There is a sentiment, shared by many followers of great art, that monetary success strips an artist of his inspiration. It is the idea that once the artist has little left to prove, the quality of his work will take a dive and said artist will be a shell of his former self. In popular culture, it’s the idea behind “keeping it real.”
This is somewhat shortsighted.
There are several major cinematic examples people like to toss out. Lucas and Coppola often come to mind. After all, these two cinematic luminaries have their own empires but have done little of relevance within the past 20 years or so. When they have attempted to work, their films have been largely panned by most discerning viewers.
It makes sense to think that the success and money went to their heads, and that they lost touch with the common man. Take George Lucas, who was notoriously shy and quiet as a young man. I can relate to this, having spent most of my young life with the same temperament. Often, when someone is quiet it means that his mind is speaking louder than his mouth. Lucas proved this to be true, as his early characters exhibit his great understanding of our humanity.
Francis Ford Coppola mentored George Lucas. Throughout the 1970s, Coppola made a string of four absolutely incredible films. Three of these are considered among the greatest of all time, and the one that isn’t usually mentioned (The Conversation) just might be his greatest work. After Apocalypse Now, something happened to Francis Ford Coppola and he never again produced films with the same brilliance.
There is a lesser-known example of a filmmaker who has failed to live up to his early success: Roland Joffé had one of the best debuts of any filmmaker I can think of. His first two films, The Killing Fields and The Mission, gathered him Best Director nominations at the Academy Awards. The Mission won the coveted Palm d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. After The Mission, Joffé virtually disappeared from cinematic relevance. The most well-known film he is responsible for since is the Demi Moore version of The Scarlet Letter, a film known primarily for its dismal failure. The only memory I have of this movie is from high school, when we tricked our substitute teacher into showing us that version instead of the less graphic version on the syllabus. (more…)
