Line #103 Main/PrimaDonnaDirector


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5	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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11	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prima_donna_director.png]]
12	[[caption-width-right:350:Keep in mind that this illustration from ''Photoplay'' magazine dates back to ''[[OlderThanTelevision 1921]]!'']]
13
14	->''"The only place where you can be a dictator and still be loved is on the movie set."''
15	-->-- '''Creator/FedericoFellini'''
16
17	[[MoodSwinger He laughs and cries. He jokes and rages.]] He begs, he cajoles, he screams, he threatens suicide. He [[ChewingTheScenery eats so much of the background that it has to be replaced between takes]], and he'll [[MeanBoss eat your face too]] if you try to correct him.
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19	He's also not on stage.
20
21	The worst nightmare an actor, especially in the world of fiction, can face is a director of this type. He's [[LargeHam hammier]] than Creator/BrianBlessed and has an ''[[ThePerfectionist extremely]]'' [[ThePerfectionist exacting interpretation of his own artistic vision]]. He believes himself to be lord of the studio and no one dares to correct him, including those higher up the executive ladder (i.e. ''his'' bosses). Often times he can act better (or at least more dramatically) than all of his actors put together, and he expects each and every one of his staff to be up to his standards. He will [[GloryHound take sole credit for the production and will shamelessly steal other people's brilliant ideas and pass them off as his own]].
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23	One wonders why he hasn't been fired yet if they are so temperamental. But sometimes, it's because [[CrazyEnoughToWork his methods work]]. He actually ''can'' make his vision real [[ChristmasRushed within a given deadline]], with an amazing high-quality standard, setting him somewhere near the BunnyEarsLawyer and InsufferableGenius category. If this guy has a redeeming feature, that's it. In RealLife, there is a multitude of reasons why people may be difficult to be around, and especially when it comes to a creative endeavor some just don't play well with others. And often it may be that they have a good relationship with the producers or crew but fight with the actors, or any combination thereof. Thus explaining why they keep their job.
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25	ThePrimaDonna is what happens when this person is in front of the camera instead. Contrast WagTheDirector. Can very easily become the film-making equivalent of the MadArtist. He can often be found making LeFilmArtistique -- or, at the very least, he'll claim that he'll be trying to make this to get away with throwing petulant tantrums a six-year-old would be called out over.
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27	The [[RecordProducer Record Producer from Hell]] and the Acrimonious Producer are the musical equivalents.
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29	Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease Even if it is TruthInTelevision (plenty of examples can be found in our TroubledProduction and HostilityOnTheSet pages).
30
31	[[noreallife]]
32	----
33	!!In-Universe Examples
34
35	[[foldercontrol]]
36
37	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38	* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Haruhi herself, when she has the SOS Brigade make a film. She throws tantrums and even goes as far as to [[spoiler:drug Mikuru]] for the purpose of filming a "love scene".
39	* ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' has a nature documentary director who puts a captive orangutan in his documentary of African wildlife and yells at his workers to use it despite their cries of MisplacedWildlife (he defended his claim that there are orangutans in Africa on the basis that [[CircularReasoning the captive one he's filming is in Africa]]). He goes so far as to make them start a large fire in the jungle just to film a stampede.
40	* ''Manga/SailorMoon'' had an episode where Rei becomes this when she's in charge of organizing the entertainment for her school's Fall Festival. She's shown being extremely temperamental with her classmates, often decrying ''"[[SurroundedByIdiots Do I have to do everything myself?!]]"''. Her friends note that her narcissism is in full bloom, and suggest that she's using the festival to promote herself, as she bills her singing act as the main attraction. This turns out to be a case of AwesomeEgo, as her performance was well received by the audience.
