literally, nobody ever mentioned this guy a single time before thor: ragnorok, and then jojo rabbit becomes one of the most hyped non-franchise movies ever. who's dick did he suck to go from nobody to somebody so quickly?
shareI came to this forum asking the exact same thing.
His rise to fame seems to come out of nowhere.
It often seems that way, but in most cases the "overnight" success is someone who put in years of work as an unknown before earning a place in the spotlight. Waititi is no exception. Before he landed the Ragnarok job, he produced and directed a number of under-the-radar works, each one bringing him more attention. His big breakthrough was the film "What We Do in the Shadows," which was one of those great films that no one hears about when it comes out, but that slowly bubbles up into the mainstream. So yes, while to those who only watch blockbusters and mainstream films, he appeared as if from out of nowhere, he's a director that film buffs, no pun intended, had been aware of for years before Ragnarok or Jojo Rabbit.
share👍🏾
shareI looked at his filmography and it looked a bit thin for someone that is this successful now.
shareSome of the best directors have taken the quality over quantity route. Preston Sturges is probably the most notable example. Quentin Tarantino comes to mind as well. Not that Waititi is in either's league, in my opinion, but not every director can churn out a movie every year a la Woody Allen.
shareI agree on the concept. James Cameron is also a quality over quantity director.
But I don’t feel Waititi is too good.
He's not for everyone. His humor is of the Monty Python vein, who were equally polarizing among audiences. I'm a big fan of Waititi's subtle humor and dry intellectual wit, but I will say he has yet to direct a film to equal "Piranha II: The Spawning." :P
shareI thought What We Do in The Shadows (2014) and The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) were talked about quite a bit.
shareThey definitely garnered attention in certain circles, but neither was a film the average man in the street was aware existed, which is my point. Waititi made films that generated a buzz among those who seek out great films rather than simply watch whichever film has the most expensive TV spots.
shareI guess because I work in the arts, and we all went to see those movies in our art house theatre, that the word got out. I mean the What We Do in the Shadows tv show is in it's fourth season. I would have thought that even by that some might have retroactively gone back and looked it up.
Sometimes I live in an art bubble.
Jojo Rabbit is really all it took, I think. Heck, the trailer alone was all it took. I remember when that thing dropped people were already talking about the movie like it was amazing and most didn't have any idea of who Taika Waititi was at the time.
Which it was a really good trailer. It had cool music, hilarious moments, it seemed like a quirky concept that was both funny and dark, the movie felt big, and it had a Wes Anderson-esque style to it that stood out and seemed both smart and cool. It was a good hype-maker. You could show that trailer to most people and they'd instantly want to see it (I remember the Joker trailer evoking a similar reaction). And the movie turned out to live up to expectations for most. It was very original and weird, but not so weird as to seem like something only smart (pretentious?) people would enjoy. It was very accessible and entertaining to the masses, both snobby and casual.
Directors often get big in situations like that. Especially one who is starring in the movie, so that everyone can put a face to him. I think it especially adds interest when the director is someone people typically associate with comedy who also shells out something that evokes real emotions other than just laughter. It seems that was also one of the things that stuck out about Todd Phillips and the aforementioned Joker. While everyone had seen The Hangover, I don't think his actual name was quite as well known until people started to realize that the guy who made the silly movie also made this very dark and serious movie.
i thought jojo rabbit was pretty good, a solid 7/10. it worked good as a comedy but its status as one of the best films of 2019 is kinda lost on me. still think it's odd that taiki waititi is so famous now that he can literally be an actor in major productions and his name is now a box office draw. it's nearly on the same level as Tarantino after pulp fiction, but pulp fiction was 100x more revolutionary than jojo rabbit was.
shareI dunno if I'd go so far as to say he's Tarantino level. Wes Anderson level maybe. Jordan Peele level more likely (now that is an overrated filmmaker lol). I think his name will definitely draw in audiences but I think he could probably still drop a bomb if he doesn't have an awesome trailer and some critics trending his name out the wazoo (the latter, no doubt, is a big key to Peele's appeal... apeele?). Tarantino, however, could upload a home video of himself playing with action figures and would probably still break the bank and have people rationalizing how it's a masterpiece.
I'm not saying Jojo Rabbit was one of the best films of 2019 (although I'm not saying it's not either, I can't recall off the top of my head the stuff from that year) but even if it was something that I, personally, didn't care all that much for, I think it's still somewhat apparent how many others could see it that way. Thus, his rise to fame doesn't seem that shocking to me. It had a very distinctive, standout style to it that really highlighted the directorial aspects. And, as I was mentioning, I thought it had elements to it that gave it a very wide appeal that drew in both more casual audiences and more picky film buffs. It was that kinda Forrest Gump appeal where, regardless of who you showed it to, they always at least liked it even if they didn't think it was an insta-classic or whatever (unlike something such as 2001: A Spacy Odyssey, say, where some film buffs may think it's a masterpiece but more casual viewers may find it to be a pretentious borefest). It had a nice balance.
I think The Hunt for the Wilderpeople really put him on the map.
shareHe was big on the indie comedy scene for about a decade, and was considered one of Aussie/New Zealand's best directors. Then he broke into the American mainstream with Thor: Ragnorok and quickly skyrocketed to the top because he already had a huge overseas fanbase that was now combined with the massive MCU fanbase. I agree that Jojo Rabbit is good but nowhere near one of the best films of the decade, or of all time, but I imagine a lot of that admiration just came from Waititi fans ready to accept the film no matter what. But after that, it became apparent that he was just a sellout and a one-trick pony.
Just imagine an alternate timeline Wes Anderson who, after making Life Aquatic, decided to make Batman Begins or something, then began acting in everything before going back to his quirky indie movies, except in this timeline everyone grows to hate Anderson because they're sick of seeing him.