5 Worst Directors (today)
To follow up my "best of" lists... Here are five who are panned by audiences and critics alike.
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MJ Bassett is an English screenwriter, director and producer of feature film and television.
As a teenager in the UK, MJ's ambition was to become a wildlife vet. She was a veterinary assistant throughout her teenage years and was the youngest person in the UK to be granted a license to run a wildlife rehabilitation centre. On leaving school she became a wildlife photographer and documentary maker before being asked to appear on TV to talk about science and nature. She was the host of various nature and science programs before moving into writing and directing drama.
A lover of genre story telling, her first feature film was the World War One horror, DEATHWATCH, Starring Jamie Bell, Matthew Rhys and Andy Serkis.
Following the success of Deathwatch, MJ directed the survival-horror feature WILDERNESS with Toby Kebbell and Sean Pertwee, and then adapted and directed the heroic fantasy-adventure SOLOMON KANE, starring James Purefoy, Max Von Sydow and Pete Postlethwaite based on the classic fantasy novellas by 'Conan' creator Robert E. Howard. MJ followed that with the video game adaptation SILENT HILL:REVELATION, shot in 3D and starring Sean Bean, Adelaide Clemens and Kit Harrington.
After that MJ began directing in television. Initially guest directing episodes of the Cinemax/HBO/Sky military action show STRIKE BACK. She was invited to become lead director and ultimately executive producer of the show which ran for multiple seasons. MJ pushed the action, scale and intensity beyond any other show of its kind on TV. During this time she also directed the first season finale of Starz' show, DaVINCI'S DEMONS, created by David Goyer.
Additional television credits include such shows as POWER for Starz, IRON FIST for Marvel/Netflix, NIGHTFLYERS, based on the George R.R. Martin novel for Syfy with Doug Liman's 'Hypnotic' productions, ASH VS EVIL DEAD for Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert at Starz where MJ was also a writer and co-ep, taking over the director reigns from Sam Raimi following his pilot. Other credits also include THE PLAYER, starring Phil Winchester and Wesley Snipes for NBC and TAKEN, again for NBC with Europacorp, the first season finale of REACHER for Amazon/Skydance, ALTERED CARBON for Netflix/Skydance and the TERMINAL LIST for Amazon/MRC amongst numerous other television credits.
Her recent feature credits include ROGUE, an Africa set action thriller starring Megan Fox and ENDANGERED SPECIES starring Rebecca Romjin and Philip Winchester. Both movies have strong environmental and conservation themes. In 2023 she is in post production on Millenium Films' RED SONJA set for release in 2024.
MJ came out as transgender in 2018. She spends a great deal of time shooting on locations around the world and divides her time between the UK and home in the hills of Topanga Canyon just outside Los Angeles.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
As a youth, he produced a number of short films on Super 8 and video. After short stints as guest auditor at Filmacademy Vienna and Filmhochschule Munich, Boll studied literature and economics in Cologne and Siegen. He graduated from university in 1995 with a doctorate in literature. From 1995-2000, he was a producer and director with Taunus Film-Produktions GmbH. Boll was Chief Executive Officer of Bolu Filmproduction and Distribution GmbH which he founded in 1992. He continued to direct, write and produce feature films until 2016. His main companies are Event Films in Vancouver and Bolu Film in Germany. A longtime resident of Canada, Boll owned the restaurant "Bauhaus" in Vancouver from 2015 to 2020. Returned to Germany and resumed filming in 2020.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Paul W.S. Anderson gained a fair bit of notoriety in his native England when he directed the ultra-violent Shopping (1994) (which he also wrote), starring Jude Law and Sean Pertwee in a story about thieves who steal by ramming a car into storefronts. The film was banned in some cinemas in England, and became a direct-to-video slightly edited release in the United States.
Shopping (1994) allowed Anderson to get the chance to direct Mortal Kombat (1995), an adaptation of the hit video game, which showcased his directorial trademarks - visually stunning scenery and quick-cut editing. The film did well enough for him to choose his next project, which was Soldier (1998) with Warner Bros., with Kurt Russell in the lead. Unfortunately, Russell decided at the time to go on hiatus, pushing the release date of that film into 1998. In the meantime, Anderson directed Event Horizon (1997) from a script by Philip Eisner, which featured Anderson regulars Sean Pertwee and Jason Isaacs. The science fiction/horror film, a Gothic horror version of Solaris (1972), was stylish and scary, but was critically panned and did not do well in the box office, which Anderson blamed on studio-enforced cuts to the story. (Anderson has promised a Director's Cut, though none has been announced as of yet).
Soldier (1998) didn't fare well with critics and box office either, and Anderson's planned 2000 remake of Death Race 2000 (1975) was canceled. This forced him to think smaller, which led to The Sight (2000), a supernatural mystery movie that was a minor hit. He then resurfaced to direct another video game adaption, Resident Evil (2002). Long rumored among fans to be a choice comeback vehicle for zombie grandfather George A. Romero, the writing and directing credits eventually transferred to Anderson. He next was given the helm for the long-awaited film adaption of the popular Dark Horse comic book, Alien vs. Predator (2004).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jason Friedberg was born on 16 January 1970 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Disaster Movie (2008), Epic Movie (2007) and Meet the Spartans (2008).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Aaron Seltzer was born on 12 January 1974 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He is a writer and director, known for Disaster Movie (2008), Date Movie (2006) and Epic Movie (2007).