41	* Takezou Nogame, the author of ''[[ShowWithinAShow The Third Aerial Girls' Squad]]'' in ''Anime/{{Shirobako}}'', ordered a rewrite for the script of the anime adaptation of his manga because he didn't like it... [[SubvertedTrope except]] [[spoiler: this is a lie told by Chazawa, the incompetent liaison between the anime studio and the publisher, to save his own ass since he hasn't been doing his job. When the script's writer gets fed up with Chazawa and forces a meeting with Nogame, he's actually very reasonable, even changing his original DownerEnding as a compromise with the anime studio.]]
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Fan Works]]
45	* ''Blog/MiraculousRewrite'': Thomas Astruc is depicted as one of these in "Animaestro", dismissing legitimate critiques of his Ladybug movie by claiming that the critics in question focused too much on "trivial things" and whining about how they're ignoring his "interesting" story (which appears to be a ClicheStorm judging from the comments) in favor of that.
46	* Some ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fics depict Nino as one whenever his AcquiredSituationalNarcissism kicks in. Tellingly in ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'' where Marinette tells him to knock it off or [[CutYourHeartOutWithASpoon she'll impale him with a clipboard]].
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
50	* The director in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'' believed that the best way to get an authentic performance out of Bolt [[EnforcedMethodActing was to make the dog believe he was a real superdog and his owner was actually in mortal danger]], ruining Bolt and Penny's home life. He even dared to do a TakeThat in the production ''immediately'' after a [[ExecutiveMeddling network rep complained]], and ''in her face'', no less.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
54	* [[Creator/ChristopherWalken Hal Weidmann]] from ''Film/AmericasSweethearts'' drives the studio executives nuts by holding the final movie starring the titular sweethearts hostage, refusing to let anyone see it until the press junket. He's deeply eccentric but is said to have won several Oscars already so the studio has to play along. We eventually learn ''why'' he's refusing to let anyone see the film: he didn't actually make it. Having decided the script was terrible he decided to let the shoot continue but installed hidden cameras throughout the set to capture the bad behavior and raging egos of the cast and crew as a ''cinema verite'' piece. By the time the lights go up the studio head is humiliated, the [[BitchInSheepsClothing lead actress]] is threatening to sue and the leading man (who actually ended up looking pretty decent, if a tad intense) is already making plans to work with him again.
55	* Marty Wolff in ''Film/BigFatLiar'' is a case of Prima Donna Producer. The actual director of the [[ShowWithinAShow Movie within a Movie]], Dusty Wong, is actually fairly reasonable and is one of Wolff's many chew toys.
56	* PlayedForDrama in ''Film/BlackSwan''. In his "visceral and real" production of ''Theatre/SwanLake'', Thomas is insistent on casting a Swan Queen who can perform both the innocent and sweet White Swan and the cruel, erotic Black Swan with all of her heart -- and if that means sexual harassment of the lead ballerina, including pushing her into a breakdown and total insanity, so be it.
57	* The late Creator/DomDeLuise as Buddy Bizarre in ''Film/BlazingSaddles''. (Though, given that a massive Western brawl had just burst through the wall into his musical number, he's hardly overreacting.)
58	%%* Luke from ''Film/StarVehicle''.
59	* Creator/LiamNeeson as egotistical horror film director Peter Swan in ''Film/TheDeadPool''.
60	* The Crypt Keeper in ''Film/DemonKnight'' takes on this role, berating Creator/JohnLarroquette ("Where'd they dig ''this'' guy up from?") for his performance.
61	-->'''Crypt Keeper:''' Cut! Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut! What the hell are you doing? You call that [[{{Pun}} "hack-ting"]]?\
62	'''John:''' Well, yes, I do call it ''acting''.\
63	'''Crypt Keeper:''' Well, let me tell you something. You're no [[Creator/GaryCooper "Gorey" Cooper]]. You ain't even a [[Creator/RobertRedford Robert "Deadford"]]. Another take like that and it'll be back to bit parts for you, and I won't say what bits I'm talking about!
64	* At the end of ''Film/FreeEnterprise'', Mark becomes one of these, while filming, well, the film you're currently watching. When he yells at an assistant to go find Creator/WilliamShatner, who's supposed to be playing himself, his wife complains that he's a jerk.
