Heading In The Right Direction
8/01/2010
All great directors have to start from somewhere. Some directors, like Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder, start out under the radar and gradually build to greatness. Other are great right from the start and get better as time goes on. And in some cases, a director's very first film winds up being his or her best – Orson Welles' Citizen Kane is certainly proof of this.
When you watch this month's sci-fi hit District 9, you will know one thing for sure: first-time director Neill Blomkamp certainly hasn't started out under the radar, ready and waiting to build up to greatness with every new project. He's already there. With a unique storyline, great camerawork and amazing special effects (thanks to producer Peter Jackson's special effects company WETA), we can expect big things from the young South African. So which other directors have gone from strength to strength? Take the quiz to find out.
1. Aussie director George Miller won the Oscar for family favourite Happy Feet, but what was his first feature film?
Answer: Mad Max
2. Who first directed the critically-acclaimed drama 12 Angry Men, before directing such award-winning films as Network and The Verdict?
Answer: Sidney Lumet
3. Brad Bird began his directing career with animated classic The Iron Giant, and followed on with Pixar’s The Incredibles. Which other popular Pixar feature-length film did he direct?
Answer: Ratatouille
4. He directed The Dark Knight and The Prestige after his runaway success with first feature film Memento.
Answer: Christopher Nolan
5. In 1968, he made his debut with Night of the Living Dead and has directed some of the greatest zombie horrors of all time.
Answer: George A. Romero
6. He’s the man behind such films as When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men and The Princess Bride, but what was Rob Reiner’s first film as director?
Answer: This Is Spinal Tap
7. Peter Jackson directed The Lord of The Rings trilogy and produces District 9. What was his first film?
Answer: Bad Taste
8. Sam Raimi made his name in the mainstream market with the Spider-Man franchise and Drag Me To Hell, but which horror classic did he made his directorial debut?
Answer: Evil Dead
9. Which Oscar-winning director made his debut with The Man Without a Face?
Answer: Mel Gibson
10. Who debuted with Sixteen Candles before making such 80s icon movies like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Weird Science?
Answer: John Hughes
Go back to article listing