Films And TV-Series They Could Have Directed Or Are Rumored To Direct

by alessandropresutto | created - 28 Oct 2020 | updated - 07 Jun 2021 | Public

1. Sylvester Stallone

Actor | Rocky

Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws.

Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, ...

The Godfather: Part III (1990)

Death Wish (2018)

Creed II (2018)

Tough As They Come (announced) Action, Biography, Drama | Announced Travis Mills, a soldier in Afghanistan loses his four limbs four days before his 25th birthday, and when he returns home must reconcile with his step-father, and live with only prosthetics for his arms and legs.

Nelson DeMille's novel, "The Lion's Game"

Hunter (II) Action, Thriller | Announced One of the most skilled trackers, Nathaniel Hunter, is employed to hunt down a half-human terror created by a renegade agency that is threatening to wreak havoc on civilization.

Poe (I) Biography, Mystery | Announced A chronicle of the legendary American writer's life, from his famous works and bouts with madness and depression, to his mysterious death in 1849.

2. Angelina Jolie

Actress | Maleficent

Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actress who rose to fame after her role in Girl, Interrupted (1999), playing the title role in the "Lara Croft" blockbuster movies, as well as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), Salt (2010) and Maleficent (2014). Off-screen, Jolie has become ...

Shantaram Action, Crime, Drama | Announced A heroin addict incarcerated for a robbery escapes prison and reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of Bombay; his ties to the crime underworld there lead him to Afghanistan, where he partners with a mob boss locked in a battle with Russian criminals.

Unreasonable Behaviour

3. Terry Gilliam

Writer | Brazil

Terry Gilliam was born near Medicine Lake, Minnesota. When he was 12 his family moved to Los Angeles where he became a fan of MAD magazine. In his early twenties he was often stopped by the police who suspected him of being a drug addict and Gilliam had to explain that he worked in advertising. In ...

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Enemy Mine (1985)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Braveheart (1995)

Alien: Resurrection (1997).

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Gormenghast (2000– )

Troy (2004)

Watchmen (2009)

Good Omens (2019)

Mr. Vertigo

The Defective Detective

The White Circus

UNMADE PROJECTS

  • A sequel to Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove


Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities" adapatation

'All This and World War 3' A movie involving Beatles songs

4. Sydney Pollack

Director | Tootsie

Sydney Pollack was an Academy Award-winning director, producer, actor, writer and public figure, who directed and produced over 40 films.

Sydney Irwin Pollack was born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, to Rebecca (Miller), a homemaker, and David Pollack, a professional boxer turned pharmacist...

Dirty Harry (1971)

Presumed Innocent (1990)

Victory (1996)

The Saint (1997)

5. Mel Gibson

Actor | Braveheart

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA, as the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is ...

Assassins (1995)

The Expendables 3 (2014)

Fahrenheit 451 (2018)

Berserker War | Announced

6. Darren Aronofsky

Writer | Pi

Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won ...

Batman Begins (2005)

The Wolverine (2013)

The Tiger Adventure, Drama, Thriller | Announced

7. Tommy Wirkola

Writer | Død snø 2

Tommy Wirkola was born on December 6, 1979 in Alta, Norway. He is a writer and director, known for Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014), What Happened to Monday (2017) and Dead Snow (2009).

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 Action, Fantasy | Announced

8. David Gordon Green

Producer | Halloween Kills

David Gordon Green was born on April 9, 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Halloween Kills (2021), Halloween (2018) and Prince Avalanche (2013).

Suspiria (I) (2018)

9. Gavin O'Connor

Producer | The Accountant

Gavin O'Connor was born on December 24, 1963 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Accountant (2016), Pride and Glory (2008) and Warrior (2011). He has been married to Brooke Burns since June 22, 2013. They have one child. He was previously married ...

The Suicide Squad (2021)

The Green Hornet and Kato Action, Crime, Drama | Announced

10. Shekhar Kapur

Director | Elizabeth

Shekhar Kapur was born on December 6, 1945 in Lahore, Punjab, British India [now Pakistan]. He is a director and actor, known for Elizabeth (1998), Bandit Queen (1994) and The Four Feathers (2002). He was previously married to Suchitra Krishnamoorthi.

