Even before the surge of Cancel Culture, some Hollywood filmmakers and stars have been known for their falls from grace as much as their biggest critical and commercial hits. The most notable on the filmmaker front are Roman Polanski and Woody Allen, who will certainly be mentioned, but they’re not alone in the disgraced pool. Do they still release films? Sure, but most definitely not within the studio system. And, quite often, not even within the United States at all.
Those who follow have seen their career trajectories either substantially dinged or demolished altogether. There are plenty of auteurs (and popcorn film helmers) who have faced varying degrees of controversy, but the names that follow experienced significant controversy. Note that, should they be among those still releasing films, how they’re managing to do so will be mentioned.
7 Brett Ratner
Known more for being a director for hire with reliable box office results than an artist with a singular vision, Brett Ratner was a studio head favorite for a while there. Primarily known for helming the Rush Hour trilogy, Ratner faced much scrutiny in 2017 when many women came forward with sexual misconduct and sexual assault allegations. He hasn’t produced or directed a Hollywood film since that point, and immigrated to Israel in 2023.
[E]X-Director
His cancelation looks to be permanent. After being fired by Warner Bros. in 2017, he didn’t direct anything for years, and wasn’t even in discussions for anything. This was almost altered in 2021 with a Milli Vanilli biopic, but that, too, never materialized. It’s best left that way.
6 Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer made it big when he released The Usual Suspects (featuring the similarly canceled Kevin Spacey), immediately putting his name towards the top of most big studios’ watchlists. And it wasn’t long before one of those studios, 20th Century Fox, snatched him up to kick off their X-Men franchise. And, after coming back for X2, he left for Warner Bros. pastures via Superman Returns.
Another [E]X-Director
But, after leading the charge on the WWII thriller Valkyrie, the box office bomb Jack the Giant Slayer, a return to mutantland via X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse, he got his first real chance at Oscar gold with Bohemian Rhapsody. But, his reported bad behavior on that set led to his termination and replacement with Dexter Fletcher.
Yet, his emotional and, often, physical detachment from that film’s production was just the last straw when it came to Hollywood calling it quits with Singer. Specifically, there was a 1997 lawsuit against him where he was accused of asking minors to film a shower scene nude for Apt Pupil, a 2014 civil lawsuit accusing Singer of drugging and raping actor and model Michael Egan III (as well as another lawsuit the same year for allegedly doing the same to a different individual, according to Vox), and a 2017 lawsuit filed by Cesar Sanchez-Guzman claiming he was sexually assaulted by the director at the age of 17 back in 2003 (Forbes). Then, when more allegations came out in 2019, Singer was removed from all projects to which he was attached, including a remake of Red Sonja.
5 John McTiernan
Long after directing three of the absolute best action films of all time with 1987’s Predator, 1988’s Die Hard, and 1990’s The Hunt for Red October, John McTiernan found himself getting into some legal trouble with what can at best be deemed a lesser movie: Rollerball. Why? He lied to the FBI about hiring Anthony Pellicano, a private detective, to wiretap two people.
Prison’ll Do That
This included Charles Roven, one of Rollerball‘s co-producers, as McTiernan felt Roven was trying to sabotage the project. He only ended up serving a 12-month prison sentence, but to this day 2003’s Basic was and remains his final film. During his imprisonment, McTiernan filed for bankruptcy and has since formerly retired.
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4 Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson was one of the most bankable Hollywood stars of both the ’80s and, especially, the ’90s. From the Mad Max and the Lethal Weapon franchises to his revered directorial work on Braveheart, it almost seemed as if he could do no wrong. And that star power held even until the early aughts, with Chicken Run, The Patriot, What Women Want, and Signs all finding levels of success.
Still Working, but His Clout is Undoubtedly Diminished
But, in 2006, the actor was arrested for driving under the influence, at which point he went on an antisemitic rant. Then, in 2010, his brief relationship with Oksana Grigorieva ended in flames when he was recorded leaving her a particularly horrendous phone message and was subsequently barred from coming near either her or their daughter via a domestic violence-related restraining order. At that point, Hollywood seemed to be done with Gibson, though only to an extent.