65	* Creator/LouisdeFunes when not playing a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive crooked businessman]] , a [[MeddlesomePatrolman irate policeman]] or a [[ThePerfectionist demanding restaurateur/food critic]] with [[FrenchCuisineisHaughty high standards for french cuisine]]. Both his characters Stanislas Lefort (''Film/LaGrandeVadrouille''), an orchestral conductor, and Evans Evan (''Film/LHommeOrchestre'')), a ballet company manager, are ''INCREDIBLY'' perfectionists and often work their musicians/performers completely nuts.
66	* The Creator/BurtReynolds movie ''Film/{{Hooper}}'' has Roger Deal, played by Creator/RobertKlein. Roger is absolutely committed to his frequently-changing vision of the FilmWithinAFilm "The Spy Who Laughed at Danger". In particular, he demands more (and more dangerous) stuntwork, and frequently plays people against each other to get what he wants. [[spoiler: In the end, Roger semi-apologizes to Hooper, confident that he'll accept. Hooper replies, "As usual, Roger...you're wrong," and punches him out.]]
67	* In ''Film/IrreconcilableDifferences'', Albert Bronsky goes from being a geeky film scholar to an obnoxious, diva-ish film director who takes up with a much younger actress, who is starring in his film. He's loosely but obviously based on Creator/PeterBogdanovich.
68	* ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'': Sebastian, the director of the Feebles variety show. He yells at all the cast, dismisses their assorted problems (up to and including death) as mere annoyances, assigns the new kid to the knife-throwing act for questioning his choreography; and, against the producer's explicit orders, uses the last-minute cancellation of several acts as an excuse to go on stage himself and do a song-and-dance number about [[spoiler: sodomy.]]
69	%%* Willem Dafoe as Carson Clay in ''Film/MrBeansHoliday''.
70	* In ''Film/RepoJake'', porn producer King, played by Robert Axelrod, has this winner:
71	-->'''Porn Director:''' Hey, it's in the script.\
72	'''King:''' '''[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck]]''' the script! These girls can't '''''read'''''. People like to see black guys fucking white, blonde women. Here's your plot: [[ExcusePlot they all just took a love drug]], they've all got their clothes off, and they're fucking and sucking the shit out of each other and that's the movie you're gonna make, you got it?
73	* Seanna Birmingham from ''Film/TheRemake'', for another producer example.
74	* ''[[Film/CabinByTheLake Return to Cabin by the Lake]]'': The movie-within-a-movie ''Cabin by the Lake'''s director Mike Helton is a complete tool and sleaze who [[CastingCouch sleeps with his female leads in exchange for future job offers]], constantly hurls abuse at his co-workers, demands to micromanage every aspect of the production, and falsely claims to be an expert on the (not actually) deceased serial killer the film is about. After [[VillainProtagonist Stanley]] gets rid of him, no one except the two female stars really questions his disappearance.
75	* The director from ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' is pretty much that in most of his scenes -- though to be honest, how else can you react when faced with an ''actual'' Prima Donna?
76	* Steven, when he begins to go insane, in ''Film/SkeletonCrew''.
77	-->"Fucking cut! Cut! Cut! Fucking cut! You bunch of incompetent fucks! What the fuck is wrong with you? Huh? Do any of you have any fucking vision? Do you know how to make a fucking motion picture? Mike! Darius! Where did you leave your skills? L.A.? Bruce, you're a fucking professional actor! You're acting like a wet pile of shit! Sort it out! Fuck! This script I wrote last night, this is the new fucking film! This is what I'm gonna be remembered for! This is the fucking masterpiece! Wrap your heads around that, the lot of you! And will you fucking Finnish film school fucks from whatever fucking unpronounceable town you came from go back there and learn your fucking skills!? Fuck! Fucking fucks!"
