History Main / AuteurLicense

* Creator/DonBluth more or less gave himself one after leaving Disney to [[StartMyOwn become an independent filmmaker]]. Ironically, it was slowly stripped away with each success until it was altogether revoked following a string of flops in the '90s.

** For his upcoming project, ''Film/{{Tenet}} '', WB gave him his biggest budget, ever, at [[SequelEscalation $235 million]], and creative freedom. The film is a completely original intellectual property and its three top-billed stars (Creator/JohnDavidWashington, Creator/RobertPattinson, Creator/ElizabethDebicki) are young up and comers with very little big-budget starring work between the three of them. Washington has never been in a big-budget film. Pattinson has led a franchise (''Literature/{{Twilight}} '') but it will have been eight years since its end by the time the film comes out as he spent the rest of the 2010s building his resume in smaller projects. Debicki has the most big-budget work with supporting roles in ''Film/TheGreatGatsby2013'' (which didn't perform well) and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' but hasn't led one yet. On top of all that, Warner Bros. stuck to its original cinematic release plans at Nolan's insistence, even as other major projects switched to streaming or indefinitely postponed their release dates due to the COVD-19 pandemic.

-->-- '''Creator/IngmarBergman''' on ''Film/SmilesOfASummerNight'' [[note]]: His sixteenth film, and not for nothing, the one he made just before ''Film/TheSeventhSeal''[[/note]]

-->-- '''Creator/IngmarBergman''' on ''Film/SmilesOfASummerNight'' [[note]]: His sixteenth film, and not for nothing, the one he made before he could film ''Film/TheSeventhSeal''[[/note]]

-->-- '''Creator/IngmarBergman''' on ''Film/SmilesOfASummerNight'' [[note]]:Not for nothing, this was his sixteenth film, and the one he made before ''Film/TheSeventhSeal''[[/note]]

-->-- '''Creator/IngmarBergman''' on ''Film/SmilesOfASummerNight'' [[note]]:Not for nothing, this was his sixteenth film, and the one he made before ''Film/TheSeventhSeal''[[/note]]

** For his upcoming project, ''Film/{{Tenet}} '', WB wrote him a blank check for [[SequelEscalation $235 million]]. The film is a completely original intellectual property and its three top-billed stars (John David Washington, Creator/RobertPattinson, Creator/ElizabethDebicki) are young up and comers with very little big-budget starring work between the three of them. Washington has never been in a big-budget film. Pattinson has led a franchise (''Literature/{{Twilight}} '') but it will have been eight years since its end by the time the film comes out as he spent the rest of the 2010s building his resume in smaller projects. Debicki has the most big-budget work with supporting roles in ''Film/TheGreatGatsby2013'' (which didn't perform well) and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' but hasn't led one yet.

* 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 ''Film/PainAndGain'' when he agreed to direct ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', but the REAL king of this is Creator/ChristopherNolan, who received $160 million to make ''Film/{{Inception}}'', and it grossed over ''$800 million'' at the box office alone, which has secured his auteur ticket for the foreseeable future.

** In a more specific example, regular disputes over budgets and directions between the MCU's producer Kevin Feige and Marvel president Ike Perlmutter came to a head during production of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. The final result was that Disney removing Perlmutter as head of the movie division of the MCU and dismantling the Creative Committee that previously oversaw everything. Kevin Feige now has total control over the films of the MCU (though not the TV shows) and answers only to Alan Horn of Walt Disney Studios directly. The success of the MCU under Feige's watch should ensure he keeps this license for the foreseeable future.
** Kevin Feige maintains strict control of the MCU, making sure that all films maintain a common thematic thread. Some directors chafed at this and left the franchise during the Creative Committee's control of the franchise (like Jon Favreau[[note]]Decided not to direct ''Film/IronMan3'' after being disappointed with the ExecutiveMeddling of ''Film/IronMan2'' but remained involved as executive producer and his supporting role as Happy Hogan[[/note]], Joss Whedon[[note]]Became disillusioned with the final cut of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and is no longer actively involved in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as his brother Jed and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen serve as the main creative force behind the show[[/note]], Edgar Wright[[note]]Left due to CreativeDifferences between him and the Creative Committee, months before ''Film/AntMan1'' began filming[[/note]]) and Patty Jenkins, but those who play ball are eventually given more responsibility and a lot more creative freedom to do what they want (like the Russo Brothers[[note]]Given ''three'' of the MCU's major team-up films[[/note]], Creator/JamesGunn[[note]]Allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted with ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', made an executive producer on ''Infinity War'' and ''Endgame'' so he could give input on the Infinity Saga's GrandFinale, and more or less given carte-blanche for ''Vol. 3'' until he was fired and then rehired.[[/note]], and Peyton Reed[[note]]Marvel rearranged Phase 3 specifically to give him ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''[[/note]]) with the projects they are tasked with helming.

