Since the\u00a0dawn of the new age of digital filmmaking<\/strong>, the industry has been moving in two polarized directions<\/strong>. The indie film community has exploded with aspiring\u00a0filmmakers, film schools, film festivals and an ever-increasing supply of films<\/strong> and filmmakers. This wave of technology and talent<\/strong> has encouraged filmmakers to operate on micro-budgets<\/strong> unthinkable a few years ago.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the mega-blockbusters<\/strong>\u00a0with their\u00a0high-end CGI effects\u00a0have continued to push traditional Hollywood\u00a0productions higher and higher<\/strong> in terms of budgets, VFX and earnings. This has created a dynamic split between the two<\/strong> (and subsequently, could be argued, resulted in the death of the mid-level feature films<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, in this divide, it has opened a unique path\u00a0for up-and-coming filmmakers to be recognized<\/strong> for their low-budget and off-the-radar films, and be given the opportunity to go from indie darlings to multi-million dollar box office earners<\/strong>. Here a few that have made the jump<\/strong>, and how their big-budget forays\u00a0have turned out.<\/p>\n David Lowery burst onto the film scene in 2009<\/strong> when his feature film debut, St. Nick<\/em><\/a>, premiered at SXSW<\/a>. The film, which was shot for a minuscule budget of $12,000<\/strong>, in part helped Lowery build up to his successful Sundance breakout<\/strong> Aint Them Bodies Saints<\/em><\/a> in 2013. Saints<\/em><\/strong>, which ended up starring Casey Affleck<\/a> and Rooney Mara<\/a>, represented a major step up <\/strong>from St. Nick<\/em>‘s $12,000 budget to a reported $4 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n However, before Saints<\/em> could finish out its theatrical run<\/strong>, Lowery (and writing partner Toby Halbrooks<\/a>) were pegged to write and direct Disney’s upcoming live-action reboot<\/strong> to Pete’s Dragon<\/em><\/a>. Lowery’s reimagining was shot (conservatively by major studio standards) for a reported $65 million<\/strong>, nearly 16 times the budget for his last film<\/strong>. It was also a major jump in terms of production and distribution<\/strong>, as its audience was no longer film festival patrons but rather worldwide families and children<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Since it’s release in August, Pete’s Dragon<\/em><\/strong> has enjoyed critical acclaim and positive\u00a0commercial success<\/strong> so far (already earning back its budget). The film has been praised as\u00a0a heartfelt character story that retains the director’s indie charm<\/a>, which has impressed Disney so much<\/strong> that they’ve reportedly handed Lowery the keys to rebooting <\/a>their Peter Pan<\/em> franchise<\/a> next.<\/p>\n Originally\u00a0attending college to purse a career in professional football<\/strong>, Coogler parlayed his sports career into filmmaking and has quickly become an up-and-comer to watch on\u00a0the biggest stage<\/strong>. After some initial successes with his short films<\/strong> produced while attending the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts<\/a>, Coogler’s first feature, Fruitvale Station<\/a><\/em>, premiered as a resounding triumph winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award<\/strong> at 2013 Sundance Film Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n A native of California, Coogler has been able to transpose\u00a0his time growing up in Oakland and Richmond<\/strong> and the stories of those throughout his community<\/a> into powerful films that have been praised for their\u00a0intimacy and complexity<\/strong>. After Fruitvale<\/em>‘s success, Coogler made an impressive jump from his $900,000 indie to write and direct a $40 million<\/strong> spin-off sequel to the Rocky<\/em> franchise<\/a> – Creed<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Creed<\/em><\/strong>, again was a critical and box office success, and has further launched Coogler onto the national scene<\/strong>. His next project is represents yet another\u00a0major bump, <\/strong>being pegged to helm the Marvel film Black Panther<\/a><\/em>, which is tentatively slated for the beginning of 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an industry still notorious for its lack of diversity<\/a> in the director role, Alexander has fought her way into the limelight<\/strong>. Born in Germany to a Palestinian father and German mother, Alexander is a former World Kickboxing Champion<\/a> who has\u00a0worked her way up from stunt woman to an Oscar-nominated director<\/strong> for her short film debut Johnny Flynton<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Her indie feature Green Street Hooligans<\/a><\/em>, which was shot for a sparing $350,000<\/strong> (despite featuring big names like Elijah Woods<\/a> and Charlie Hunnam<\/a>) went on to win both Audience and Jury awards<\/strong> at the SXSW Film Festival in 2005<\/a>. The film would continue on to become a cult-classic and make in over $3 million<\/strong> in worldwide revenue.