Writers who outshine their directors. . .

"Rodriguez is a guy who is extremely frustrating to me, as an appreciator of movies. His best work is his low budget, low expectation stuff like Spy Kids (A surprisingly fun movie), The Faculty, El Mariachi, and Desperado. Once Upon A Time in Mexico was a huge disappointment for me, as was Spy Kids 2, and Spy Kids 3? In 3-D?"
I liked 1 and 2 of the spy kids, but the third one was awful.

Tyranus:

I haven't actually seen 'Human Nature', so I can't comment specifically there. I do know, however, that it's perfectly natural for people to get better at what they do over time. Trial and error, you know. I'm pretty sure most people, Kaufman included, wouldn't consider their earliest work their best. I know it's true for me

And about Kevin Spacey smoking... yes, yes he does need to quit. Trust me, I'd be the first person to tell him so. I'd be the first person to tell any actor so, especially worthwhile ones. Actors should never, ever smoke! It's insane. Kevin gave up back in 99 when he did a stage run of 'The Iceman Cometh' for precisely the reason that actors shouldn't smoke- you get short of breath and it messes up your voice. Look what's happened to Harrison Ford over the years. I believe Spacey's been on and off, but he needs to quit permanently. Ewan McGregor quit a while back but started smoking again in nervous times on his bike trip. I sincerely hope he's stopped again, because it's truly a terrible, terrible habit, especially for someone who is a vocal talent.

...this has nothing to do with writers/directors


-sj loves kevin spacey

...this has nothing to do with writers/directors

Well, now that you mention it.....Kevin Spacey's skills as a director certainly outweigh his abilities as a writer (for instance, "Beyond the Sea", which works better as a musical than as a straightforward narrative biopic). Also, "Albino Alligator", which was likewise directed by Spacey, was more notable for its directing than for its screenplay (by Christian Forte). True, this isn't exactly writers outshining their directors, but.....

Sean Penn, who is a 20-year plus chain-smoker, is just slightly over 40 years of age, and he looks awful. I think that his abilities as a writer are somewhat (but not entirely) superior to his directorial skills ("The Indian Runner"), although this isn't always the case ("The Crossing Guard", a film that could have used a few re-writes). The screenplay for the Penn-helmed "The Pledge" is certainly superior to Penn's lugubrious and somewhat heavy-handed directorial "flourishes" (although he didn't write the script).

NOTE: (Further de-railing this thread) Regarding Ewan McGregor and his smoking - George Lucas apparently gave Ewan quite a hard time while filming "Attack of the Clones", constantly reminding him of what a "filthy and disgusting habit" that smoking is. Lucas reportedly convinced McGregor to quit by the time that the two re-united for "Revenge of the Sith". Unfortunately, that seems to have been short-lived....

Actually if I ever took up smoking, it'd be for the primary purpose of destroying my depressingly light voice. I want to sound like Tom Waits, dammit!

Thread: derailed!