* Creator/{{Showtime}} gave Creator/DavidLynch and Mark Frost more or less carte-blanche for the 18 hours of the revival of Series/TwinPeaks

* Creator/DenisVilleneuve, certainly has this for the time being. Not all of his movies have done well, but his so-far-unbroken streak of critically-acclaimed films (his '''worst'''-reviewed film, ''Enemy'', still has a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) has impressed the critics enough for studios to let him tackle basically whatever he wants, which is all the more impressive because his films tend to be very slow-paced, dark, light on action, aimed at adult audiences, ''and'' requiring heavy budgets (i.e. the kinds of movies that [[AudienceAlienatingPremise make marketing teams cry.]]) The proof? Even after ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' bombed at the box office [[AcclaimedFlop despite being a critical darling]], Villeneuve was immediately handed the reins to ''two'' more mega-budget sci-fi cult franchise movies aimed at an adult audience, including the two-part ''Film/Dune2020''.

** While we're talking about Konami and auteurs, Koji "IGA" Igarashi, the man behind the Castlevania games since ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' up until ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDespair'', definitely also applies. He left Konami and created an at-the-time record-breaking Kickstarter for his own game, ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight''. Meanwhile, games of the series released after his departure have had mixed reactions, at best.

* Creator/DavidLynch got his auteur license with ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}''; producer Creator/MelBrooks gave him a free hand on ''Film/TheElephantMan''[[note]]Brooks would do the same for Creator/DavidCronenberg a few years later on ''Film/TheFly1986''; see below[[/note]]. He almost lost it in the middle of all the ExecutiveMeddling over ''Film/{{Dune}}'', which he says taught him an important lesson: "I'd rather not make a film at all than make one where I don't have final cut." He went on to direct several smaller-scale pictures, starting with ''Film/BlueVelvet'', that rehabilitated his reputation as an auteur; it was on the strength of ''Blue Velvet'' that he was able to get ''Series/TwinPeaks'' off the ground.

* Creator/DenisVilleneuve, certainly has this for the time being. Not all of his movies have done well, but his so-far-unbroken streak of critically-acclaimed films (his '''worst'''-reviewed film, ''Enemy'', still has a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) has impressed the critics enough for studios to let him tackle basically whatever he wants, which is all the more impressive because his films tend to be very slow-paced, dark, light on action, aimed at adult audiences, ''and'' requiring heavy budgets (i.e. the kinds of movies that [[AudienceAlienatingPremise make marketing teams cry.]]) The proof? Even after ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' bombed at the box office [[AcclaimedFlop despite being a critical darling]], Villeneuve was immediately handed the reins to ''two'' more mega-budget sci-fi cult franchise movies aimed at an adult audience, with the first half of his planned two-part ''[[Film/Dune2020 Dune]]'' adaptation set to release in December 2020.

** Kevin Feige maintains strict control of the MCU, making sure that all films maintain a common thematic thread. Some directors chafed at this and left the franchise during the Creative Committee's control of the franchise (like Jon Favreau[[note]]Decided not to direct ''Film/IronMan3'' after being disappointed with the ExecutiveMeddling of ''Film/IronMan2'' but remained involved as executive producer and his supporting role as Happy Hogan[[/note]], Joss Whedon[[note]]Became disillusioned with the final cut of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and is no longer actively involved in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as his brother Jed and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen serve as the main creative force behind the show[[/note]], Edgar Wright[[note]]Left due to CreativeDifferences between him and the Creative Committee, months before ''Film/AntMan1'' began filming[[/note]]) and Patty Jenkins, but those who play ball are eventually given more responsibility and a lot more creative freedom to do what they want (like the Russo Brothers[[note]]Given ''three'' of the MCU's major team-up films[[/note]], Creator/JamesGunn[[note]]Allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted with ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' and more or less given carte-blanche for ''Vol. 3'' until he was fired and then rehired.[[/note]], and Peyton Reed[[note]]Marvel rearranged Phase 3 specifically to give him ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''[[/note]]) with the projects they are tasked with helming.

