Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' and more directors' change-ups

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'Hugo''Alexander' -- Oliver Stone'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' -- David Fincher'The Color Purple' -- Steven Spielberg'Dreamcatcher' -- Lawrence Kasdan'For the Love of the Game' -- Sam Raimi'Wolf' -- Mike Nichols'Music of the Heart' -- Wes Craven'The Golden Compass' -- Chris Weitz'Anonymous' -- Roland Emmerich'The Straight Story' -- David Lynch

Who would have thought that Martin Scorsese, the man whose films are as adult as they come, would ever make a film specifically designed to appeal to the holiday family audience? But that's exactly what he did with "Hugo," the 3-D children's fantasy film based on the book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" in 2011. Scorsese's mid-career change-up became a critical but <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/02/graham-king-on-hugos-rough-ride-its-been-painful.html">tanked at the box office</a>.<br>
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Not all of his director colleagues have been as critically fortunate when their desire for variety led them away from the genres and themes that often defined their careers. Here are nine other directors who attempted to broaden their horizons and how they did.

'Hugo'

( Jaap Buitendijk / Paramount Pictures / November 29, 2012 )

Who would have thought that Martin Scorsese, the man whose films are as adult as they come, would ever make a film specifically designed to appeal to the holiday family audience? But that's exactly what he did with "Hugo," the 3-D children's fantasy film based on the book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" in 2011. Scorsese's mid-career change-up became a critical but tanked at the box office.

Not all of his director colleagues have been as critically fortunate when their desire for variety led them away from the genres and themes that often defined their careers. Here are nine other directors who attempted to broaden their horizons and how they did.

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