18 Other Slowpoke Directors

James Cameron went 12 years between feature films—and other directors have gone even longer, for reasons ranging from hubris to legal problems to, say, Nazi oppression. Slate looks at 18 other filmmakers who took their sweet time:

• Sylvester Stallone, 21-year gap: Between helming Rocky IV and Rocky Balboa, Stallon was just too busy starring in other action movies. Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot, anyone?

• George Lucas, 22-year gap: After directing the first movie of his original Star Wars trilogy in 1977, Lucas left the next two to relative unknowns—and then waited until 1999, when technology had finally advanced to the necessary level, before starting his second trilogy.
• Carl Theodor Dreyer, 12-year gap: As Dreyer struggled to gain financing between Day of Wrath and Ordet, he also fled the German occupation of Denmark.
• Laurence Olivier, 13-year gap: Rumor has it that Marilyn Monroe’s treatment of his Broadway production The Sleeping Prince—which became film The Prince and the Showgirl—led him to swear off filmmaking. But Olivier was likely just busy with other jobs, health issues, and a divorce.

For the complete list, click here.
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