* {{Creator/CBS}} gave Creator/ChuckLorre the Garry Marshall/ABC treatment after ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' hit it big.

This refers to when individuals leading a large collaborative project have full freedom to complete that project as per their vision, without any commercial or social constraints. They can decide the story, how it looks like, who to cast, the length and pace of the film, and whether it can end as per the director's wishes rather than a FocusGroupEnding.

The name refers to UsefulNotes/TheAuteurTheory, translated by American film critic Andrew Sarris from the French. It states that a film is the result of its director's personal creative vision, as if he were the primary "Auteur" (the French word for "author") and the key factor determining if a film will be good or bad. The other creative roles (writing, acting, cinematography, score, set design etc) are important but primarily as ProductionPosse, and individually connote parts of a whole that only the director can properly shape by say determining camera placement, the number of shots a scene should start, when a scene starts and ends, how the actors interact with the supporting cast and so on. In the original form, the theory applied to all films and it was applied originally to resurrect and honour the reputations of underrated and neglected film-makers of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood. It has since however taken on broader connotations.

The ability to maintain '''Auteur License''' in the mainstream is directly proportional to how much money their films make at the box office and their capacity to avoid controversy. This is quite tricky needless to say, and some Auteurs risk biting off more than they can chew, and [[DarthWiki/FallenCreator have had theirs revoked]]. Often the magic of the first groundbreaking film is [[ToughActToFollow impossible to reproduce]] and the result is becoming a PigeonholedDirector where rather than try and make different kinds of films, people expect a repeat of that first hit. 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]]. It's nonetheless possible however for a number of Auteurs to maintain the success of their first films and build their style into a valuable brand that can even absorb 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.

* Creator/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 ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', the first feature-length traditionally animated film. His work in animation was bold and innovative, proving the medium could do more than make silly cartoons. Though his later work was, [[VindicatedByHistory at the time]], not immediately 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. [[VictoryIsBoring Ironically, around the same time (possibly because of this) he started to step away from animation and began working in untapped and more challenging ventures, like television and theme parks]]. And live-action movies -- which met with various degrees of success.

** Andrew Stanton, director of ''Finding Nemo'' and ''WALL•E'', was granted one by Disney after they gave him a ton of money to make his passion project. Unfortunately that project was ''Film/JohnCarter'', a film which lost Disney $200 million. Stanton has since gone back to Pixar full-time.
** It's often assumed that ExecutiveMeddling is to blame for the existence of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'', being a horribly-received sequel to Pixar's then-most-lukewarmly received film that nevertheless rakes in billions in merchandise. Not quite--John Lasseter can't be forced to make a film by the executives at Disney, because from shortly after the release of the first ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' film until 2017, John Lasseter ''was'' the executives at Disney (specifically, he was in charge of ''all'' Disney feature animation). The ''Cars'' universe was simply his pet project, and Disney had no reason to object to him using his auteur license to produce more ''Cars'' films at Pixar and ''Planes'' films at [=DisneyToon=] Studios when he packed them full of more marketable vehicle characters than your average ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' generation.

* Creator/AkiraKurosawa was granted a Auteur License for the Pearl Harbor epic ''Film/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.

* After a decade of often much-acclaimed films, both small- and large-scale (ranging from ''Film/{{MASH}}'' to ''Film/{{Nashville}}'' to ''3 Women'') Creator/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 wasn't nearly as profitable as the studios had hoped.[[note]]The movie grossed about $50 million domestically and another $10 million overseas on a budget of $20 million; not bad, but not a blockbuster either. Compare ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', released the same year and made on a roughly similar budget.[[/note]] 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 ''Film/ThePlayer'' in 1992.