Solace (II) (2015)

Elizabeth: The Dark Age (Announced) Shekhar Kapur spoke about the project: “The first two are actually leading toward the idea of divinity; you are a queen because you rule by divine right. So, Elizabeth I moved toward being divine which was the main reason she would not kill Mary of Scots because how could she kill another queen if she believed she ruled by divine right?"

“I’ve always been fascinated by the thought that if you feel you rule by divine right, what happens when you’re dying? And it’s not just queens, it’s anybody, take for example Michael Jackson, who suddenly rises above people into a moment where they get a sense of their own divinity because nothing could convince them that they could be here of their own efforts; so, they feel there is a divine force working that makes them special.

“So now that you’re special – at that moment of death – you’re going to be very ordinary, so how do you work out the path between the extraordinary and the ordinary?”

“Elizabeth, apparently, when she thought she was going to die, she stood up for three hours and wouldn’t sit down. I want to make a story about those three hours. What was going through her mind? How did she come to terms with death after being divine?”

“I guess it was in my destiny. I’ve always preferred to tell stories of strong women. When you’re telling the story of a strong woman you’re actually exploring much more of the human spirit unlike the story of the strong man which mainly becomes fists, fights and violence which is very simplistic.”

11. Shawn Levy

Producer | Free Guy

Shawn Levy was born on July 23, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a producer and director, known for Stranger Things (2016), Real Steel (2011), and the Night at the Museum franchise. He is the founder and principal of 21 Laps Entertainment. He is married to Serena Levy and they have four ...

Uncharted (2021)

Minecraft Action, Adventure, Family (Pre-production)

12. Rob McElhenney

Writer | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Rob McElhenney was born on April 14, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005), Mythic Quest (2020) and Latter Days (2003). He has been married to Kaitlin Olson since September 27, 2008. They have two children.

Minecraft Action, Adventure, Family (Pre-production)

13. Martin Zandvliet

Director | Under sandet

Martin Zandvliet was born on January 7, 1971 in Fredericia, Denmark. He is an editor and director, known for Land of Mine (2015), Dirch (2011) and Applaus (2009).

The Command (2018)

14. David Fincher

Director | Se7en

David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials...

The Specialist (1994)

15. Steven Seagal

Actor | On Deadly Ground

Steven Frederic Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan, to Patricia Anne (Fisher), a medical technician, and Samuel Seagal, a high school math teacher. His paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and his mother had English, German, and distant Irish and Dutch, ancestry. The enigmatic ...

The Specialist (1994)

16. Mario Van Peebles

Actor | How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass

Mario Van Peebles is a highly regarded director, actor, producer and writer. His directorial skills can be seen in the retelling of the epic mini-series "Roots" starring Forest Whitaker and Matthew Goode. Van Peebles has directed award-winning shows such as the recent hit "Empire" and "The Last ...

The Specialist (1994)

17. Albert Hughes

Director | The Book of Eli

Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was ...

The Specialist (1994)

18. Allen Hughes

Director | The Book of Eli

Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was ...

The Specialist (1994)

19. Peter Hewitt

Director | Thunderpants

Peter Hewitt was born on October 9, 1962 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Thunderpants (2002), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) and The Candy Show (1989).

Judge Dredd (1995)

20. Danny Cannon

Producer | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Danny Cannon is an Emmy-nominated film and television producer, director and writer, known for executive producing and directing Pennyworth (2019), Gotham (2014), Nikita (2010), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), Judge Dredd (1995), and is responsible for executive producing the billion ...

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

21. Joel Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel ...

Judge Dredd (1995)

22. Ethan Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The younger brother of Joel, Ethan Coen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning writer, producer and director coming from small independent films to big profile Hollywood films. He was born on September 21, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In some films of the brothers- Ethan & Joel wrote, Joel...

Judge Dredd (1995)

23. Tim Hunter

Director | The Failures

Tim Hunter was born on June 15, 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for The Failures (2003), River's Edge (1986) and Returning to Earth.

RoboCop 2 (1990)

Judge Dredd (1995)

24. Richard Stanley

Writer | Color Out of Space

Richard Stanley is the award-winning South African-born filmmaker, who made a name of himself with his first feature film, the sci-fi movie Hardware (1990). A low budget movie about a mad-dog android loose in an apartment was released in 1990. Critics slammed it as a Terminator rip-off, yet the ...

