History Main / AuteurLicense

* WaltDisney ran his own animation studio and served as producer on every project, so he may have received his Auteur License earlier than this, but he got it for certain (along with seven dwarf-sized Academy Awards) after presenting ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,'' the first feature-length animated film to be made in Technicolor. (It's not the first feature-length animated film, just the first one anyone remembers). His work in animation was bold and innovative, proving the medium could do more than make silly cartoons. Though his later work was rarely as well-received as ''Snow White,'' he managed to use the money and prestige won off that one film to begin work on several more. Eventually his company became so profitable that he was beholden to no one in terms of what he could do. Ironically, around the same time, he lost interest in animation and began to work on his theme park.

* A trend that's becoming popular in recent years is to bring the directors of blockbusters back in exchange for agreeing to bankroll vanity projects that the directors might otherwise not get the chance to make. The vanity projects will typically be lower-budgeted, and the studios know they can eat the loss from the gross of the blockbuster sequel, so they give the director complete control. Creator/MichaelBay got this deal for Pain&Gain when he agreed to direct ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', but the REAL kind of this is ChristopherNolan, who received $160 million to make ''Film/{{Inception}}'', and it grossed over ''800 million'' at the box office alone.

* Jean-Luc Godard received his auteur license after the success of his first film, {{Breathless}}, leading him to make more complex and politically-driven films which consequently diminished much of the commercial and critical acclaim that first film earned. To this day, he still grips on to that license.

* Creator/PeterJackson earned his license with Film/TheLordOfTheRings, which then allowed him to make a 3-hour Film/KingKong movie with a $200 million budget.

* A trend that's becoming popular in recent years is to bring the directors of blockbusters back in exchange for agreeing to bankroll vanity projects that the directors might otherwise not get the chance to make. The vanity projects will typically be lower-budgeted, and the studios know they can eat the loss from the gross of the blockbuster sequel, so they give the director complete control. Creator/MichaelBay got this deal for Pain&Gain when he agreed to direct TransformersDarkOfTheMoon, but the REAL kind of this is ChristopherNolan, who received $160 million to make ''Film/{{Inception}}'', and it grossed over ''800 million'' at the box office alone.

* Truly talented director MichaelCimino got his license with ''TheDeerHunter'' and promptly lost it with ''Film/HeavensGate''.

* A trend that's becoming popular in recent years is to bring the directors of blockbusters back in exchange for agreeing to bankroll vanity projects that the directors might otherwise not get the chance to make. The vanity projects will typically be lower-budgeted, and the studios know they can eat the loss from the gross of the blockbuster sequel, so they give the director complete control. Creator/MichaelBay got this deal for Pain&Gain when he agreed to direct TransformersDarkOfTheMoon, but the REAL kind of this is ChristopherNolan, who was able to get $160 million to make ''Film/{{Inception}}'', and then made it profitable anyway...

* Creator/JuddApatow got his with ''The40YearOldVirgin'', which has also given him ProtectionFromEditors and in return created movies with a lot of {{Padding}}.

* JuddApatow got his with ''The40YearOldVirgin'', which has also given him ProtectionFromEditors and in return created movies with a lot of {{Padding}}.

*** The budget itself is helped by his license; actors undoubtedly accept less money than they otherwise would, because it's a WoodyAllen film.

* WoodyAllen. He's practically had an auteur license since he started making movies forty-five years ago (his ''second'' film was a Japanese spy movie he bought and put a GagDub on top of. And it was approved!). His big success with ''Film/AnnieHall'' in 1977 is what made him untouchable, even after he made a string of movies generally considered mediocre in the late 1980s through early 2000s, and after the "[[WifeHusbandry marrying his]] [[ParentalIncest stepdaughter]]" incident that would've ended a lesser celebrity's career. The string of movies since 2005's ''MatchPoint'' are generally considered to be a comeback for him, but if he didn't have a strong case of this trope, he wouldn't have lasted long enough to have a comeback.