* Creator/QuentinTarantino at this point has permission to bend what he wants, where he wants, who he wants. By 2015, Quentin's license had earned endorsements that allowed him to not only shoot ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' in 70mm Ultra Panavision, a film format that had not been used in nearly 50 years, but also get the film's distributor to pay to upgrade ~140 cinemas around the world for 70mm film projection. Keep in mind this took place several years after even basic 35mm film projection was phased out in favor of digital.

* Creator/ChristopherNolan after ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. He purposefully took up the director's chair for the ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' in order to build a relationship with Creator/WarnerBrothers to gain the Auteur License (as well as large-scale filmmaking experience)to be able shoot his pet project that would need big-budget resources to realize fully: ''Film/{{Inception}}''. When that proved a monster critically acclaimed Oscar nominated hit, Nolan's license was likely set for the rest of his career.

* Creator/MichaelBay has became heavily associated and famous for his over the top action movies with huge explosions. He gained his Auteur License after ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' and his visual style has been heavily copied in modern action films. He even made fun of his filmmaking style in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRCf9LbLM0 this]] Verizon commercial.
* Creator/GeorgeLucas had the run-of-the-mill star power with ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''. He wrote, issued, and certified his license with [[Film/ANewHope 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.

* According to reports, Creator/BenAffleck accepted the post-''The Dark Knight Saga'' Batman role in exchange for Warner Bros. bankrolling some of his more tough-to-sell pet projects. Sure enough, shortly after the deal was announced, an Affleck-directed political thriller set in Africa was green-lit.

** Creator/FrankCapra was another film-maker who was quite famous and well known to the public. ''Film/ItHappenedOneNight'' was a SleeperHit that basically turned Creator/ColumbiaPictures into a major studio overnight, and became to first film to sweep the "Big 5" Oscars (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay). After that Columbia gave him carte blanche to do what he wanted, and he was one of the first directors to become a household name (he later called his autobiography ''The Name Above the Title''). After a while he clashed with Columbia chief Harry Cohn and moved on. In TheForties, he co-operated with Creator/WilliamWyler and Creator/GeorgeStevens to form an independent production company which fell apart with the flop of ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife''. He fell out of favor with the public after World War II, making six films after that albeit living long enough for his films to be rediscovered. Ironically, Andrew Sarris slammed him viciously in ''The American Cinema'' since, in his view Capra was a little too well-known compared to the LesserStar he wanted to elevate (and the fact that Capra's career visibly declined which was against auteurist beliefs[[note]]Since they argued that all films made by an auteur, or a great director were worth seeing, and that the idea that talent can run up, was heresy, Capra was not simpatico[[/note]] but he was respected both by his peers and by younger film-makers, and he lived to see ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' become VindicatedByHistory.

** Careful research has actually shown that a number of directors people saw as journeyman were actually quite shrewd and domineering. Creator/HowardHawks for instance who's often seen as a nuts-and-bolts film-maker who didn't have a style, was careful to avoid making films at any one studio and work as a free agent, thereby allowing him freedom to not be tied to making one kind of film in one kind of style for too long. Creator/AlfredHitchcock, from ''Film/{{Notorious}}'' onwards made films his way, and Creator/OttoPreminger was especially bold and fearless in not only making his films as per his vision, but repeatedly, and successfully, challenging censorship and doing more than any other film-maker of his time, to improve freedom of expression in Hollywood. Both Hitchcock and Preminger were the two most well-known film-makers of their era, and public celebrities, hence the reason for Hitchcock promoting a successful TV show based on his own brand, and Preminger being enough of a household name that he appeared as Mr. Freeze in ''Series/Batman1966''.

* After ''Pinball/TheAddamsFamily'' went on to become the best-selling pinball machine of all time, designer Creator/PatLawlor was given free rein on his next game. The result was the highly-rated ''Pinball/TheTwilightZone'', arguably the most complex pinball table ever, with more patent-pending features than any other game ever made. Although not a failure in sales, ''The Twilight Zone'' did not do so well with players, who considered it [[GuideDangIt too difficult to understand]].[[note]]It was VindicatedByHistory decades later when wealthy individuals bought the machines for their own personal use and could understand the rules on their own time.[[/note]] Lawlor's license was destroyed for the rest of the 90's and through the 00's, though he got it back when he was hired by Jersey Jack Pinball and, once again, given carte blanche privileges.