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) He was fired after four days of shooting.

Judge Dredd (1995)

Spice World (1997)

Solomon Kane (2009)

Remake of The Wild Geese (1978)

Lost Soul

Vacation

The Dunwich Horror

Unmade projects include (quotation marks indicate Stanley's own description of the project):

The Bones of the Earth - "A medium to high budget British action thriller. The script, written in collaboration with the late, great Donald Cammell, is probably the best material I have ever produced as a screenwriter. Very happy with this one but don't tell anyone otherwise they'll never let me do it. Cast members come and go and it seems to get announced at Cannes every year but the budget and subject matter (Afghanistan and the war on terror) holds it back". Stanley also described the potential film as "the single most apocalyptic, out-of-order, just plain vicious British action thriller ever made," explaining that its moniker "refers to a ring of standing stones in western Scotland associated with the Queen of Winter, the folkloric Dark Lady, grandmother of the clans and guardian of the wild herd. No hunter may slay a stag without her warrant, and an offering or libation is made each year on the 11th of September - coincidentally the first day of the Scottish hunting season, a mass slaughter that has come to be known as the Highland Cull. The plot concerns a professional stalker on the verge of retirement who clashes with a ragtag band of hunt saboteurs, only to find himself drawn into a deeper, more deadly conflict when one of their number turns out to be a psychotic veteran of the war in Afghanistan, a brain-damaged master survivalist determined to exact a terrible revenge on the stalker's millionaire clients, whom he holds responsible for both his and the world's pain." "Bones is an epic, all right - the finest screenplay I've ever worked on, and it may well end up being the one that finally puts me in my grave and then kicks the dirt in after me, I mean, it's a monster! A great white whale of a movie, as big as The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and twice as dangerous. It hasn't even gone into production yet, and it's already trailing a body count. It began with a script written by Donald Cammell - the last thing he worked on before he shot himself. One of my associates is Nicolas Roeg's son Luc, and I literally came across the draft lying on a shelf in his office. Donald's name and the dateline drew me in at once, and it has been keeping me on my toes ever since. The film deals with our place in the feeding chain, with the civilized world and the atavistic, pagan impulses that chafe against it, the raw and the cooked, man and beast and the beast in man. Like it or not, a killer can be so much closer to the Earth, closer to nature, than a pacifist or a vegetarian simply because his soul is closer to an animal soul, and his bonding with the beasts he hunts is the stronger for it. I've lived in Britain for many years and wanted to address their culture, the death of the countryside and the passing of a certain way of life, lost honor and the sentimental illusion that it ever existed in the first place. It's the kind of thing Sam Peckinpah was driving at in his later years, but never found the project to fully express. Think Straw Dogs (1971) meets First Blood (1982). Think precision rifles, dogs, helicopters and fuel air weapons. Think of the royal family, the American president, the Highland Ball at Balmoral Castle and 20,000 tons of flesh-melting nerve gas!" Richard Harris and Guy Pearce were attached to the project at different stages of development.

Viy - "A low budget British Yugo-Vampire movie. Originally conceived as a collaboration with Kelly's Heroes (1970) scribe Troy Kennedy-Martin." "Viy is a vampire story set in a war zone, pouring its main inspiration from the Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol's short story. The main character is a Red Cross doctor serving in Kosovo, who causes the death of a local woman and must then serve in a three night wake next to her body. Eventually, VIY will appear..." "The film is set in the present day, Central Europe. It involves a team of UN blue helmets in the midst of a disintegrating Europe safeguarding a Bosnian Muslim safe haven, who fall prey to VIY. It is on the same speed as Dust Devil (1992), but a little different. [...] The whole thing is told in a testimony at the war crimes trial later. People try to explain what happened."