* Literary example: KurtVonnegut used and abused his novelistic auteur license to write a novel illustrated with his own quirky line drawings in which he [[AuthorGuestSpot features as a character]] (the wonderful ''Breakfast of Champions'') and a semi-novel about his abortive attempt to write a novel called ''Timequake''. It contains many parts of the ''Timequake'' story itself, interspersed with Vonnegut just talking about life, himself, and how things are going in general, and is generally touching.

* StanleyKubrick: ''{{Spartacus}}'' made him famous, but he didn't earn his Auteur License until after ''DrStrangelove''. (In between, he suffered major ExecutiveMeddling on ''Lolita''.) For the rest of his life, he had enough respect to get away with strange, arty films like ''[[TwoThousandOne 2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' and ''EyesWideShut''. (That last was his very last completed film.)

* MichaelBay has became heavily associated and famous for his brain-dead, over the top action movies with huge explosions. He gained his Auteur License after ''{{Armageddon}}'' and his visual style has been heavily copied in modern action films. He even made fun of his filmmaking style in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRCf9LbLM0 this]] Verizon commercial.

* A trend that's becoming popular in recent years is to bring the directors of blockbusters back in exchange for agreeing to bankroll vanity projects that the directors might otherwise not get the chance to make. The vanity projects will typically be lower-budgeted, and the studios know they can eat the loss from the gross of the blockbuster sequel, so they give the director complete control. MichaelBay got this deal for Pain&Gain when he agreed to direct TransformersDarkOfTheMoon, but the REAL kind of this is ChristopherNolan, who was able to get $160 million to make ''Film/{{Inception}}'', and then made it profitable anyway...

* After a decade of often much-acclaimed films, both small- and large-scale (ranging from ''Film/{{Mash}}'' to ''{{Nashville}}'' to ''3 Women'') RobertAltman got this for 1980's ''Film/{{Popeye}}'' -- a live-action, big-budget family musical based on the comic strip and cartoon hero -- via super-producer Robert Evans. Unfortunately, the resultant film had a long, difficult shoot and got ''very'' mixed notices from critics, and couldn't gross enough money to prove profitable; Altman spent the remainder of the decade making much smaller-scale films that attracted little attention from anyone besides film critics -- and it was just getting started! He didn't make his comeback until ''ThePlayer'' in 1992.

* PeterJackson earned his license with Film/TheLordOfTheRings, which then allowed him to make a 3-hour Film/KingKong movie with a $200 million budget.

* FrancisFordCoppola earned his license by adapting, producing, and directing the awesome one-two punch of ''Film/TheGodfather Part II'' and ''ApocalypseNow''. He used his newfound clout and money to build his own studio, American Zoetrope, where he planned to house an artistic community, turning out medium-budget passion projects. Unfortunately, his first such film, ''OneFromTheHeart'', went cataclysmically over budget. Unlike the similarly out-of-control ''ApocalypseNow'', ''Heart'' flopped mightily upon release, and Coppola pulled it from theatres after a few weeks. Zoetrope was sold, Coppola's license was revoked, and he spent a good chunk of the 80s and 90s as a director for hire, trying to forge his way back to financial solvency. He has recently taken to financing his films with the proceeds from his vineyard and winery.

* PeterJackson earned his license with Film/TheLordOfTheRings, which then allowed him to make a 3-hour KingKong movie with a $200 million budget.

* Director MNightShyamalan had a breakout hit with ''TheSixthSense'' and was granted an Auteur License that allowed him to produce more of his signature TwistEnding films. While the next film ''{{Unbreakable}}'' achieved some success, and ''Film/{{Signs}}'' was another hit. ''TheVillage'' made money but lost some critical respect. His next two films were outright flops, and Shyamalan became a target of mockery. His Auteur License was revoked right after he tried to show it off in ''Film/LadyInTheWater'', and now he is having to make films from established franchises instead of his own stories. That [[Film/TheLastAirbender hasn't worked out so well either]].