* For Creator/TaroYoko this came into effect after ''VideoGame/NieR''. During the development of the first ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'', Yoko had to continuously fight Square to keep his and the team's distinct artistic vision intact, because Square was afraid the game was too dark and nihilistic. After the game managed to win over a small but dedicated fanbase, Square was willing to fund a second game but wanted something more marketable, and to that end he was only lightly involved with ''Drakengard 2''. However, this lead to one of the more divisive games in the series exactly because of its LighterAndSofter nature, and as a result he was allowed back in the director's seat for the franchise with ''[=NieR=]'', a GaidenGame. Though it wasn't very profitable it eventually became a CultClassic and widely considered an amazing game. Due to its critical success Yoko has essentially been given free rein to do as he pleases. While this strategy didn't pay off at first, it eventually allowed Taro to break through into the mainstream with ''VideoGame/NierAutomata''.

** While we're talking about Konami and auteurs, Koji "IGA" Igarashi, the man behind the Castlevania games since ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' up until ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDespair'', definitely also applies. He left Konami and created an at-the-time record breaking kickstarter for his own game, ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight''. Meanwhile, games of the series released after his departure have had mixed reactions, at best.

* Creator/DonBluth more or less gave himself one after leaving Disney to [[StartMyOwn become an independent filmmaker]]. Ironically, it was slowly stripped away with each success until it was altogether revoked following a string of flops in the 90s.

** In a more specific example, regular disputes over budgets and directions between the MCU's producer Kevin Feige and Marvel president Ike Perlmutter came to a head during production of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. The final result was that Disney removing Perlmutter as head of the movie division of the MCU and dismantling the Creative Committee that previously oversaw everything. Kevin Feige now has total control over the films of the MCU (though not the TV shows) and answers only to Alan Fine of Disney directly. The success of the MCU under Feige's watch should ensure he keeps this license for the foreseeable future.

** Kevin Feige maintains strict control of the MCU, making sure that all films maintain a common thematic thread. Some directors chafed at this and left the franchise during the Creative Committee's control of the franchise (like Jon Favreau[[note]]Decided not to direct ''Film/IronMan3'' after being disappointed with the ExecutiveMeddling of ''Film/IronMan2'' but remained involved as executive producer and his supporting role as Happy Hogan[[/note]], Joss Whedon[[note]]Became disillusioned with the final cut of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and is no longer actively involved in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as his brother Jed and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen serve as the main creative force behind the show[[/note]], and Edgar Wright[[note]]Left due to CreativeDifferences between him and the Creative Committee, months before ''Film/AntMan1'' began filming[[/note]]), but those who play ball are eventually given more responsibility and a lot more creative freedom to do what they want (like the Russo Brothers[[note]]Given ''three'' of the MCU's major team-up films[[/note]], Creator/JamesGunn[[note]]Allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted with ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' and more or less given carte-blanche for ''Vol. 3'' until he was fired and then rehired.[[/note]], and Peyton Reed[[note]]Marvel rearranged Phase 3 specifically to give him ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''[[/note]]) with the projects they are tasked with helming.

* Creator/RianJohnson was given full control of his own ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy after Disney was impressed with his work on ''Film/TheLastJedi''. Apparently the only restriction is that it can't be about the major characters of the main series, which stands out all the more with the original directors of ''Star Wars 9'' and ''Film/{{Solo}}'' getting fired for refusing to follow studio orders just a few months earlier.