Hardware II: Ground 0 - An ambitious sequel to Hardware (1990). "Medium budget American sci-fi horror sequel (under its pre 9-11 working title) The one I'd be remembered for if only it existed. The project has been in development for 17 years but refuses to die because quite frankly it still *beep* rocks! Even now! Bigger, nastier, louder and somehow more personal than the original. The Mark 13 cyborg goes over the counter. Jill, Shades and the Nomad return from the first installment along with new characters such as J.C, a messianic luddite messiah, high on radioactive peyote buttons and leader of the equally crazed 'destructuralist' movement intent on monkeywrenching the technosphere back to the dark ages, his followers Melchizidek and Moon Rabbit , Mark 13 software designer and all round decent Californian family man and cat lover Matt Barlowe, Sub Commandant Javier Davalos (a McDonald's manager from San Antonio who believes he is channelling the spirit of Zapata) Juan Cordero, his bewildered Mescalero Apache sidekick and the film's long suffering lead, weapons inspector Lyle Maddox whose attempts to track down three missing warheads mislaid at the time of the cold war go tragically awry. Hence the working title. The droids are waterproof and equipped with microwave weapons as well as the usual cutting tools and household paraphenalia. . Angry Bob gets the last laugh..."

Wastelander - "Low budget American horror thriller - Dust Devil (1992) does Arizona. This time with better songs. ('One day it's gonna be MY voice you'll be hearin' on that radio!') "

The Sea of Perdition - "Low budget Anglo-American sci-fi epic concerning mankind's abortive efforts to terraform the angry red planet. Effectively pitched as The Descent (2005) on Mars". Project was killed off by poor box-office receipts on Sunshine (2007).

In a Season of Soft Rains - "A global warming epic". In a near-future Great Britain, an American assassin code named Archangel is sent to eliminate the last remaining member of a royal family, who is leading an underground resistance against the government.

Stray - "Mutant hybrid big cat horror" which Stanley adapted from Vicki Allan's debut novel. Described as a contemporary, sophisticated horror film in the vein of Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) and Rosemary's Baby (1968). The idyll between Milla, a cat behavior specialist, and Josh, a dentist, is irrevocably shattered when Purrl, an unusual albino stray cat, comes into their lives, increasing her sinister hold over the woman. The project was originally set to roll in late 2005 with Emily Mortimer in the lead role and Carine Adler at the helm, but it didn't entered production stage.

Death's Other Kingdom - "Feminist plane crash chiller". A troubled woman and a female air marshal must confront a dangerous serial killer on the loose after the plane carrying him crashes on the Scottish Highlands.

Steel Donkeys (a.k.a. Nemesis) - "Demons versus Yardies - Why do they call 'em that? Steel donkeys? I never seen 'em but I heard 'em once in my daddie's oum'phor and I tell you, man, they sound like a *beep* car accident!" "The idea was - there is a poem by H.P. Lovecraft with that title - about a bank robbery in Netherlands, they break into the vault of a very old European bank to get the diamonds, and they do it on Queen's day, there is a party to cover up the noise of jack-hammers. Together with the diamonds they get a box left there since the World War II. It's got some triangular black stones in it, and one of the guys cuts his hand on a stone or something, and then they're trapped in the vault because the police surround them, and then a demon possesses one of the hoods. Reservoir Dogs (1992) meets The Evil Dead (1981), chiefly because its largely bound to one location, and involves a shape-shifting alien demon which does unspeakable gloopy things to most of the leads. It's a pretty gloopy script, but I haven't been able to get it off the ground, even though H.R. Giger was interested in doing the demon." "Nemesis was a lengthy, unproduced treatment written for Sam Raimi's company in the early nineties. It was really my first attempt to create a Lovecraftian pastiche loosely revolving around the eponymous poem and a series of unlikely events that took place during my stay in Amsterdam shortly after the release of Hardware (1990). The typically twisted saga involved the illegal trade in archeological plunder and an individual I had gotten to know at the time who was smuggling artifacts from the temple of Baal in the Bekaa valley for retail on the black market. Among these treasures were the ring I am currently wearing and a magical grimoire written in human blood and bound in human leather. The smuggler in question was in fact dyslexic and although he was a very intelligent man he had never read a book in his life and thus had no prior knowledge of either H.P.Lovecraft or the Necronomicon. My curiosity was naturally engaged and I wanted to find out not only where the book came from but who the hell wanted to buy the thing to begin with. The resulting story pitted the Cthulhu cult against the European underworld with suitably grisly, if not downright apocalyptic results". "The piece you refer to was written on spec back in the mid nineties and provisionally entitled "Nemesis" or "Steel Donkeys" - a slang term I'd heard a Jamaican 'yardie' use to describe what were basically soul sucking demons from beyond space. I seem to recall the problem was that no-one was interested in funding a fully blown sci-fi horror fandango set in Amsterdam. Something to do with the accents apparently. The use of the diamond trade coupled with the red light district, the internecine conflicts between the Dutch hoods and the Surinamese immigrants, the backstory concerning the Nazi occupation in WW2 and the overlap between the black economy, the secret societies, and the environmental movement all served to make it impossible to readily transfer the action to the United States and the project withered and died on the vine accordingly."

