MovieChat Forums > Tim Robbins Discussion > Why did he stop directing?

Why did he stop directing?


He made three excellent feature films, Bob Roberts (which arguably predicted the rise of Trump way before anyone else saw it coming, "The Simpsons" included), Dead Man Walking and The Cradle Will Rock, but since 1999, nothing, at least not in terms of theatrical movies.

It's a shame. He's definitely one of the most talented actors-turned-directors.

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I agree. I actually really like most actor turned directors. I wonder the same about Billy-Bob Thornton.

I think that it might be that they really like acting and have trouble saying no to part in order to concentrate on directing. The other thing is that they might be too self-critical of their work. Tim Robbins has worked with some great directors like the Coen Brothers and Clint Eastwood (another actor turned director whose a bit of an exception to the rule due to his regular directing) and might lack the drive to get better. Financing would also be a problem, his movies didn't really make money even though they were critically acclaimed.

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I saw a DVD of a theatrical production he did called Embedded. It is from 2003 I think, so maybe he just switched to theater.

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