** Kevin Feige maintains strict control of the MCU, making sure that all films maintain a common thematic thread. Some directors chafed at this and left the franchise during the Creative Committee's control of the franchise (like Jon Favreau[[note]]Decided not to direct ''Film/IronMan3'' after being disappointed with the ExecutiveMeddling of ''Film/IronMan2'' but remained involved as executive producer and his supporting role as Happy Hogan[[/note]], Joss Whedon[[note]]Became disillusioned with the final cut of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and is no longer actively involved in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as his brother Jed and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen serve as the main creative force behind the show[[/note]], and Edgar Wright[[note]]Left due to CreativeDifferences between him and the Creative Committee, months before ''Film/AntMan'' began filming[[/note]]), but those who play ball are eventually given more responsibility and a lot more creative freedom to do what they want (like the Russo Brothers[[note]]Given ''three'' of the MCU's major team-up films[[/note]], Creator/JamesGunn[[note]]Allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted with ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' and more or less given carte-blanche for ''Vol. 3'' until he was fired and then rehired.[[/note]], and Peyton Reed[[note]]Marvel rearranged Phase 3 specifically to give him ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''[[/note]]) with the projects they are tasked with helming.

* [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Fred Rogers]] was recognized early on as a pioneer in children's TV programming, so he was given carte blanche by {{PBS}} to create his own series in which he starred as on-screen host, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and puppeteer. [[LongRunners It ran for over 30 years]]. They also gave him a chance to do other projects like a prime time interview/magazine show called ''Old Friends, New Friends'' (which ran from 1976-79; Rogers put ''Neighborhood'' on hiatus to concentrate on that show).

* [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Fred Rogers]] was recognized early on as a pioneer in children's TV programming, so he was given carte blanche by {{PBS}} to create his own series in which he starred as on-screen host, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and puppeteer. [[LongRunners It ran for over 30 years]].

* Creator/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 ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarves'', the first feature-length traditionally animated film. His work in animation was bold and innovative, proving the medium could do more than make silly cartoons. Though his later work was, [[VindicatedByHistory at the time]], not immediately 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. [[VictoryIsBoring Ironically, around the same time (possibly because of this) he started to step away from animation and began working in untapped and more challenging ventures, like television and theme parks]]. And live-action movies -- which met with various degrees of success.

* Creator/DavidLynch got his auteur license with ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}''; producer Creator/MelBrooks gave him a free hand on ''Film/TheElephantMan''. He almost lost it in the middle of all the ExecutiveMeddling over ''Film/{{Dune}}'', which he says taught him an important lesson: "I'd rather not make a film at all than make one where I don't have final cut." He went on to direct several smaller-scale pictures, starting with ''Film/BlueVelvet'', that rehabilitated his reputation as an auteur; it was on the strength of ''Blue Velvet'' that he was able to get ''Series/TwinPeaks'' off the ground.

* Creator/DavidCronenberg first got his licence after ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' became an international hit, only to see his first Hollywood-produced film, ''Film/{{Videodrome}}'', flop at the box-office. Luckily that same year (1983) he did ''Film/TheDeadZone'' more or less for hire, which did well enough to keep him viable. In part because it was not directly produced/bankrolled by 20th Century Fox, Cronenberg was allowed great creative freedom on ''Film/TheFly1986'' once he signed on to it (for instance, the studio head thought casting Creator/JeffGoldblum as the lead was a mistake...but told producer Stuart Cornfeld "It's your mistake to make"). That movie's critical and financial success permanently granted Cronenberg an auteur licence, which he first exercised on ''Film/DeadRingers''.

** For his upcoming project, ''Film/{{Tenet}} '', WB wrote him a blank check for [[SequelEscalation $235 million]]. The film is a completely original intellectual property and its three top-billed stars (John David Washington, Creator/RobertPattinson, Creator/ElizabethDebicki and Clémence Poésy) are young up and comers with very little big budget work between the three of them. Washington has never been in a big-budget film, and Pattinson has led a franchise (''Literature/{{Twilight}} '') but it will have been eight years since its end by the time the film comes out as he spent the rest of the 2010s building his resume and honing in smaller projects.

** For his upcoming project, ''Film/{{Tenet}} '', WB wrote him a blank check for [[SequelEscalation $235 million]]. The film is a completely original intellectual property and its three top-billed stars (John David Washington, Creator/RobertPattinson, and Creator/ElizabethDebicki) are young up and comers with very little big budget work between the three of them. Washington has never been in a big-budget film and Debicki’s work is limited a smaller role in '' Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''. Pattinson has led a franchise (''Literature/{{Twilight}} '') but it will have been eight years since its end by the time the film comes out as he spent the rest of the 2010s building his resume in smaller projects.