Breathplay - "An auto-asphyxiation psychodrama".

Straight On 'til Morning - "Revisionist Peter Pan - paedophilia, child abduction, recovered memories and real life little people".

The Wizard of Wicklow - "The 20th century through the eyes of a deranged vaudevillian who develops miraculous powers after suffering shellshock on the Western Front."

The Grinning Gap - "The Da Vinci Code (2006) meets Jörg Buttgereit! Novice monk gets into necrophilia, starts talking to the dead and finds out what really happens when we die. It ain't pleasant."

Styx - "A cave diving drama centering on the river that flows through Hell."

Pilgrim (a.k.a. Black Rider) - "An African biker saga".

Fortunate Son - "Revisionist slavery epic (originally developed as a vehicle for Wesley Snipes only too be deemed a little too grim, too close perhaps to the awful truth)."

The Language of the Birds - "A French pickpocket and an American OSS officer team up to track down a deadly femme fatale in occupied Paris".

Year Zero - "Time travellers return to ancient Galilee to find out the terrible truth."

San Graal - Grail of Blood - "My first completed screenplay, a verhoevenesque medieval bodice ripper - features lamias, gay knights, cannibal bishops, impalations, witch burnings, the plague and a really neat arrow through the head set piece that I still dream about even now. All that before anyone told me there was no point trying to write high fantasy."

Summerisle - "An illegitimate The Wicker Man (1973) sequel."

Wild Geese III - Mercenaries Never Die - "A revisionist remake of The Wild Geese (1978) with Roger Moore, the mind reels! A modern day mercenary saga, better than it sounds, in the end the House of Commons is infected with a mutant strain of Ebola, the Prime Minister melts, everyone dies, even Roger Moore. Fed feet first into a shredding machine in a meanspirited twist on the Bond movies- this time no-one rescues him, none of the gadgets work and he does not leap free with a single mighty bound. Asia Argento was in the frame for the female lead, a Palestinian computer expert and a true artist when it comes to new and ever more cunning ways of blowing people to pieces (how do you make small talk or effectively seduce a lady whose only real desire in life is to explode as forcefully as possible?). Predictably this project stayed in limbo despite the support of Mr Moore and the original movie's backers but the script still puts a goofy smile on my face." "The project was developed in the mid-nineties by Chris Chrisafis, one of the producers of the original 1978 action/adventure. It was positioned as a direct sequel rather than a remake or reboot. Roger Moore was to return in the role of Major Shaun Fynn, who was positioned as the ageing mentor to the lead character, a young Royal Irish Marine who seeks employment in the 'private sector' after being wounded in action. The plot, involving an Ebola type biological weapon, was based on my research into modern mercenary activity, notably Mark Thatcher and the Sandline affair. Asia Argento was mooted to play the female lead, 'Mali', a failed suicide bomber forced to aid and abet the leads in their quest to save Queen and country from a dastardly apocalyptic conspiracy, an outrageous adventure that would take them from the Nile delta, through the slums of south London and the mercenary headquarters and training grounds in Aldershot to the hot zones of central Africa and a final, fiery confrontation in the house of commons as a genetically engineered plague engulfs Westminister. I am still charmed by the idea of having a female lead who just wants to explode, only to be constantly frustrated in her efforts. It would have been an epic swan song for Roger Moore, whose character was ear marked for a very special destiny..."

Blood Ties - "Kids battle diseased parents on remote Scottish island. The Ministry of Defense are to blame - Doomwatch (1972) goes Postal."

LOA - "Remember Wade Davis and that The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) malarchy? Well what do you think the American pharmaceutical company wanted the zombie potion for in the first place?"