78	* ''Film/StrokerAce'': The man directing Stroker's radio commercial is a subdued variant. He groans about Stroker's performance despite Stroker genuinely following his directions and contemplates putting Lugs in the booth until Lugs suggests he could sing the slogan. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere This causes him to drop his headphones and split.]]
79	* Eli Cross, Creator/PeterOToole's character ''Film/TheStuntMan''. And he sometimes went around in a helicopter chair, which made him more unsettling. (O'Toole stated he based Cross on his ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' director Creator/DavidLean so take that as you will.)
80	* Creator/TomCruise's character in ''Film/TropicThunder'' is a spot-on example, except that Les Grossman is a ''producer'' instead of a director. Damien Cockburn also has shades of this ("The chopper is God and I am Jesus Christ His Son") but it isn't clear whether it's an inherent trait or if it's the result of the pressure of having his feature film debut be a major blockbuster with a bunch of prima donna actors.
81	* John Wilson in ''Film/WhiteHunterBlackHeart'' a strong-willed, intelligent man who nevertheless places his own desires above his ideals, who rails at Hollywood's dishonesty and yet is not above keeping an expensive film on hold while he abandons his location to go elephant shooting.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Literature]]
85	* In ''Literature/BrideOfTheRatGod'', Miklos Hraldy obsesses about symbolism and complains about the studio cutting his earlier six-hour epic of human drama down to a length that audiences will actually consider watching.
86	* In the ''INTER Active Secret Agent File: Orbit Of Fear'' game book, the BigBad is Mr Mogul, an absolute MadArtist of a director/producer. He's so obsessed with being in control of every aspect of production that he's moved his studios into outer space and replaced all his actors and crew with robots, but even ''that'' doesn't stop him from flying into narcissistic rage at the slightest delay. For good measure, when he catches the reader infiltrating his space station, he has you funnelled into a deadly game show and put on trial in a televised KangarooCourt for daring to defy the rules of his RichReclusesRealm... and when the ratings turn against him, [[VIllainousBreakdown he sets out to barbecue the world with satellite weapons]] and make his magnum opus in filming the apocalypse.
87	* ''Literature/LostLight'': The director of the ''Void Moon'' movie is a prima donna who insists on having $2 million in real money to use as a prop--it's a crime drama about the theft of a BriefcaseFullOfMoney--despite the fact that most movies don't use real cash and the full $2 million won't ever get in the shot anyway. This insistence on verisimilitude naturally facilitates an armed robbery on the movie set.
88	* The ''Literature/SergeStorms'' novel ''The Big Bamboo'' is centered around the production of a movie being made by a third-rate studio, that hired a once-great director who had gone senile. Included in the film at the director's insistence are recreations of the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Death Star, despite the fact that the movie is about an oil scam in Alabama. American viewers rightly rejected it as awful, [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible but artsy film critics in Europe thought it was brilliant]], and successfully got the director a posthumous Oscar.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
92	* On ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', Dick turned into this trope when he directed a SchoolPlay of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''. He got fired eventually.
93	* In ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'', Mr. Humphries became this whenever the cast [[HeyLetsPutOnAShow puts on a show.]]
94	* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'':
95	** Naturally, when Diane is allowed to get behind a camera, she's one of these, scolding the gang for not following her pretentious and overblown direction ("You're ''ruining'' the mise-en-scene!") and eventually storming out.
96	** Many years later, Cliff is asked to direct a home movie for Woody and his girlfriend Kelly. He insists on doing dozens of takes because he doesn't think either of them are convincing enough. Eventually, Frasier finally takes over... [[HereWeGoAgain and reduces Kelly to tears because her first take isn't satisfying to him]].
97	* In the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Documentary Making: Redux", Dean Pelton is tasked with filming a thirty-second commercial advertising the school and is given $2000 to do so. It ends up costing over $17000, involves green-screen, costumes, and [[Film/TheGodfather strategic placement of oranges]], and turns the Dean into a tantrum-throwing maniac who ends up causing the nervous breakdowns of almost every single one of his students. At one point, he [[LeaveTheCameraRunning films Britta and Troy turning and hugging for]] ''twelve hours straight''.
