Famous people who Picked Filmmaking Over Everything Else!

What if you dropped out of school? Or never got that MBA degree? Maybe you did get your MBA but do your dreams always take you elsewhere? Have you ever wondered what life would be like, if you had made a different choice?

It is never too late!  And these famous people prove that.

5 Film Makers who Refused to Give Up


James Cameron

Famous and Oscar-winning director James Cameron is best known for the highly acclaimed, box-office hits Aliens (1986), Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009)

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But did you know he started off by studying Physics in a community college in the year 1973. He then switched to English and finally dropped out in the fall of 1974. He worked many odd jobs, during which he taught himself all about special effects. After watching the original Star Wars film, he quit his job as a truck driver in the year 1977 and entered the film industry.

He wrote a 10 minute science-fiction script with his friends, titled Xenogenesis.


Lana and Andy Wachowski

Lana Wachowski, along with Brother Andy, are the ones responsible for movies like The Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas.

This award winning duo dropped out of college and ran a house painting and construction business while writing comic books for Marvel.  They were huge movie fanatics and list Billy Wilder and Hitchcock as their early influence.  They sold a screenplay titled Assassins, which flopped. After which they filmed The Matrix and become the award winning directors we know today.


Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino is the director of award winning movies like Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and the Inglourious Basterds. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and got a job ushering at a porn theater in Torrance. It was here that he conceived Reservoir Dogs, his first ever movie as an independent filmmaker. Reservoir Dogs is regarded as a classic and cult hit; it was called the “Greatest Independent Film of All Time” by Empire.


Alfred Hitchcock

Often nicknamed “The Master of Suspense”, Hitchcock has pioneered many elements of suspense and psychological thriller genres. Some of his most notable works are Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964). But did you know he has studied Engineering at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation. He even signed up to be a cadet of the Royal Engineers in the year 1917, after he was rejected by the military due to obesity.

He dabbled into creativity while he worked as an advertising designer with a cable company, and the rest as we say, is history.


Guy Ritchie

Guy Ritchie is a British director whose has director movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking BarrelsSherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and many more.

He struggled with dyslexia and had to attend a number of different schools. He was asked to leave school at the age of 15 when he was caught using drugs.

With little to no qualifications, Ritchie ended up taking an assortment of low level jobs. He also worked as a bricklayer and a bartender. At the age of 25, he got a break into the world of directing. His friend, who directed commercials, hired Ritchie as a runner. Ritchie soon began directing commercials and music videos and finally broke into film with his short movie The Hard Case.

Now I am not saying getting a professional degree is a bad thing. We need our businessmen, lawyers, doctors and everyone in between. But when your passion is unconventional, it’s okay to choose that off beat road.  These directors are an ode to that.

If that is where you passion is taking you, enroll in Seamedu School of ProExpressionism’s film making courses in BengaluruChandigarh and Pune that will give you a head start!

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Written by: Aashay Gatade

Last updated: 15-03-2024

Aashay Gatade is a film editor with over 10 years of professional experience. He has worked on feature films, short films, web series, TVCs etc. These include commercial success as well as critical acclaim. Also he has been teaching film making for more than 3 years.

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