Lachrymae - "My own take on the Three Mothers mythos, one I still enjoy so much I'm not going to say another word for fear of breaking the code of omertàor silentium or whatever you want to call it. (Okay, it was set in a future Rome and involved global warming, the mother goddess, the rivalry between the corrupt Polizia and the equally corrupt Carabinieri, the process by which new popes are chosen and... well... blood... so much blood it scares even me!)"

Scourge - "Nunsploitation movie. Aging space inquisitor Father Clavius and his loyal scribe are dispatched to root out heresy and strange new alien sins on a planet of desperate women! (People get crucified on wind turbines, the mother superior is eaten by genetically modified locusts and all the space nuns have martial arts!) In true Scooby Doo fashion Father Clavius discovers the demonic apparitions and related murders are a fraud designed by the very theocracy he represents in order to stamp out non-comformists and to force the wayward colonists to return to the bosom of the mother church. As in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and "The Sea of Perdition", hubris and terraforming play a central role.

Untitled Edgar Allan Poe Biopic - "Not to mention bio-pics- including a major life of Edgar Allan Poe, developed for several years but dropped for never being the Corman style creepshow people seemed to expect. My research was pretty bang on and integrity prevented me from playing fast and loose with the facts. Instead the script (written with Steven Berkoff) focuses on the social issues that Edgar blithely ignores in his morbid quest for the sublime. (We're talking pre-civil war Virginia and Mississippi - I mean I love the poetry but who made the paper he wrote it on? Who starched his collar, fixed his drinks and made his ink?) Central roles were created for the Allan family's long suffering retainers including the heroic 'Dab', who in real life helped support Edgar after he was cut off by his step father, John Allan, himself a slave trader. In return Edgar never noticed, thanked or even mentioned them but hey, he invented the whodunnit? So who's complaining?"

Providence - "A Lovecraft biopic focusing on his last few days and lonely gut wrenching demise while still salvaging some small degree of optimism from the cancerous dregs. Again the specters of racism and anti-semitism are invoked and balanced against the authors works, arguing that sometimes we have to tolerate even the very worst in human nature for the sake of what is best in all of us. Sometimes you have to drink a bottle all the way to its dregs to know it's true taste."

Floriana - "The true story of a utopian German colony that goes to Hell in the Gallapagos - includes sharks, manhunts, volcanic eruption, a self-proclaimed 'Pirate Queen' contesting the blonde ubermensch for control of the island, mass murder, a Jewish leading lady and a gigantic man-eating razorback hog dubbed 'the Satanic Boar'. (Project dumped in favor of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), briefly revived by 'Angelica Huston', then swiftly dumped again.)"

The Secret Glory - "The documentary was likewise originally intended as a study for a feature film (think The English Patient (1996) crossed with Kiss Me Deadly (1955)!)."

The Catacomb Club - An urban horror about rat people coming out of the London underground. Stanley said he wrote it in the early 90s for Italian director Michele Soavi.

Dark Continent - A mystical suspense thriller series conceived by Rob De Mezieres, to be produced by Johan Blignaut, with Arnold Vosloo as the lead. Stanley was interested in directing and writing the feature-length pilot. Project was based on an ancient myth of Phoenician slavers, who rampaged on the continent 3000 years ago, killing or enslaving thousands of locals. In 1200 B.C. Africa, one of the most tyrannical of the invading Phoenician kings, Karesu, is buried in the bowels of a dormant volcano with eight of the strongest African slaves chained to the sarcophagus to serve the king in the afterlife. One of these is a witch doctor, and a blood oath is made among the men as the tomb and their fates are sealed forever. The plot then leapfrogs to the present, where in the midst of a civil war a military government is engaged in the secret construction of subterranean bases to enhance its power over the enemy. One of these bases is inadvertently situated in the ancient tomb of the Phoenician king, and when the staff at the base are mysteriously decimated, a crack squad of soldiers is sent to investigate.