98	* The ''Series/DreamOn'' two-parter "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told" has Sir Roland Moorecock, who would make for a great [[BritishStuffiness stuffy Brit]] if he weren't busy with his film work (he's played by Music/DavidBowie). At the end, he's chewing out the lead actors when Martin steps in to chew ''him'' out, on behalf of all those present, for his unyielding snobbishness and cruelty...whereupon Sir Roland proves himself the best actor of the lot by successfully pretending to be shamed before gleefully declaring "I DON'T CARE!"
99	* In the 1970s educational series ''Series/TheElectricCompany1971'', Rita Moreno played one of these, named Otto (a ShoutOut to Otto Preminger), complete with a riding crop, as a recurring character. [[Creator/MorganFreeman The man who held cue cards for her]] was terrified of her.
100	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' becomes one of these while directing a radio production for his station's anniversary. During the script reading alone he drives one of the cast to quit by repeatedly criticizing the voices he (a professional Broadway actor), used for the characters (such as his voice for the dwarf sounding "''Too Tall''"). Things do ''not'' get better on the day of the performance.
101	-->'''Martin:''' What, you don't think your brother knows how to direct?\
102	'''Niles:''' No, the trouble is he doesn't know how to ''stop'' directing.
103	* Marshall Townend from ''Series/{{Friends}}''. Alternates between LargeHam and DeadpanSnarker. As Joey so eloquently puts it, "He's like a cartoon!". When the play finally debuts the critics tear it to pieces leaving the director looking even more ridiculous.
104	-->'''Marshall:''' I am going to take this call. When I continue, I hope that there will appear on stage this magical thing that in the theatre we call, '''''committing to the moment'''''!
105	* The titular Garth Marenghi from ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'', who is an inept, [[SmallNameBigEgo arrogant]], and [[PoliticallyIncorrectHero bigoted]] horror novelist trying to play at being the director of [[ShowWithinAShow a TV show]]. Naturally, the resulting series is godawful and [[TroubledProduction the production is a nightmare]]. Things are only exacerbated by Marenghi's publisher/producer Dean Learner, who is an unhinged loon with a childlike reverence for his employer that only encourages the latter's egoism and unprofessionalism.
106	* Creator/JohnBarrowman plays one of these in an episode of ''Series/HotelBabylon'', in which he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLVRVjoa98w screams at his female lead for refusing to show her breasts in a sex scene.]]
107	* The director of "Queen of the Zombies" in a ''Series/JoanOfArcadia'' episode. Perhaps justified in that [[spoiler:he turned out to be {{God}}.]]
108	* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'':In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS1E2 Death of a Hollow Man]]", Harold Winstanley is a notoriously strict theatrical director and not above taking out his frustrations on his subordinates. He's also easily the most egotistical of the entire theatre company, hogging as much of the audience's attention as possible before the show begins and during the interval.
109	* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', Jerry turns into one when he's forced to make bootleg copies of movies.
110	* Parodied with the ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' game "Hollywood Director".
111	-->'''Colin:''' I believe it was Shakespeare who said, "All the world's a stage, and you are CRAP!"
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Video Games]]
115	* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFilesNirvanaInitiative:'' When recreating a crime scene for their investigation, Tama will roleplay as a hilariously overbearing director that orders Ryuki around and cusses him out like he's a third-rate actor.