* Director MNightShyamalan had a breakout hit with ''TheSixthSense'' and was granted an Auteur License that allowed him to produce more of his signature TwistEnding films. While the next film ''{{Unbreakable}}'' achieved some success, and ''Film/{{Signs}}'' was another hit. ''TheVillage'' made money but lost some critical respect. His next two films were outright flops, and Shyamalan became a target of mockery. His Auteur License was revoked right after he tried to show it off in ''LadyInTheWater'', and now he is having to make films from established franchises instead of his own stories. That [[TheLastAirbender hasn't worked out so well either]].

* Director MNightShyamalan had a breakout hit with ''TheSixthSense'' and was granted an Auteur License that allowed him to produce more of his signature TwistEnding films. While the next film ''{{Unbreakable}}'' achieved some success, and ''{{Signs}}'' was another hit. ''TheVillage'' made money but lost some critical respect. His next two films were outright flops, and Shyamalan became a target of mockery. His Auteur License was revoked right after he tried to show it off in ''LadyInTheWater'', and now he is having to make films from established franchises instead of his own stories. That [[TheLastAirbender hasn't worked out so well either]].

* ChristopherNolan after ''TheDarkKnight''. After ''{{Inception}}'', he's likely to hang on to it for a long time to come.

* Creator/QuentinTarantino at this point has pretty much permission to bend what he wants, where he wants, who he wants.

* GeorgeLucas had the run-of-the-mill star power with ''AmericanGraffiti''. He basically wrote, issued, and certified his license with [[StarWars some movie about a farm boy looking for his destiny]]. Due to its success, Lucas has made anything he wanted, anyway he wanted, since. Lucas even sets the terms for when his movies are released, at what theaters, and how the gross profits are divvied up.
** Since, you know, he owns his own studio. The last three films he directed were financed by Lucas himself, with Fox only distributing. Basically Lucas created his own licensing board and gave himself a license.

* The application of this to the TsubasaReservoirChronicle anime was how BeeTrain, while [[{{Noir}} good]] [[{{Madlax}} at]] [[ElCazadorDeLaBruja original works]], ended up with a reputation for ill-advised adaptations.

* Given the [[CashCowFranchise wild success]] of their movies, {{Pixar}} has earned theirs, especially with the release of movies like ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'' and ''{{Up}}''.

* Given the [[CashCowFranchise wild success]] of their movies, {{Pixar}} has earned theirs, especially with the release of movies like ''WallE'' and ''{{Up}}''.

Sometimes, when a quirky visionary hits it big with a mainstream movie, he can do whatever he wants from that point on.

Usually Auteur directors are pertinently relegated to the art house circuit as their films are generally deemed unmarketable to a wide audience. As such their films are appropriately cost constrained to avoid them spending large amounts of money on a film that few people will see. However, every so often work by an Auteur director will strike it big with a mass audience and either make an inordinate amount of money, earn a plethora of awards or both. In these cases the director may be granted an Auteur License by the film industry to make their unique type of films for a mainstream audience with a mainstream budget.

Because the usual studio system is unequipped to deal with the Auteur's unique artistic vision, the Auteur License grants them ProtectionFromEditors and an exemption from ExecutiveMeddling. This sort of treatment may cause the previously under known director to get an inflated ego, but an Auteur License does not imply this outcome.

The Auteur License is valid for as long as the Auteur director's work continues to make money at the box office. For some Auteurs this can last quite a long time, while others [[DarthWiki/FallenCreator have had theirs revoked]] before their first piece is even fully realized. More often than not the magic of the first groundbreaking film is [[ToughActToFollow impossible to reproduce]] and result can range from something mediocre to box office bomb to the complete bankruptcy of the production company or studio. At this state the Auteur License can be revoked and the Auteur will be forced back into the art house world or stuck making movies with much much less [[CreativityLeash creative control]]. However there have been quite a number of Auteurs that can maintain the success of their first films and build their style into a valuable brand that can even insulate their License from the occasional failure.

An Auteur License is not to be confused with your run of the mill star power earned with consistently high grossing, top quality work. While all creative work can bear the artistic stamp of its author, an Auteur License grants the bearer the ability to make a piece far outside what is considered standard fare and that would not normally be green lit.

