directorial

Instead, in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” he offers a character study as biopic, riding a similar groove as his Oscar-winning 2009 directorial debut “Crazy Heart.”

While pursuing a graduate degree in London, rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta was unpacking complicated feelings of homesickness when she began to conceptualize the script for her directorial debut, “Little Woods.”

"Good Fortune," comedian Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, opened in third place at $6.2 million.

For the longtime “Parks and Rec” star’s directorial debut, he has written himself a witty if occasionally finger-wagging script about wealth inequality as approached from the viewpoint of stressed-out gig-economy workers.

You’d think that would make “Ballad of a Small Player” something of an event or, at the very least, eagerly anticipated by people who enjoy movies with a straightforward directorial style, keen attention to production and costume design and the kind of booming score that will spike your tinnitus for days after you leave the theater.