheLastAirbender not well-received]].
40	* Creator/WesAnderson and Creator/NoahBaumbach are best known as "those guys who make quirky comedies about dysfunctional families". However, Anderson's movies are much more mainstream and colorful than Baumbach's (who abides by TrueArtIsAngsty).
41	* Creator/RolandEmmerich: sci-fi or regular action movies with lots of destruction (though with less escess than Creator/MichaelBay). He also seems to love TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. When he decided to break the mold with ''Film/Anonymous2011'', it was met with indifference.
42	* Creator/GeorgeARomero has directed only two non-horror films: 1971's ''[[Film/TheresAlwaysVanilla There's Always Vanilla]]'' and 1981's ''Knightriders''. Six of his fifteen films are zombie films in the series he began with ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968''.
43	* Creator/JohnFord's westerns, usually with Creator/JohnWayne.
44	* Creator/SergioLeone and the SpaghettiWestern. Only his first and last movie were out of the genre.
45	** Ensemble is hardly the [[Franchise/UniversalHorror first]] or even the [[Film/HammerHorror second]] studio to get pigeonholed, either.
46	* Creator/BazLuhrmann: {{Period Piece}}s (with [[PopStarComposer anachronistic soundtracks]], most of the time), a cliched romance, and fast-paced editing that's hard to follow and even watch.
47	* Creator/DonMancini is the guy who only makes Film/ChildsPlay movies and that's just about it.
48	* Creator/KevinSmith is the guy who makes comedies where people curse a lot and make vulgar sex references. Except for Film/RedState.
49	* Creator/TimBurton is always making weird fantasy films that star Creator/JohnnyDepp and Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter. Most of the characters have white faces and are outcasts to society.
50	* Creator/TheFarrellyBrothers are always doing gross-out comedies that last for two hours. They have edited down their movies because of this. The original cut of ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary'' was three hours long.
51	** The same goes for Creator/JuddApatow who also only makes gross-out Creator/FratPack comedies that are two hours long. Most of the extras on his [=DVDs=] are deleted scenes. Even if they're not on the deleted scenes section.
52	* Creator/EliRoth states that he only wants to make horror movies. Nothing else.
53	* Creator/ZuckerAbrahamsAndZucker only make spoof movies.
54	** The same goes for Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg, just [[ShallowParody shallower]].
55	* Creator/JamesWan is the guy who mostly makes horror movies. So far only two of his movies, ''Film/Furious7'' and ''Film/Aquaman2018'' have been non-horror. Oddly enough, [[BlackSheepHit those two exceptions are his highest-grossing films]], grossing over a billion each. Even then, ''Aquaman'' contains horrors elements from [[XenomorphXerox The Trench]], to the point where he was at one point slated to make a fully horror spinoff about them.
56	* The films of Creator/JimJarmusch tend to have plots that are very episodic in nature, with lots of character interaction, deadpan or offbeat humor, and very little in the way of action. Even when dealing with genres such as a vampire movie, such as ''Film/OnlyLoversLeftAlive'', or a RomanticComedy such as ''Film/BrokenFlowers'', his trademarks stay very much intact.
57	* Creator/TheCoenBrothers always make crime comedies, or crime thrillers, or crime dramas.
58	* Creator/GenUrobuchi is well-famed for horror and dark themes. He actively tried to hide his involvement with ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', because he knew it would tip off the fans.
59	* Creator/WesCraven was known for directing horror/thriller films almost exclusively, with the exception of 1999's musical drama ''Music of the Heart''.
60	* Creator/ZackSnyder makes heavily stylized fantasy or sci-fi action films, often comic book-based.
61	* Creator/JeanPierreJeunet: outside of ''Film/AlienResurrection'', he makes dream-like and nostalgic ambiance films with [[ColorWash sepia filters]].

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