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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
MOVIES & SHOWTIMES
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Five of the best directorial debuts
BY MAKENZIE WHITTLE • The Bulletin
N
ot many directors have stellar debuts, but some hit the big screen sweet spot the first time and cement themselves among the list of other fine directors.
Here are just a few that started out strong and continued to thrive.
Mel Brooks, “The Producers” (1967) —
Brooks may go down in history as one of
the funniest people that ever graced our
mortal coil, and in his directorial debut, his
humor and creativity shone brightly. Com-
ing off his work as a writer and occasional
actor for several Sid Caesar projects as well
as “Your Show of Shows,” Brooks took the
helm (and the pen for which he won the Os-
car) for his first feature about two Broadway
producers (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder)
who believe they can make more money
with a flop than with a hit. So they find the
worst play, worst director and worst actor
to make their riches. But when “Springtime
for Hitler” premiers, things don’t go totally
to plan. Listen carefully for Brooks’ voice as
one of the actors in the title musical num-
ber. Stream it on HBO Max or rent it from
Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
or YouTube.
Jordan Peele, “Get Out” (2017) — Peele
made a name for himself as one half of the
sketch comedy duo Key and Peele. But since
his brilliantly crafted script won him an
Oscar (which is rare for a genre film), “Get
Out” solidified him among the great film-
makers of his generation as he continues
to make and produce films and television
shows of merit. The film follows a young
Black man as he visits his white girlfriend’s
parents for the first time and slowly comes
to realize that it’s all just a facade for some-
thing far more devious at work. Stream it
on Hulu (with Live TV) or rent it from Am-
azon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or
YouTube.
John Singleton, “Boyz N The Hood”
(1991) — Singleton had the idea of the film
that would be his debut when he was apply-
ing for film school. He submitted the idea
in his application in 1986 then sat on the
story until Paramount greenlit the project
with him as director. With rich, fully di-
mensional characters and an emotionally
packed story based on people Singleton
knew, he would go on to be nominated for
Turner Entertainment/RKO
Orson Welles in a scene from “Citizen Kane” (1941).
Columbia Pictures
Cuba Gooding Jr., left, and Morris Chestnut in a scene from “Boyz N the Hood” (1991).
Best Original Screenplay and Best Director
for the film, making him the first African
American filmmaker and the youngest to be
nominated for the latter. The film follows a
group of friends from their youth to young
adulthood in South Central Los Angeles
surrounded by the neighborhood’s gang cul-
ture. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play,
iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.
Orson Welles, “Citizen Kane” (1941) —
There is a reason why this ends up on movie
lists constantly, but it is also easy to not get
the hype at first. Welles was given carte
blanche to make whatever he wanted for
RKO and with total control over the script,
casting, editing, directing, every detail he
wanted without the studio butting into his
process, it was, and still is, very unusual for
a first time director. The semi-biographical
film not so subtly influenced by the life of
newspaper magnate and millionaire Wil-
liam Randolph Hearst follows the fictional
character, Charles Foster Kane (Welles) in
his rags to riches anti-heroic story. From the
innovative cinematography to the brilliant
script (officially co-written by Herman J.
Mankiewicz, but it is still up for debate the
ratio of what each of them actually contrib-
uted to the finished script), “Citizen Kane”
stands out as one of the best debuts and still
very relevant today. Stream it on HBO Max
or rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play,
iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
Olivia Wilde, “Booksmart” (2019) —
Wilde’s debut may have been incredibly
recent, but what a debut it was for the ac-
tor-turned-director. It follows two asser-
tive best friends, Molly and Amy (Beanie
Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) who have
devoted their high school lives to study,
extracurriculars (Molly is class president),
activism and everything that looks good
on a college application. It paid off, they
both got into their dream schools, Yale
and Columbia but on the last day of high
school, they find out that everyone else,
who partied and had fun, also got dream
schools. So with one night left before grad-
uation, they decide to party, for better or
worse. It is heartfelt and is emotionally
authentic even if some of the situations
border on outrageous. Stream it on Hulu
or rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play,
iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0304, mwhittle@bendbulletin.com