This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release . Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early works by Orson Welles such as his filming of his stage production of Twelfth Night in 1933 or his experimental short film The Hearts of Age in 1934. Often these early works were not intended for commercial release either by intent, such as film school projects or inability to find distribution.
7-751: Hero Mode , also known as Mayfield's Game in Australia and the United Kingdom, is a 2021 American independent comedy film directed by A.J. Tesler (in his directorial debut ) and written by Jeff Carpenter. Produced by Marcy Carpenter, E.J. Kavounas, and Tesler, the film was released in American theaters on June 4, 2021, distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment . followed by video on demand on June 11, 2021. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Financially struggling indie video game business owner Kate asks her son Troy (Chris Carpenter) to develop
14-524: A little authentic to its milieu." Film critic Roger Moore wrote that the film "isn’t interesting enough to stand on its own, despite manic efforts by Astin and an amusing line here and there." On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 46% based on reviews from 13 critics. Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Directorial debut Subsequently, many directors learned their trade in
21-520: A video game in time for an upcoming gaming convention in order to save the company. Troy is enthusiastic for the job. But the company's disgruntled coders are not, and in addition Rick, the CEO of a rival company looking to buy out the studio in order to gut it and fire everyone' While in production the film went under the title of Mayfield's Game . Filming took place in Los Angeles. Before its release
28-519: A young coding wizard who’s charged with saving his family’s gaming business [that] doesn’t break novel ground in any respect," but that "its good humor, spry pacing and likable performances should appeal to its pre-high-school target audience." Critic Richard Whittaker wrote in The Austin Chronicle that the film is "a sweet, vaguely moralizing, teen-and-tween-friendly light drama," and that it "is charming if undemanding, and feels at least
35-467: The film generated criticism for its perceived unrealistic portrayal of video game development . The film was released in American theaters on June 4, 2021, distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment . It was followed by video on demand releases on June 11, 2021. It opened with $ 11,843, for a total domestic gross of $ 21,178. Writing in Variety , critic Nick Schager described the film as a "lively saga about
42-423: The medium of television as it became popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Notable directors who did their first directorial work in this medium include Robert Altman , Sidney Lumet , and Alfonso Cuarón . As commercial television advertising became more cinematic in the 1960s and 1970s, many directors early work was in this medium, including directors such as Alan Parker and Ridley Scott . With the success of MTV and
49-463: The popularity of music videos from the early 1980s, this gave another avenue for directors to hone their skills. Notable directors whose early work was in music videos include David Fincher , Jonathan Glazer , Michel Gondry , and Spike Jonze . The following symbols indicate where a director has worked in another medium prior to directing commercially. ♦ Indicates where a director has created other earlier works for television # Indicates when
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