116	-->'''Tama:''' "Now that I'm in the director's chair, I'm not going to tolerate shoddy acting, so keep that in mind."\
117	[...]\
118	'''Ryuki:''' "I have no idea what you're talking about..."\
119	'''Tama:''' "[[SuddenlyShouting Shut you stupid mouth, you third-rate, bit-part actor!]] Are you too much of a moron to figure this out without the director having to tell you everything!?"\
120	'''Ryuki:''' "But..."\
121	'''Tama:''' "Just zip it and play the culprit! If we're doing this, we're going for the [[BlandNameProduct Macademy Award]]!"\
122	\
123	'''Tama:''' "...You're supposed to play the part of the culprit."\
124	'''Ryuki:''' "But what's the point of-?"\
125	'''Tama:''' "Don't talk back to the director!!! Don't make me throw a [[PrecisionFStrike fuckin']] ashtray at you!"
126	* ''VideoGame/FarCry5'' features Guy Marvel, the director of ''Blood Dragon'', a film based on [[VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon the Far Cry game of the same name]]. He's temperamental, CantTakeCriticism, and is obsessed with making shallow action films filled with guns, explosions, and murder. (CharacterDevelopment? What character development?) He's also [[AxCrazy perfectly happy]] to have the PlayerCharacter run around shooting a bunch of local cultists [[DisproportionateRetribution just because they're being noisy and he needs silence on set]][[note]]granted, those [[AssholeVictim cultists]] ''did'' have it coming, but still...[[/note]]. Really, you'll be wishing you could kill ''him'' by the end of the missions. For bonus points, [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed he looks like a]] fat Creator/MichaelBay.
127	* ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' has bonus mission target Dino Bosco, a washed-up character actor now directing and starring in a superhero action film. Bosco is a colossal {{Jerkass}} to his crew, and his rampant perfectionism - reshooting the same scene over and over for weeks on end - has put the film over budget and the producing studio in financial trouble. Ultimately, the studio figures that it's cheaper to hire an assassin to eliminate him than it would be to breach the contract and fire the man.
128	* In ''[[VideoGame/ChoiceOfGames Hollywood Visionary]]'', if you hire a director, this is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]]. The director is going to want to mess with the script a bit against your wishes, and if you don't control them, they'll cost you some money and possibly change the nature of the movie in ways you don't want.
129	* Jhin, the Virtuoso, in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' is a MadArtist who sees murder as a stage performance which he produces, directs, and choreographs (with his victims as the actors, naturally). The resulting combination of auteur, SoftSpokenSadist, and this trope in his voicelines is ''profoundly'' creepy, especially when he flips from one mode to another without warning.
130	* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has a map set in Hollywood, where the mission is to escort an [[MechanicalLifeforms Omnic]] BMovie director named [[Creator/AlfredHitchcock HAL-Fred Glitchbot]] [[MundaneMadeAwesome from his limo to his trailer (with the implication that the enemy team is fighting tooth and nail to stop him from returning to the studio)]]. He has a ''[[SmallNameBigEgo very]]'' [[SmallNameBigEgo high opinion of himself]], and depending on how the game goes, he'll often deliver condescending and bossy snark to his escorting crew.
131	--> '''Glitchbot:''' [[DeadpanSnarker I can see the headlines now: Prominent omnic film director found dead in own limo. Cause of death: gross incompetence.]]
132	* Andy Zhen, the director of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Gangstas]] [[RecycledInSpace in Space]]'' in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird''. While he's a complete kiss-ass to [[PlayerCharacter the Boss]], he is quick to belittle and insult [[TheIngenue Jenny]], the female lead. This includes [[AccidentalMisnaming never bothering to remember her name]], blaming her for anything (even things that he'll praise the Boss for), calling her a bad actress (even though she's far more talented than [[BadBadActing the Boss]] is) and just generally insulting her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, this leads to [[TheDogBitesBack Jenny taking her revenge]] in the final scene and [[BewareTheNiceOnes killing him with a spaceship]].]] Not to mention that his attitude towards extras is to use ''live ammunition'', obviously resulting in their deaths.
