Cameron Crowe used to be kind of a cool filmmaker. Maybe never cutting edge, exactly, but "edgy" by the standards of American mainstream films. He was never a very prolific filmmaker (save in 2011, when he released two documentaries and a feature film), averaging about three movies a decade since his screenwriting debut in 1982, but most of the films that he made had a certain cachet either as cult classics or genuine classic classics. Then he was embraced by the Academy with an extremely Oscar friendly movie, following it up with another Oscar friendly movie which would net him the prize for Original Screenplay. He was sort of an "everyman" filmmaker whose work was filled with warmth and focused on character. And then he made a film which is pretty much the exact opposite of all that came before - a dark, mind-bender type thriller that ultimately polarized critics, followed by a less than successful return to warmth. Whatever Crowe had leading up to his Oscar win, he seemed to lose after taking home the prize.