Vacation - "Bryce, a failing East Coast banker with a coke habit who books himself and his significantly younger lap-dancer 'girlfriend', Carly, into a seedy Middle Eastern tourist resort. He's hoping for a spot of late-season sun and surf, a last, desperate stab at romance and the happiness that has always eluded him. They are so caught up in their own petty problems that neither of them realize at first that the end is truly nigh-quite literally the end of the world and human life as we know it. As the sun changes its cycle, freak solar storms take western civilization off-line forever, leaving Bryce and Carly marooned without credit cards in a hostile year-zero society that despises everything they represent. Faced with harsh existential choices and their own imminent extinction, they inadvertently find themselves, and happiness of a sort, albeit at a price. It's an intimate holocaust for two-a bitchy, blood soaked farce with a runaway body count played out against the backdrop of a wider calamity: the coming apocalypse of mankind." Project came really close to happen several times between 2005 and 2009. The male lead was originally going to be played by Bruce Campbell, who was then replaced by Dean Cain. Denise Richards would have played the female lead.

The Secret Life of Lord Musashi - A samurai movie epic written for Takashi Miike.

Around 2010 he collaborated with Vincenzo Natali on the long gestating screen adaptation of J.G. Ballard's "High-Rise", which Natali was going to direct for HanWay Films, the company of famed producer Jeremy Thomas. Project stayed in limbo for a few years before finally being made as High-Rise (2015) by director Ben Wheatley, who used a brand new script written by his wife, Amy Jump.

25. Roman Polanski

Director | Chinatown

Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.

His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years ...

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

26. Tobe Hooper

Director | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Honored with many awards for his films and achievement in the horror genre, Tobe Hooper is truly one of the Masters of Horror (2005).

Tobe Hooper was born in Austin, Texas, to Lois Belle (Crosby) and Norman William Ray Hooper, who owned a theater in San Angelo. He spent the 1960s as a college ...

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

27. M.J. Bassett

Director | Solomon Kane

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 ...

Solomon Kane 2

Solomon Kane 3

28. James Franco

Actor | Spring Breakers

Known for his breakthrough starring role on Freaks and Geeks (1999), James Franco was born April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Franco, a writer, artist, and actress, and Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco, who ran a Silicon Valley business. His mother is Jewish and his father was of ...

Series about the making of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), described as sort of a follow-up project of The Disaster Artist (2017).

29. Dave Franco

Actor | Neighbors

David John Franco was born in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Franco, an author, and Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco, who ran a Silicon Valley business. He has two older brothers, actors James Franco and Tom Franco. His father was of Portuguese and Swedish descent, and his mother is Jewish. Dave made ...

Series about the making of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), described as sort of a follow-up project of The Disaster Artist (2017).

30. Sam Raimi

Director | Spider-Man

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...

Nemesis With Jean-Claude Van Damme

31. Renny Harlin

Producer | Driven

Born in 15 March 1959 as Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola, he is the most successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.

Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like Shell. Later he worked as a ...

Judge Dredd (1995)

32. Richard Donner

Director | Superman

Richard Donner was born on April 24, 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980). He was married to Lauren Shuler Donner. He died on July 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, ...

Judge Dredd (1995)

33. John G. Avildsen

Director | Rocky

John G. Avildsen was born on December 21, 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois, USA. He was a director and editor, known for Rocky (1976), The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and Rocky V (1990). He was married to Tracy Brooks Swope and Marie Olga Maturevich. He died on June 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California, ...

Serpico (1973)

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Rocky II (1979) According to the director of the original film, John G. Avildsen, in a 1980s newspaper interview, one of the main reasons he did not direct this sequel (besides preparing for his role as director for Saturday Night Fever (1977)) was that he didn't approve of the story. He was, however, fond of Stallone's original concepts for the two films which would have made the series a trilogy. The plots would have had Rocky be elected mayor of Philadelphia on the Reform Ticket, only to be scandalized when Paulie is caught stealing from the treasury. Rocky takes the blame, is kicked out of office, and ends up penniless just as he was at the beginning of the series. Coincidentally, this is similar to a scenario that Stallone and Avildsen collaborated on for Rocky V (1990)

Rocky III (1982) John G. Avildsen was approached to direct, but turned it down. Despite the fiasco of Sylvester Stallone's Paradise Alley (1978), Alvidsen encouraged Stallone to direct it.

The Next Karate Kid (1994) Rumored

34. John Boorman

Producer | Hope and Glory

John Boorman attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not, in fact, Roman Catholic. His first job was for a dry-cleaner. Later, he worked as a critic for a women's journal and for a radio station until he entered the television business, working for the BBC in Bristol. ...

Rocky (1976)

35. Steven Caple Jr.

Director | The Land

Steven Caple Jr. is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best know for The Land (2016) and Creed II (2018).