<\/p>\n Alexander has followed up her indie success with several big-budget projects,<\/strong> notably Marvel’s Punisher: War Zone<\/a><\/em> ($35 million reported budget<\/strong>) and gigs directing episodes of Arrow<\/a><\/em>, Supergirl<\/a><\/em> and American Gothic<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Possibly the\u00a0most extreme (and successful) example of a director jumping from tiny budget indie to multi-million dollar blockbusters<\/strong>, Edwards is the poster boy for a dream-come-true career arc<\/strong>. Born in England and of Welsh decent, Edwards got his start in the industry as a visual effects artist<\/strong>. However, after a short 48-hour film challenge got him into directing<\/strong>, he created the sci-fi feature Monsters<\/em><\/a> for a micro-budget\u00a0“well-under<\/a>” $500,000.<\/p>\n Monsters<\/em>, which was shot on cameras bought at Best Buy<\/strong>, was produced by a skeleton crew of five (plus the two main actors) across Mexico, with effects created by Edwards himself<\/strong>. The film premiered at SXSW in 2010<\/a> and was promptly bought for distribution<\/strong> and went on to earn over $4 million against its paltry\u00a0budget<\/strong>.<\/p>\n After Monsters<\/em>‘ success, Edwards was brought on to direct Warner Bros’s Godzilla<\/em><\/a> reboot – a film with a reported budget in excess of $150 million<\/strong>. The success continued to come as Godzilla<\/em> has earned over $500 million worldwide<\/strong> and cemented Edwards as a crowned prince in blockbuster features. A title confirmed by Edwards’ tapping to direct the much-anticipated upcoming<\/strong> Star Wars<\/em> film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story<\/em><\/a> set to release in December 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Taika Waititi might not fit in exactly with the rest of the list<\/strong>, it might be because he doesn’t fit into many lists<\/strong>.\u00a0Besides being an Oscar-nominated director<\/strong>, he’s also a comedian, actor, writer and a painter.<\/a> He’s also been quite successful in his native New Zealand<\/strong> where his comedic works with frequent collaborator Jemaine Clement<\/a> (of Flight of the Conchords<\/em><\/a> fame – in which Waititi has directed and cameoed) has made him a well-known commodity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n However, his\u00a0recent feature films<\/strong> have begun to catapult his fame to a truly international level<\/strong>. His mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows<\/em><\/a> premiered at Sundance in 2014 to become an instant comedy classic<\/strong>, while his most recent feature\u00a0Hunt for the Wilderpeople<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/i>has further catapulted his international earnings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n All of his success (which has still mostly been in New Zealand), has led to his upcoming jump into\u00a0blockbuster status<\/strong>\u00a0with his recent nod\u00a0to direct Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok<\/a><\/em>. The film, already in production in Queensland, Australia<\/a>, will easily top $100 million in budget before production is done<\/strong> and is slated for release in late 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n Know any other indie filmmakers who have made the jump to major blockbuster director?<\/strong> Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 film directors who used their low-budget indie shorts and features as a way to jump into some big budget Hollywood blockbusters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":81323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3843,583],"tags":[4112,255,536,2271],"class_list":["post-class-post-81116","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-filmmaking-2","post-class-category-video-production-2","post-class-tag-blockbuster","post-class-tag-director","post-class-tag-filmmaking","post-class-tag-indie-film"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDavid Lowery<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"null\"](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/09\/David-Lowery.jpg\")
\n<\/a>Image via Collider<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nRyan Coogler<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/09\/RyanCoogler.jpg\")
\n<\/a>Image via Wired<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLexi Alexander<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Lexi](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Lexi-Alexander.jpg\")
\n<\/a>Image via LA Weekly<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nGareth Edwards<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"1859852_CA_0505_godzilla_02_CMC\"](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Gareth-Edwards.jpg\")
\n<\/a>Image via LA Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nTaika Waititi<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Taika](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Taika-Waititi.jpg\")
\n<\/a>Image via Emaze<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
\n