His very public fall from grace has slowly been reversed, with celebrities such as Robert Downey Jr. (for whom Gibson had shown support during his public time of need) standing beside him. But it’s been a slow process. After Signs (2002), Gibson didn’t lead a film until Edge of Darkness in 2010, and since that point he’s been popping up in films more and more often, not to mention his Oscar-nominated directorial work on 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge.
And, yet, there’s little doubt the quality of those roles have plummeted, as playing the villain in Machete Kills or The Expendables 3 is a different animal from co-leading Lethal Weapon.
3 Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski has an Academy Award attached to his name as well as a rape conviction, and it’s arguably the latter for which he is more well-known (as well as having been the husband of Sharon Tate, the most famous of the Manson Family’s victims).
After directing the extremely respected Knife in the Water and Repulsion as well as the equally-respected Hollywood films Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown, he found himself in some major hot water with the United States government. Specifically, he was arrested in 1977 for drugging and raping a minor and, after fleeing the U.S. for Europe, he was and remains forbidden from shooting a film in the former country.
Canceled in the States, at Least
In that way, he’s been canceled in the United States. And, yet, Hollywood hasn’t stopped releasing his films, nor have prominent stars stopped from appearing in his films.
On one hand, many deem him one of the most talented filmmakers of all time, so perhaps it’s not quite fair to outright chastise Johnny Depp for working with him on The Ninth Gate, Adrien Brody on The Pianist, or Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, and Jodie Foster on the underrated Carnage. But, it’s quite odd that there are few performers who have openly condemned him as they have Gibson, with Michael Douglas being the only prominent example.
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2 Victor Salva
As a filmmaker, Victor Salva is primarily known for creating the Jeepers Creepers franchise, of which he directed the first three installments. And, were it not for his actions behind-the-scenes of his debut film, Clownhouse (which features a very early performance from Sam Rockwell), there’s a good chance Salva would be known on a wider scale than he is now.
Why? Because not only is the opening act of the original Jeepers Creepers fantastic, but his Powder has its fans, and Clownhouse is certainly an effective chiller (though not often for the right reasons, considering there’s a scene where the young protagonist is playing a carnival game with Salva standing behind him as an extra, looking down in a suspicious manner).
But, his opportunities have been limited due to his 1988 conviction regarding his sexual abuse of that 1989 film’s 12-year-old lead actor.
Cancelation Finally Fully Caught Up with Him
How Salva has been able to release any films (including Clownhouse) is a mystery…right up until one learns that he was a protégé of Francis Ford Coppola. Apparently, the conviction did little to sway the Godfather director’s opinion of Salva, as he executive produced all three of his Jeepers Creepers films.
In fact, according to The Los Angeles Times, Salva talked to Coppola, claiming the experience “would have value” to which Coppola allegedly said “It will make you a better artist.” That’s the power of an established auteur’s influence but, fortunately, the industry as a whole has refused to work with Salva.
1 Woody Allen
Woody Allen is one of the most iconic and respected filmmakers of his generation or any other. But, as a man, he’s strayed pretty far from being respected on the macro-scale and, in terms of being an iconic personality, it’s not for a particularly good reason. Specifically, the Annie Hall director married Soon-Yi Previn.
Previn was the adopted child of Mia Farrow and André Previn (they adopted her in 1977). Allen had interactions with Previn between that point and his marriage to Farrow, beginning in 1980, and by the time the early ’90s rolled around, Allen and Previn had only become closer.
He Still Works, but He’s More Known for His Controversies Than Any of His Newer Films
But, it was closer than Farrow (and the film-viewing public) suspected, as the Rosemary’s Baby actress discovered nude photos of Previn in Allen’s house in 1992. According to The New York Times, Allen told Farrow that he and Previn, who was in her early 20s at the time, had just started a sexual relationship two weeks before.
Allen told the press that he was neither Previn’s father nor even her stepfather but, suffice it to say, the vast majority of people found it to be close enough. Even if he hadn’t ended up marrying Previn (to whom he remains married to this day), the Hannah and Her Sisters auteur would be just as known for his and Previn’s relationship as his Oscar wins and nominations.
