Writer-directors: Kings or fools?

As Mel Brooks once reminded us, “It’s good to be the king.” He uttered that line while playing lascivious King Louis XVI in “History of the World, Part I,” but he also could have been speaking about himself and others like him.

In Hollywood, there really is no such thing as a king. People do reign, but usually not for long. The business is too capricious, too dependent on the whims of a fickle public.

But if there is such a thing as a king in the creative community, it’s the writer-director. Otherwise known as a hyphenate, the savvy writer-director can often name his own price — if he’s good, and if his films have established a glowing track record of bringing in bucks. The reason is simple: the writer-director has a vision, and he delivers it with a one-two punch of penning the script and then casting and shooting it himself.

He’s the car mechanic who also does detailing. He’s the architect who’s also an interior designer. He’s two craftsmen in one.

Of course, as Peter Parker was once informed, with great power comes great responsibility. And more often than not, the writer-director eventually stumbles from the burden, no matter how talented or popular he or she may be.

Living up to ‘Diner’
One of the most successful hyphenates in recent movie history is Barry Levinson, who is at it again as the writer and director of the new comedy, “Man of the Year,” starring Robin Williams. It’s too early to tell if the film will enhance Levinson’s reputation or tarnish it. But it’s safe to say he hasn’t had a significant success as a writer-director since “Diner” in 1982, his debut as a director.

It may not be fair to judge him as a writer-director, because since “Diner” he has worked primarily as a director of other writers’ scripts, and a superb one at that. He established a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most respected directors with pictures such as “The Natural,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,”  “Rain Man,” “Bugsy” and “Wag the Dog.” He did serve as writer-director on critically lauded but commercially challenged projects like “Avalon” and “Liberty Heights” as well as one rather unfortunate stinker, “Jimmy Hollywood.” And he has worked as a prolific producer.

But Levinson will always be considered a hyphenate because he established himself as a screenwriter first, then became a director. Three years before he directed “Diner,” he earned an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay (along with then-wife and writing partner Valerie Curtin) for “… And Justice For All.”

And throughout his career, he has continued to mix in a writer-director effort. “Man of the Year,” about a late-night talk-show comedian who decides to run for President, is from his original script.

M. Night’s winning streak comes to an end
There are other writer-directors who, like Levinson, have achieved the same lofty status as Levinson. Unfortunately, when one is king, one doesn’t have to answer to anyone, which can sometimes spell disaster.

The most glaring recent example is M. Night Shyamalan. Since the immense box-office success and critical acclaim of “The Sixth Sense” in 1999 (domestic gross $293 million), Shyamalan has been a veritable ATM machine. Pictures such as “Unbreakable” ($94 million), “Signs” ($227 million) and “The Village” ($114 million) have established him as one of Hollywood’s most reliable money-makers.

Alas, along came “Lady in the Water.” Before its release in July, it had been the topic of negative industry scuttlebutt because of a rift between the filmmaker and his usually supportive coterie of Disney executives. They didn’t like his script, he became miffed and found a home for it anyway with Warner Brothers, and the result was a critical and commercial embarrassment.

One bomb will not necessarily submarine a career. But it doesn’t help, either. In this case, the perception was that the hyphenate’s hubris contributed to his demise, that he was so obsessively committed to his vision that he wasn’t willing to accept a wave of warnings about it from outsiders.

That may not be fair or true, of course. Countless filmmakers throughout history have defied conventional wisdom and the nattering nabobs of negativity and have gone on to write and direct exceptional works. The chestnut, “Nobody knows anything” once again applies.

But as usual, it’s all about perception. Right now Shyamalan is perceived as a filmmaker who was intent on driving himself off a cliff.

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