ProtectionFromEditors is a less-positively related trope.

When an Auteur license is revoked, see DarthWiki/FallenCreator.

* Director TerrenceMalick received his AuteurLicense after ''Days of Heaven'', went into [[JDSalinger J.D. Salinger]]-esque seclusion for the next 20 years, and re-emerged to make ''TheThinRedLine'', whereupon 20 major Hollywood stars lined up to get a part in the film, seven of whom were left on the cutting room floor. The studio pulled the plug on the film, whereupon 20th Century Fox insisted Malick employ ''more'' Hollywood stars, many of whom were offering to work for free... Malick retained his big-budget AuteurLicense for his next film, ''The New World'' (2005) with Colin Farrell.

** It helps that he makes movies on relatively low budgets, and hence doesn't have to meet as many box-office needs as other movies.

* StevenSpielberg after ''Film/{{Jaws}}''.

* FrancisFordCoppola earned his license by adapting, producing, and directing the awesome one-two punch of ''Film/TheGodfather Part II'' and ''ApocalypseNow''. He used his newfound clout and money to build his own studio, American Zoetrope, where he planned to house an artistic community, turning out medium-budget passion projects. Unfortunately, his first such film, ''OneFromTheHeart'', went cataclysmically over budget. Unlike the similarly out-of-control ''ApocalypseNow'', ''Heart'' flopped mightily upon release, and Coppola pulled it from theatres after a few weeks. Zoetrope was sold, Coppola's license was revoked, and he spent a good chunk of the 80s and 90s as a director for hire, trying to forge his way back to financial solvency. He has recently taken to financing his films with the proceeds from his vineyard and winery.

* Truly talented director MichaelCimino got his license with ''TheDeerHunter'' and promptly lost it with ''Film/HeavensGate''.

* {{Peter Jackson}} earned his license with [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Lord of The Rings]], which then allowed him to make a 3-hour {{King Kong}} movie with a $200 million budget.

* Jean-Luc Godard received his auteur license after the success of his first film, {{Breathless}}, leading him to make more complex and politically-driven films which consequently diminished much of the commercial and critical acclaim that first film earned. To this day, he still grips on to that license.

* AkiraKurosawa was granted a Auteur License for the Pearl Harbor epic ''ToraToraTora'' based on his strong body of work in Japanese cinema. In charge of the Japanese unit of the bi-national production costs and delays quickly got out of control due to Kurosawa's perfectionism. At one point he ordered a set completely repainted because it was a slightly wrong shade of white. Kurosawa was fired as director while the film was still in production being replaced by Kinji Fukasaku and very little, if any, of his footage made the final cut. The fact of his Auteur License being revoked was evidenced by never working in Hollywood again.

* FrancisFordCoppola earned his license by adapting, producing, and directing the awesome one-two punch of ''TheGodfather Part II'' and ''ApocalypseNow''. He used his newfound clout and money to build his own studio, American Zoetrope, where he planned to house an artistic community, turning out medium-budget passion projects. Unfortunately, his first such film, ''OneFromTheHeart'', went cataclysmically over budget. Unlike the similarly out-of-control ''ApocalypseNow'', ''Heart'' flopped mightily upon release, and Coppola pulled it from theatres after a few weeks. Zoetrope was sold, Coppola's license was revoked, and he spent a good chunk of the 80s and 90s as a director for hire, trying to forge his way back to financial solvency. He has recently taken to financing his films with the proceeds from his vineyard and winery.

* QuentinTarantino at this point has pretty much permission to bend what he wants, where he wants, who he wants.

An Auteur License is given to an Auteur type director who makes movies or TV series with a strong artistic style and grants them immunity from having to compromise their artistic vision in a mainstream setting. Auteur films typify the concept of Auteur theory which states that a film's director reflects that director's personal creative vision, as if he were the primary "Auteur" (the French word for "author"). While the theory technically applies to all films, it has come to signify small independent "Art House" cinema that has a high degree of quirky, "artistic" content. More often than not an Auteur director also writes much of the content of their work in order to ensure complete control over their creative vision.