133	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The unnamed Director of the "Meet the Team" series of short films is one of these, apparently laboring under the delusion that he is creating a scathing docudrama of epic proportions, rather than the series of propaganda films the Administrator has hired him for. [[spoiler: Unbeknownst to both him and his subjects, The Administrator is actually using the Director to gather intel on the [=RED=] team to blackmail them into playing by her rules.]] Neither the Team nor Miss Pauling is willing to put up with him for very long...
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
137	* [[SacrificialLamb Shin Seungyeon]] in ''VisualNovel/BuriedStars'' was the new director for the titular show's fourth season (basically a Korean equivalent of ''Series/AmericanIdol''), and amplified the show's popularity...by forcing scripted behavior upon the contestants. She was also more than slightly manipulative, stringing Hyesung along in a one-sided relationship (his was the genuine side), forcing Seil to perform illegal investigations, and basically manipulating many other contestants--Do-Yoon, Inha, and Gyu-hyuk among them--to do her bidding, both in terms of joining the show and acting to her specifications.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Web Animation]]
141	* Microsoft Sam in ''WebAnimation/LooneyTunesIntroBloopers'', who insistently threatens Scotty for [[LoopholeAbuse mishearing his orders and adding incorrect content to the shield.]]
142	* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue The Shisno Paradox'', Jax Jonez has become one, and a BadBoss to boot. He's demanding, unconcerned with his crew's health and well-being, and utterly convinced that since his movie recreation of Season 15 has the most TroubledProduction ever, it's guaranteed to be the best movie ever.
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Webcomics]]
146	* Litchfield from ''Webcomic/InstantClassic'' is a textbook one of these, although he often straddles the line between prima donna and pure madness. [[spoiler:Like the time he shot himself. Or the time he burned his own studio down ''while he was in it''.]] In fact, since most of the main characters are filmmakers, they all slip into this trope at some point.
147	* ''Webcomic/{{Sacrimony}}'': Mr. Bokkin runs the most successful theater in the local region, but he's prone to violent mood swings and equally emotional apologies. [[spoiler:We're not sure which he was in when he bribed the guards to abuse the protagonist into seeking professional employment.]]
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Web Videos]]
151	* The Director Lady from the [[https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9C8F3F2E3FE9F137 IR-Relevant Astronomy edutainment videos]] made about the Spitzer Space Telescope is like this. She does not take kindly to having factual errors pointed out in her script, even when it contains EXTENSIVE ArtisticLicenseSpace and ArtisticLicensePhysics in what are supposed to be educational materials. The high (or low) point came when she saw an actor getting killed on-set and then haunting her as an opportunity to include a real ghost in her video.
152	* Alex Kralie acted like one of these when directing his student film ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', but you'd be pretty high-strung too if you were being stalked by a - ''[[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos ohGodwhatisthat?]]''
153	* ''WebVideo/WormwoodInstitute'': In "90s TV News Outtakes", the male host goes ballistic on his female co-host for messing up on her script, to the point where she is on the verge of tears by the end of the tape. He fires her shortly after this.
154	[[/folder]]
155
156	[[folder:Western Animation]]
157	* Mr. Director, the Creator/JerryLewis [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed parody]] from a few ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' shorts.
158	* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': In season 5, Bojack and Diane have to deal with one as both are working in his show: ''Philbert''. Flip, the creator, is a man who thinks of himself as the next great genius of television, despite having laughable writing skills, being only able to put out bizarre and inconclusive plotlines under the guise that TrueArtIsIncomprehensible. He accepts no suggestions from anyone and Diane actually has to push him away from the typewriter to manage to write something for the show, which he afterward takes credit for.
159	* ''WesternAnimation/BooBoomTheLongWayHome'': Episode 4, Bu-Bum and the animals encounter a zealous director, who is traveling Italy with his crew. He drafts Boo-Boom into his movie without even bothering if the boy is interested or not, changes scenes on a whim whenever he gets a better idea, isn't above applying EnforcedMethodActing (like taking away Boo-Boom's PreciousPhoto since he wants real tears for a scene), and even puts his actors in danger by forcing them to shoot a scene in a partly destroyed building that is about to collapse.