Caple also direct the short film A Different Tree (2014).

The Land was his feature film debut.

His directorial debut was in the short film Process of Elimination (2011).

Creed III (2022)

Drago spin-off from Rocky and Creed, especially from Creed II

36. Ryan Coogler

Director | Black Panther

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American filmmaker and producer who is from Oakland, California. He is known for directing the Black Panther film series, Creed, a Rocky spin-off and Fruitvale Station. He frequently casts Michael B. Jordan in his works. He produced the Creed sequels, Judas and the ...

Creed II (2018) Originally, director of Creed (2015), Ryan Coogler, did envision on doing a Creed trilogy. However, due to being busy with directing Black Panther, it's unknown to what were his original plans for the sequels.

Creed III (2022) Originally, director of Creed (2015), Ryan Coogler, did envision on doing a Creed trilogy. However, due to being busy with directing Black Panther, it's unknown to what were his original plans for the sequels.

37. Ron Howard

Producer | Arrested Development

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1983), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.

Howard ...

Eye See You (2002)

38. Joe Johnston

Director | Captain America: The First Avenger

Joseph Eggleston Johnston II is an American film director from Texas who is known for directing the cult classic film The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Wolfman, October Sky, The Pagemaster, Jurassic Park III and Captain America: The First Avenger. He was an art director for ...

Assassins (1995)

39. Vincenzo Natali

Director | Cube

Vincenzo Natali was born on January 6, 1969 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Cube (1997), In the Tall Grass (2019) and Cypher (2002).

High-Rise (2015)

40. David Cronenberg

Actor | The Fly

David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father, Milton Cronenberg, was a journalist and editor, and his mother, Esther (Sumberg), was a piano player. After showing an inclination for literature at an early...

Eastern Promises 2

Eastern Promises 3

Top Gun (1986)

RoboCop (1987)

Total Recall (1990)

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

The Singing Detective (2003)

41. Guillermo del Toro

Writer | El laberinto del fauno

Guillermo del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from the legendary Dick Smith (The Exorcist (1973)) and worked on making his ...

The Hobbit films and a "bridge film"

When the Hobbit film franchise was in early development under then-director Guillermo del Toro, it was originally going to adapt the book as a single movie, to be followed by a "bridge movie" set between it and The Lord of the Rings. Then the project was altered to be a two-movie arc, with the first movie subtitled as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and the second movie subtitled "There and Back Again". When the decision was made in July 2012 to extend the franchise to three movies, this second subtitle was still kept for the final movie, while the second movie became The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013). However, in April 2014, Peter Jackson announced that the third movie's subtitle had been changed to "The Battle of the Five Armies". The primary reasons for the change, were that the title battle is the central focus of the movie, but also, as Jackson stated on his Facebook page, "'There and Back Again' felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo's arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced. After all, Bilbo has already arrived 'there' in the Desolation of Smaug."

42. Peter Jackson

Producer | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Sir Peter Jackson made history with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were nominated for and collected a slew of awards from around the globe, with The ...

The Hobbit/Lord of The Rings "bridge film" When the Hobbit film franchise was in early development under then-director Guillermo del Toro, it was originally going to adapt the book as a single movie, to be followed by a "bridge movie" set between it and The Lord of the Rings. Then the project was altered to be a two-movie arc, with the first movie subtitled as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and the second movie subtitled "There and Back Again". When the decision was made in July 2012 to extend the franchise to three movies, this second subtitle was still kept for the final movie, while the second movie became The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013). However, in April 2014, Peter Jackson announced that the third movie's subtitle had been changed to "The Battle of the Five Armies". The primary reasons for the change, were that the title battle is the central focus of the movie, but also, as Jackson stated on his Facebook page, "'There and Back Again' felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo's arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced. After all, Bilbo has already arrived 'there' in the Desolation of Smaug."

43. Susanne Bier

Director | Hævnen

Though Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award winning writer and director Susanne Bier's work often plays out against a wide-reaching global backdrop, its focus is intimate, carefully exploring the explosive emotions and complexities of familial bonds. This unique combination is part of ...

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

44. Martin Scorsese

Producer | Killers of the Flower Moon

Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese, who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later ...

Hustlers (2019)



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