what actors/writers/directors do you think made 1 good movie and never made anything special again?

Boondock Saints...didn't like the film, but figured I'd be the first.

James Guercio for Electra Glide in Blue.

Really surprised that he never directed anything before or after.

Jeannot Szwarc - Somewhere in Time

Jaws 2 and Supergirl were pretty much forgettable.

as far as the U.S. is concerned:

Going to go with Tom Hulce in Amadeus.

Thought he was great in that role, and then you never really saw much more from him.

But he was still memorable in Animal House.

Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. Just a terrific performance. Award worthy IMHO.

And then it all went downhill...

Jan Debont - directed SPEED and then it was all downhill from there (quality wise).

Charles Laughton directing The Night of the Hunter

Though I think Mr. Laughton may have had somewhat of an acting career...

Louise Fletcher in Cuckoo's Nest. An Oscar right out of the gate then nada. She worked quite a bit after that, but made some odd career choices.

Newt (Carrie Henn) from Aliens. Only movie she was ever in.

The Blair Witch people are always the first who come to my mind.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought Benigni was relatively well known for Johnny Stecchino and the Jim Jarmusch movies.

Man thats a great film. I have th soundtrack on my iPod....great music. One of the best last shots of a movie as well where the camera slowly pans back as the character of Wintergreen lies on the middle of the highway in Monument Valley.

Justin Kerrigan.



It mightn't be the most popular or obvious choice, but I was really looking forward to see the next film from Justin Kerrigan after falling in love with Human Traffic. Not a great film by any means but it captured the spirit of a time gone by, and it's still something I watch fondly.

Human Traffic energised the careers of a lot of young British actors; John Sim and Danny Dyer definitely owe being noticed to ...Traffic. The soundtrack is still being played at my house - moving from imported CD to iPod - and the way the film dealt with awkward situations, reluctantly growing up, and denial really spoke to me.

Kerrigan's nowehere to be found, even after his "best newcomer" awards and noms. No IMDb bio, not even a Wikipedia page. At twenty-four years of age, he made a fun, meaningful film about his generation and, despite how amateurish or shallow it may have been, it felt genuine. One page says he landed a deal with Miramax after Harvey Weinstein bought Human Traffic for US distribution; will we ever see anything come of that, with the turmoil at that little company?

Thought of another one:



Now it's obvious where Tony Kaye went - he turned out to be a nutter and no-one wanted to work with him. But when your claim to fame is American History X, you'd think he'd get some forgiveness after a while.

Only that Twister was a more successful film than Speed. His cinematography from the 80's is also considered top notch.

I think a better example is Nia Vardalos who wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and has yet to equal her debut success.

How about the guy who wrote and directed Donnie Darko (too lazy to look it up right now)?

As for Tony Kaye, I recall reading recently that he is working on a new project and that the American History X problems are being resolved.

Patrick Fugit in Almost Famous he only appears every once in a while in lesser films now. (of course the fact that he can't act for shit probably has something to do with it)

I always expected Jurassic Park to push Ariana Richards to stardom.

I would like to see Laura Harring do something else after seeing her in Mulholland Dr.

Richard Kelly? I was going to say that but Southland Tales looks like another cult classic. Although it may just be horrible.

I consider myself something of an aspiring film buff, but...who?

And Tony Kaye directed a documentary on abortion called Lake of Fire that has been receiving quite a bit of acclaim on the festival circuit. I'm kind of curious to check it out; certainly can't be any more mediocre than American History X.

Kim Richards - made Escape to Witch Mountain when she was a child actress. Much, much later she made the 80's film Tuff Turf with James Spader & Robert Downey Jr. then just seemed to disappear.

The OP said one good film, not none.