160	* Molly Coddle adopts this attitude in the ''WesternAnimation/BumpInTheNight'' ChristmasEpisode "Twas the Night Before Bumpy" when nobody takes her seriously as pageant director. Fortunately, she sees the error of her ways and the other characters forgive her for being bossy and rude.
161	* ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' did an episode where a major studio had bought the rights to make TheMovie version of the show, and referee Mills Lane was picked to be the director, despite having no movie experience whatsoever. The original plan was to have Creator/MartinScorsese and Creator/OliverStone fight to the death for the job, but they ended up accidentally killing each other, forcing Nick and Johnny to beg Mills to save the movie. However, he quickly turns into a prima donna director over the course of about 20 minutes, to the point where he starts referring to himself in the third person by the end.
162	* James Finson in the ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' episode "End of Take".
163	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' stars Alistair Boorswan. Vain, overly verbose, and obsessed with making a DarkerAndEdgier film reboot of a family-friendly TV series (WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck) that he knows nothing about, and distraught at having an actual child hired to edit his "psychological masterpiece". He also serves as a [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed mash-up]] of Creator/ChristopherNolan and Creator/ZackSnyder (and is voiced by [[Creator/EdgarWright a real-life director]] as well). The only person with an even bigger ego than him is Jim Starling, [[NiceCharacterMeanActor the original Darkwing Duck actor]], and he's not even supposed to be in the reboot!
164	* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': Bloo turns into one of these when he is partnered with Mac to produce a film for a contest in "[[Recap/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriendsS3E11OneFalseMovie One False Movie]]". He constantly orders Mac around and spends their entire assigned budget on a megaphone.
165	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Adrian Graye Verneworth, head witch of the Illusion Coven, behaves like one, often berating his underlings and offering useless “notes” on their performances.
166	* Llewellyn Sinclair (Creator/JonLovitz), in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''' episode "A Streetcar Named Marge". He actually winds up on stage when he takes over Otto's role right before the performance, having realized Otto wasn't good enough.
167	* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'':
168	** In "[[Recap/TinyToonAdventuresS1E50WhoBoppedBugsBunny Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?]]", Sappy Stanley was once a famous American cartoon star, but after one of his shorts nominated for a Shloskar award lost to Bugs Bunny's cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/KnightyKnightBugs'', Stanley scorned the American film industry, moved to Paris, and spent decades planning his revenge on Bugs. On the day following the bopping incident, Stanley goes off to film one of his shorts and acts like a donkey's butt to his entire crew, getting mad at one guy for simply sitting on a couch drinking coffee. It's implied that his attitude is coming from the stress of keeping his cover.
169	** In "[[Recap/TinyToonAdventuresS2E11KonDucki Kon Ducki]]", Plucky is shown to be this in the "Making of" segment when he oversees production of the titular film. He verbally and physically abuses the staff, gives outlandish demands, and only starts acting nice when he realizes he’s on camera.
170	** In ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonsLooniversity'', Babs gradually becomes such a director in "The Show Must Hop On" when she's assigned to direct the Acme Looniversity production of ''Rabbit Season''. Much of the cast is unhappy with [[PlayingAgainstType the roles they've been assigned]], but she doesn't want to hear their complaints, and keeps insisting Plucky say nothing and do nothing [[PlayingATree in his role as a cactus]]. It even gets to the point where Babs starts feuding with her own brother Buster for not letting him play Bugs, all the while claiming the cast's complaints are interfering with "her vision". It isn't until the first act of the performance goes horribly wrong that [[JerkassRealization Babs realizes what she's done]] and [[PoorCommunicationKills refused to listen to the cast members]]. Once she directly talks to them about why she made those casting choices, the rest of the play goes smoothly.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': The director from "Hoist Goes Hollywood." He adds the Autobots to his film on a whim, even changing the entire script to accommodate them.
172	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PrimaDonnaDirector